The Paycheck Workspace is a retirement income planning tool for people approaching retirement or already living from their portfolio. Explore monthly spending, account withdrawals, pensions, benefits, and changing life circumstances in one household plan.
How it works & common questionsRETIREMENT INCOME PLANNING, EXPLAINED
A little clarity before your next chapter.
What is decumulation?
Decumulation is the shift from building savings to using them to support everyday life. A retirement spending plan considers how income, cash, and investment withdrawals could work together over time. Paycheck models those sources month by month.
Who is the Paycheck Workspace for?
Paycheck is designed for people preparing to retire and those in retirement, including the first few years of living from a portfolio. Retirement readiness explores account access, funding gaps, and difficult years. The monthly paycheck view helps people who are already retired map income and spending. If you are still building savings, start with the FIRE calculator or Life scenarios.
Can I plan for a spouse, pensions, and future life events?
Yes. A plan can include two people with separate retirement dates, account owners, work income, pension payments, and benefit schedules. You can also enter a windfall, the net proceeds of downsizing, or an expense. You supply the amounts and dates; the tool does not calculate benefit eligibility or property sale proceeds.
How do scenarios and spending guardrails work?
Scenarios compare your baseline with changes such as an investment decline, higher inflation, delayed income, or different flexible spending. Optional annual guardrails model cuts to flexible spending within your chosen limit and recovery toward the target. They do not change your actual spending. These deterministic illustrations are not probabilities of retirement success.
What does the bond bridge view show?
A bond bridge maps scheduled bond interest and repayments against a period of spending, such as the gap before pension income begins. You enter fixed nominal bonds, six-month interest payments, and maturity dates. Principal moves from the bond into cash when it matures; it is not new wealth. The tool does not select bonds, price purchases, or model TIPS.
Does Paycheck calculate taxes or move money?
No. This planning beta uses your estimated tax payments and user-confirmed account access dates. It follows the withdrawal order and monthly limits you enter. It does not optimize taxes, determine required distributions or statutory eligibility, transfer money, or execute trades.
Do I need an account or a broker connection to try it?
No. Explore three fictional starting points without an account or broker connection: Jordan preparing to retire in three years, Alex and Sam transitioning out of work, and Maya already living from her portfolio. Example edits last only for that page session; switching examples replaces them. Signed-in members can switch between Learn with examples and My plan. Example changes stay separate from personal plans. Sign in to create and save your own plan and monthly reviews. The examples do not expose any member’s saved financial information.