Complete Retirement Planner

Excel-based comprehensive retirement planning software

The Complete Retirement Planner (TCRP) is a standalone Excel-based retirement planning tool that you purchase once and download to your computer. The site positions it as a financial-planning tool for creating what it calls "an individualized, comprehensive financial plan for both pre- and post-retirement." Unlike web-based subscription planners, TCRP is a downloadable spreadsheet that runs on your own computer and stores your financial data locally, not in the cloud.

The tool has been nationally recognized as one of the "Great Retirement Planning Tools" by U.S. News & World Report from 2021 through 2026, and the site says it is recommended by numerous other highly respected news organizations, financial websites, and blogs. The software was created because, as the site notes, "~80% of households still have no such plan," despite financial planning experts emphasizing that a written financial plan is crucial for long-term financial security.

How money comes in

TCRP does not connect to banks or import data. Instead, you manually enter your income sources into the spreadsheet by year and by spouse if married. The tool accepts multiple income types: wages, Social Security, pensions, annuities, and non-taxable income. You specify the dollar amount for each income stream and the year it starts. The site describes that "Social Security benefits use your expected Full Retirement Age (FRA) benefit and desired claiming age," and the spreadsheet automatically calculates spousal benefits, survivor benefits, and annual Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs).

For inherited IRAs, you designate annual withdrawal amounts, and the tool automatically adds the after-tax amounts to your savings. The planner tracks multiple savings buckets separately: non-retirement cash, short-term invested savings, long-term invested savings, and retirement accounts (401k/IRA). For each bucket type, you can set different interest or return rates before and after retirement. Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) are calculated automatically by spouse if married, using the IRS divisor schedule. Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are also tracked, including yearly contributions and expected investment return rates.

How the budgeting and planning actually work

TCRP generates a precise, year-by-year forecast starting from your personal information. You input your income sources and amounts for each year, then your expenses, and the spreadsheet calculates what you need to save or withdraw annually. The tool compares annual income to annual expenses (which include taxes) to show whether you have excess income to save or whether you need to draw from savings.

The spreadsheet breaks expenses into detailed categories and lets you specify how they change over time. You can assign different inflation rates: a general rate for most expenses and a separate higher healthcare inflation rate for health expenses, since healthcare historically inflates faster than core costs. The site emphasizes that "no other planning tool does this, and it has a huge effect on results." Fixed expenses like mortgage principal, loans, or extra payments do not apply the general inflation rate.

For mortgage tracking, TCRP handles up to three properties. You enter the mortgage amount, term, interest rate, and property taxes for each. The tool calculates annual tax deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes automatically. You can model paying off a mortgage early, selling a property, or receiving a future property tax reduction (available to seniors in many states).

The tool calculates federal income tax by year using current tax codes for income, distributions, and Social Security, rather than applying a single tax rate to all income types. You set an effective rate for state income tax and can add optional federal tax deductions for state income/sales tax, charitable giving, and medical expenses. The site stresses that seeing "the complete picture of your tax liability is crucial, as taxes can have a significant impact on how long your savings may last."

For distributions during retirement, TCRP calculates automatically how much you need to withdraw each year to cover expenses not paid by income, and it calculates the tax liability on those distributions. The tool uses an efficient order-of-funds strategy: income first, then proportional amounts of non-retirement and taxable 401k/IRA savings based on their balances, and finally Roth 401k/IRAs. A cash reserve equal to two years of future expenses (minus income for those years) is held back to maintain liquidity. The site argues that "savings last longer, and tax liability is less, than if only one savings type was exhausted at a time (as other planning tools do)."

If your income exceeds expenses, you customize how much excess to save, from 25% (conservative) to 95% (aggressive). The site notes that many planning tools ignore excess income entirely, and explains: "It's not reasonable to expect to save every penny of excess income, every year, for decades."

For Roth conversions and Qualified Charitable Donations (QCDs), TCRP models both and automatically accounts for tax liability. A built-in Roth Conversion Calculator shows conversion limits to stay in the same tax bracket, available income to pay conversion taxes, and the difference in total tax liability and savings with and without conversions. The tool models a spouse's passing by changing the surviving spouse's tax-filing status to "Single" and calculating their Social Security survivor benefit automatically.

What it costs and what remains unclear

The Complete Retirement Planner costs $89.99. The site emphasizes: "TCRP has consistently been priced at $89.99 for the past 7 years (no increases for inflation)." This is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. You download the file to your computer and own it outright. Existing users can upgrade to the latest version (updated each January with new tax codes and features) for $15.99 using a discount code.

The site requires a full, paid version of Microsoft Excel (2016 or later). TCRP will not work with the free online version of Excel, iPads, or other spreadsheet applications like Numbers (Apple), Google Sheets, or LibreOffice, "as they do not support all Excel functions." It runs on both PCs and Macs if you have a compatible paid Excel version.

What the site leaves open: it does not detail exactly what output the year-by-year forecast shows beyond listing categories (taxable income, non-taxable income, Social Security income, savings distributions, withdrawal rate, total income available, expenses, taxes, auto-saved excess). The site does not explain how fees or market downturns affect the calculation. It does not describe how to handle market risk; the site mentions that you can set expected annual investment return rates and vary them by year, but it does not explain volatility or sequence-of-returns risk modeling beyond one mention of being able to enter lower rates for early retirement years.

Who it suits and who it does not

TCRP appeals to do-it-yourself retirement planners who are comfortable with Excel and want full transparency and control over their plan. The tool's "interview style questions with explanatory notes" guide you through setup, and the site emphasizes "clear educational notes on complex topics (e.g., Medicare costs, tax laws, Social Security benefits) help to inform you." Customer testimonials praise the tool's accuracy, flexibility, and ability to run "what-if" scenarios easily.

The tool is not suitable for anyone without access to a paid copy of Excel. It is also not a fit for people who prefer web-based access or cloud storage. It requires manual data entry for every year and every financial variable, which means setup takes significant time. If you need real-time spending tracking or automatic bank imports, you will need a separate budgeting app.

The planner assumes you can forecast your own income, expenses, returns, and major life events years or decades in advance. For someone facing high income volatility, unexpected expenses, or significant life changes, this assumption may not hold. It is also designed for individuals or married couples, not for business owners or those with complex income sources or assets requiring professional accounting or legal advice.