The real secret to a happy retirement is a well thought-out plan. And while this task seems daunting to most people, the truth is that it does not have to be complicated. The personal financial retirement planning software available online makes developing your strategy fun and easy. With professionally developed action plans, professional planning software is able to create precise financial goals that help you achieve maximum results with minimal effort.
Personal Capital
Personal Capital is a comprehensive and powerful one-stop shop for everything related to financial planning. The app offers one of the strongest integration systems available for mobile platforms; you’re able to connect with over 10,000 institutions ranging from major banks like Fidelity and TD Bank to accessory sites like PayPal and Amazon.
This makes it easy for you to see all of your finances and investments in a single, convenient package. Personal Capital offers an impressive range of retirement planning tools including deposit and growth projections, spending analysis and advisory tools. Personal Capital even functions as a budgeting app; you can link your credit and debit cards after signing up for an account.
Personal Capital’s system will analyze your spending and suggest places to cut back so you can put more money toward your goals. Though Personal Capital is typically classified as a robo-advisor, one of the big draws of the app is access to human financial advisors.
If you have over $200,000 under management, the app will assign you two dedicated financial advisors that can assist you in asset planning and purchases. If you have less than $200,000, you will have access to a team of financial advisors who can answer your questions and help you plan your purchases.
Personal Capital is aimed at users with a high net worth; you’ll need to already have at least $100,000 worth of assets to open an account. However, if you are looking for a comprehensive and incredibly compatible retirement planning app, Personal Capital delivers on multiple levels.
Betterment Retirement Savings Calculator
Betterment has a free calculator based on just four questions. You will be asked to enter information about your age, annual household income before taxes, the amount you’ve already saved for retirement and how much your household sets aside for retirement every year. The calculator then shows your projected annual spending in retirement. You can see how much you could potentially spend each year based on your investments and Social Security income. The calculator shows both likely and conservative scenarios for your spending each year in retirement.
Wealthfront
Wealthfront is an automated robo-advising service and app that’s aimed at new investors, younger investors and users who want a more hands-off retirement planning and tracking app. When you deposit funds, Wealthfront will allocate your assets into investments that vary in risk based on your age and tolerance, gradually becoming more conservative as you approach retirement.
Wealthfront offers a host of tools to help you plan and save for retirement that are free to use even if you don’t have an account. You can open a Wealthfront account with as little as $500 and the app supports a range of account types and savings goals. An easy-to-use app, plenty of investment options and a reasonable management fee of 0.25%, Wealthfront is a great option for new and experienced investors to track progress as they move toward retirement.
One of Wealthfront’s most unique tools is its 529 college savings plan projector, which can help you open a college savings account for a child, estimate how much money you’ll need to cover a chosen percentage of your child’s college costs the year that he or she graduates high school and helps to keep you on track with your savings. If one of your major goals is to save for a child’s education, Wealthfront should top your list of financial planning apps.
Chris Hogan’s Retire Inspired Quotient (R:IQ) Tool
You’ll be asked to describe your retirement dream with the R:IQ tool, which is free. You’ll also note your current income, how much you expect to need each month during retirement, how many years until you plan to retire and what you’ve saved so far. The R:IQ tool allows you to then assess what you can expect to have in retirement, based on your current investments. It also shows how much you will need to save to reach your retirement goals. The tool can be used to set savings goals for each month that will enable you to live out your retirement dream
Vanguard Retirement Nest Egg Calculator
Are you getting closer to retirement? Do you need less assistance with long-term planning and more help determining if your current portfolio will have enough money to cover your needs? The Vanguard Retirement Nest Egg Calculator is a free online app that analyzes current retirement savings to determine the probability that you’ll have enough money to cover your retirement expenses.
Note that this is not the Vanguard mobile app that is available in most smartphone stores, but a supplementary calculator available on Vanguard’s website. The Nest Egg Calculator is simple and straightforward. It offers a Monte Carlo analysis to let you know whether your retirement funds will be enough to last throughout your golden years.
Best used in combination with another retirement planning app, the Nest Egg Calculator can give you a financial “check-up” to ensure that your last few years before retirement are as proactive as they need to be.
Stash Retirement Calculator
With the free retirement calculator at Stash, you can fill in the blanks to note how old you are, when you plan to retire, how much you earn each year before taxes, how much you’ve saved and what you’re currently putting toward retirement every month. Based on this information, the tool shows you how much money you can expect to have in retirement and how much you are likely to need. These two figures are displayed graphically to contrast the amount you’re on track to have with the amount that Stash advises you accumulate based on your entered data. The calculator also includes an analysis of your current savings strategy and resources to learn more about your retirement financial needs.
MoneyGuidePro
MoneyGuidePro is a client-centered financial planning software used by professional financial advisors. It’s focused on alternatives to the standard methods of retirement planning. One of the features that’s integrated within this software is called Play Zone, which utilizes sliders for retirement age, financial goals and more to illustrate how financially successful a client’s retirement could be.
This software comes in three forms: One, Pro and Elite. One is the most basic version, as it comes with a risk tolerance assessment tool, financial and lifestyle goals planning and more. Pro boasts all of the features of One, as well as a bunch of extras, like risk management, estate planning and Social Security optimization. The Elite edition offers everything, in addition to secure income modeling, total income modeling and advanced lifetime protection.
In March 2019, Envestnet purchased MoneyGuidePro for $500 million and took over its operations. Envestnet is a large financial services company that focuses on various advisor-centric wealth management platforms.
eMoney Advisor
eMoney Advisor offers a hefty suite of financial planning services for advisor firms and large advisory enterprises. The program is based around three distinct packages of services (Plus, Pro and Premier), with a fourth tier reserved for customized enterprise relationships.Customers who purchase the Plus tier receive bare-bones access to eMoney’s customer website and mobile app, foundational financial planning services and advanced financial analytics. If you need more than that, the Pro version upgrades the basic foundational financial planning services for an advanced level, in addition to advanced financial analytics. Premier customers gain access to everything that eMoney has to offer.eMoney Advisor can be integrated with other popular advisory services from Morningstar, Salesforce, Fidelity, Envestnet and more.
RightCapital
Advisors can use RightCapital to develop financial plans through an innovative platform. It’s the software Jason Ball, a CFP at Ball Comprehensive Planning in West Linn, Oregon, uses for his clients. What he likes best about the software is its “ability to integrate accounts, client vaults and strategic tax planning for retirement planning.”RightCapital also offers a mobile-friendly user-interface, which tech-savvy advisors may appreciate. The inclusion of tax planning tools is one of the most important things that sets the software apart from its competitors.
Financial Planning Tips
- Consider working with a financial advisor to build a financial plan that’s tailored to your life. While financial planning software can help you get control of your money, it’s not a complete substitute for the human touch. SmartAsset’s advisor matching tool can connect you with up to three suitable advisors in your area. Get started now.
- Before selecting a financial planning software, assess your needs. For instance, are you looking for a program that focuses on weekly and monthly budgeting? Do you need something that includes long-term retirement planning and other tools to help you grow your wealth? The answers to these questions will lead you to the best options for you.
Conclusion:
The purpose of financial planning software is to help individuals or businesses to manage their money properly. This ensures that they will have sufficient funds for the future – either in their retirement years, or in purchasing a new car, adding a new room on to the house, or whatever strikes their fancy.