You're sitting there, staring at a spreadsheet that’s basically a graveyard of broken formulas. Or maybe you're just Googling "how much do I need to retire" for the tenth time this month. We’ve all been there. The dream is simple: stop working, keep the house, maybe travel a bit, and don't end up eating cold beans in a studio apartment. But the math? The math is a nightmare.
That's where free retirement planning software comes in. People love the word "free," but in the world of finance, free usually means you're the product or the tool is so basic it's dangerous.
Honestly, most free calculators are just glorified addition. They ask for your age, your savings, and then boom—they tell you you’re fine. But life isn't a straight line. Life is tax hikes, healthcare spikes, and that one year where the stock market decides to take a giant dump right when you want to quit your job.
If you want a plan that actually holds water in 2026, you have to look past the "quick calculators" and find the tools that actually model reality.
The Big Three: Tools That Don't Suck
There are dozens of apps out there, but only a few actually give you enough data to sleep at night. I'm talking about tools that account for the messy stuff, like Roth conversions and Social Security timing.
1. Empower (The King of Aggregation)
You probably knew this one was coming. Formerly Personal Capital, Empower is the "easy" button. You link your accounts, and it sucks in all your data.
Why it works: It’s great for seeing your net worth in real-time. It runs a Monte Carlo simulation—basically a fancy way of saying it simulates 5,000 different versions of the future—to tell you the percentage chance you won't run out of money.
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The catch: They will call you. Since it's free, their business model is having advisors reach out to see if you want them to manage your money for a fee. If you’re okay with ignoring a few phone calls, the dashboard is top-tier.
2. Boldin (The Strategy Nerd’s Choice)
You might remember this as NewRetirement. They rebranded recently, but the engine is the same. This is for the person who wants to sit down with a cup of coffee and tweak 100 different variables.
It’s less about "tracking" and more about "modeling." Want to see what happens if you downsize your house in ten years? You can do that. Want to see how a Roth conversion strategy affects your tax bracket in your 70s? It does that too. The free version is surprisingly deep, though they gate some of the most advanced tax features behind a paywall.
3. ProjectionLab (The FIRE Community Favorite)
If you're into the "Financial Independence, Retire Early" movement, this is your tool. It’s beautiful. Seriously, the UI makes Empower look like a Windows 95 spreadsheet.
Created by Kyle Nolan, ProjectionLab is incredibly flexible. It doesn't force you into a "work until 65" box. You can build complex "what-if" scenarios that include side hustles, rental properties, and varied inflation rates. There’s a basic free version that lets you play around, but it won’t save your data unless you upgrade. It’s perfect for a weekend "deep dive" into your numbers without committing to a subscription.
The Danger of "Simple" Calculators
Most people use the first calculator they find on a bank’s website. Bad idea.
A study by Texas Tech professor Barry Mulholland found that 70% of free online retirement tools gave inaccurate or inadequate advice. They are often too optimistic. They assume a steady 7% return every single year.
The real world doesn't work that way. If the market drops 20% in the first year you retire—what pros call "sequence of returns risk"—your "free" plan will likely fail. A good tool needs to handle volatility. If it doesn't let you adjust for inflation or changing tax rates, it’s not a plan; it’s a guess.
Why 2026 is Different for Your Plan
If you’re looking at your numbers right now, you have to account for the current landscape. We aren't in 2015 anymore.
- Tax Sunsets: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions are set to expire soon. If your software assumes today's low tax brackets will last forever, your future "take-home" pay is going to be lower than you think.
- Healthcare is the Wildcard: Fidelity’s latest estimates suggest a 65-year-old couple might need $330,000 just for medical expenses in retirement. Most free tools just ignore this or use a tiny "expense" line.
- Social Security Uncertainty: You don't have to assume it's going to zero, but your software should let you model a 20% haircut just in case.
Making the Software Actually Work for You
Downloading the app is the easy part. Entering the data is where people mess up.
Stop using "70% of your current income" as your spending goal. It's a lazy rule of thumb. Some people spend way more in early retirement because they're finally traveling. Others spend way less because their mortgage is paid off.
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Garbage in, garbage out. Take an hour. Look at your actual credit card statements. Figure out your "floor"—the absolute minimum you need to keep the lights on—and then your "lifestyle" budget. Input those separately if the software allows it.
Actionable Steps to Vet Your Retirement Plan
- Test for "Black Swans": Use the "market crash" scenario in Empower or Boldin. If a 30% drop in your first year of retirement makes your success rate plummet to 40%, you need more cash or bonds.
- Check the Inflation Toggle: Don't let the software default to 2%. Try 3% or 4%. It’s better to be pleasantly surprised than broke.
- Verify your "Real" Life Expectancy: Most people underestimate how long they'll live. If the software stops at age 85, extend it to 95. That extra decade is the most expensive one.
- Link, then Unlink: If you're worried about security, use a tool like Boldin or ProjectionLab where you can manually enter data. It takes longer, but you aren't sharing your bank credentials with a third party.
Free retirement planning software is a starting point, not a finish line. These tools are designed to show you the gaps in your logic. Once you see the gap, you can actually do something about it. Whether that's saving an extra $500 a month or deciding to work one more year, having the data beats "hoping for the best" every single time.
Stop guessing. Pick one of the three tools mentioned above and spend sixty minutes actually looking at your future. Your 80-year-old self will thank you.