I’m three months retired today, my goodness the time has flown by!
When I managed my own business I always collated business figures into a quarterly report for better performance monitoring and to help give me a feel for how things were going. I guess the urge to do so is still ingrained within me, and I thought I’d do a similar but more holistic exercise with a first quarter retirement report for the quarter ending 07/31/25.

Looking for a Retirment Planning tool that supports modeling of different income sources, forecasts Medical Expenses and LTC costs, Expected Returns in Monte Carlo. I’ve read reviews about a few – Maxifi, Boldin, Wealthtrace.  Has anyone tried those tools or know of others?

It’s been mentioned on HD many times. Rick Connor mentioned it today. I even asked Gemini what was most important, monthly income or total lifetime benefits. Apparently Pipers calculator uses accumulated lifetime benefit as a decision guide.
My monthly pension is most important. I care less what the accumulated amount may be – unless I can become a significant actuarial loss in good health, but it’s financially irrelevant.  The fact my pension and SS are both lifetime benefits is important,

Generating a reliable source of income is one of the most important, and often challenging, parts of a successful retirement. Those of us fortunate enough to have a decent defined benefit pension have a leg up on this. Combine this with an inflation protected social security benefit, and some savings, and a retiree has a chance at a modest, yet comfortable retirement.  I’ve seen this firsthand. My in-laws were a truck driver and a part-time registered nurse.

My wife started her professional career in 1979, and I in 1980.
I previously wrote an article on Humble Dollar where I tried to research the points covered below by Mark Miller who is considered one of the nation’s leading experts on retirement and aging. In a recent article on Morningstar’s website he warns of the effects of the bill recently signed into law. He writes that if congress does nothing to shore up Social Security the trust fund is projected to be emptied by 2032,

Bill Perkins offers a radical goal: use your money to create the richest life possible, and aim to die with zero dollars left unspent. I’m told it doesn’t literally mean hit zero, just maximize experiences. I hope the book’s readers don’t take the title as a goal.
“Die with Zero” also advocates for intentional gifting to children or charities while you are alive. I agree, but for those trying to cover life’s what ifs during retirement (like the risk of LTC or survivor income) with their life savings that also presents a risk. 

I’ve been dabbling in AI.  Began using precursor “Expert Systems” about 20 years ago, but the new apps are more generalized and interesting. I’m aware of the limitations and anyone who wants to use something like Gemini or ChatGPT should also be aware. They can (and do) generate false information with apparent confidence. This can deceive users. Such disinformation has been given the name “hallucination” or “confabulation” by AI experts. Interesting names for inaccuracy.
However, using precise prompts seems to improve the response.

I like Wednesday now; it’s my favorite day of the week. When I was organizing everything before selling my business and retiring, I was so uptight and stressed about sorting out a cash flow stream for our everyday spending. I decided to pay ourselves weekly, reasoning it would make things easier to track what we spent this way. If you think about it, it’s a silly thing to do. It’s not like it was a surprise to me what we spent;

A recent article by Michael Finke in Think Advisor discusses some anecdotal evidence he has been hearing about recent trends in SS claiming. Worry about a reduction in benefits apparently is leading some retirees to claim their benefits earlier than might be expected given their wealth.  I have to admit that this year’s discussions around SS funding and administration have given me pause.
Two things about the article. It was published in a professional journal targeting financial  advisors.

Okay, my level of financial and retirement simplicity is not for everyone. I get it, people want details, they like to analyze, to plan and project the future. But tracking every penny spent? Hey, if that makes you happy and you feel better, go for it.
I try to cover all the bases too, I want to be prepared for the vicissitudes of life as FDR said about Social Security. For me that boils down to big picture stuff.

I’ve been working to educate myself on the US pension system, particularly the retirement decumulation landscape. It’s a challenging endeavor, but through diligent research, I’m slowly grasping the essentials. From an outsider’s viewpoint, the complexity that various US administrations have introduced into this system is striking. As a UK citizen, I find several aspects particularly perplexing:
The Sheer Number and Variety of Retirement Accounts: In the UK, it’s largely about defined contribution and defined benefit pensions,

I stumbled upon this site about 18 months ago and have been reading ever since.
When I heard about Jonathan’s diagnosis, it really got me thinking about how I could contribute. The thing is, I’m based in the UK, and I was a bit hesitant at first because I know Humble Dollar primarily focuses on US personal finance – especially with all the ins and outs of US pension planning.
But I decided to post  a few essays on some more general financial topics,

Many discussions on HD make it clear my retirement is unique, mainly because our income consisting of a pension and SS is more than adequate to live in the way we did when I was working.
Other than monitor my pension as it grew, there was no financial plan except to ensure receiving the employer match on the 401k so that meant saving at least 8% for a total of 12%. I also invested the compensation I received above base salary,

This morning, while sipping coffee in my sunroom, a simple thought occurred – one of those rare insights, I don’t have them often! It struck me that since retiring, my morning brew has become more enjoyable. After mulling it over, I pinpointed the reason: time. More specifically, the luxury of extra time to truly savour and embrace the entire coffee experience.
This revelation isn’t confined to my coffee cup. It’s weaving its way into other aspects of my life too.

Released:
A SUMMARY OF THE 2025 ANNUAL REPORTS
Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees
“Based on our best estimates, this year’s reports show that……
The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund will be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until 2033, unchanged from last year’s report. At that time, the fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing program income will be sufficient to pay 77 percent of total scheduled benefits……”
“As in prior years,