Example plan · Leave a legacy
Leave a larger legacy
Helen and Walter, 66 and 64, are already secure and spending well within their means. The optimized plan turns pre-tax dollars into tax-free Roth, leaving heirs far more after-tax wealth.
After-tax net worth: Current vs Optimized
$3,688,444 more to heirs, after tax
The shaded band is the gap between the current path and the optimized path — the wider it is, the more the strategy is worth. Illustrative figures from the NestVida engine.
About this plan
- Who
- Helen & Walter
- Filing status
- Married filing jointly
- Current ages
- 66 & 64
- Retire at
- 66
- Plan through age
- 95
- Taxable / brokerage
- $900,000
- Traditional (pre-tax)
- $3,200,000
- Roth
- $500,000
- Monthly spending goal
- $9,000/mo
- Social Security (monthly)
- $3,900 + $2,600
At a glance
Lower tax and higher net worth are better. Success = share of 1,000 Monte Carlo market paths the plan survives.
Before vs after
The Current plan draws accounts as-is. The Optimized plan adds Roth conversions in the low-income years before Social Security and required withdrawals begin — everything else is identical.
| Metric | Current | Optimized |
|---|---|---|
| Probability of success | 99% | 99% |
| Money lasts to age | Lasts to 95 | Lasts to 95 |
| Lifetime taxes | $1,188,706 | $932,049 |
| Lifetime taxes saved | — | $256,657 |
| Final net worth (after-tax) | $4,489,981 | $8,178,425 |
| Lifetime Social Security | $2,262,000 | $2,262,000 |
What changed and why
- •The optimized plan converts $1,028,527 from pre-tax to Roth during the low-income years between retiring at 66 and required withdrawals beginning at 73.
- •Final after-tax net worth ends near $8,178,425 — about $3,688,444 more than the current plan — because Roth dollars carry no future tax bill.
- •Monte Carlo success holds at about 99% across 1,000 randomized market simulations.
- •Filling the low brackets early trims projected lifetime taxes by $256,657 ($1,188,706 down to $932,049) and shrinks the survivor's future tax bill.
How to get there
The specific moves behind this result — the same ones you'd make in the planner with your own numbers.
- 1Retire at 66 and keep your first years' taxable income low.
- 2Delay Social Security to 67 to lock in a larger, inflation-protected benefit.
- 3Each year from 66 to 72, convert about $146,932 from your pre-tax 401(k)/IRA to Roth — filling the 24% bracket, no higher.
- 4Spend from taxable savings (and the converted Roth) first, so the pre-tax balance shrinks before required withdrawals begin at 73.
- 5Re-check yearly and adjust — do this in the planner with your own numbers.
Make it yours
These are starting numbers. Load this plan into the live app and swap in your own balances, spending, and Social Security — everything recalculates instantly, and nothing leaves your browser.