The person behind the numbers

Hi — I'm Simon Politakis. I spent thirty years as a software architect and CTO, mostly building systems where a wrong number cost somebody real money: insurance claims platforms, royalty and payment systems, financial data products. Thirty years of being professionally paranoid about other people's numbers.

Then I retired, and the numbers became mine. The paranoia stayed.

Why I built this

I was planning my own retirement with a paid tool — a good one, I liked it. Then a family member asked me to help with her planning, and I hit two walls: I couldn't run a second, truly independent household without a second account, and the question that mattered most to both of us — how much to convert to Roth, and when, without tripping IRMAA — wasn't really answered anywhere I could point her to.

I'm a builder with time on my hands. You can guess what happened next.

retireclarity is the planner I wanted: it runs the Roth-conversion, Social Security, IRMAA, and Monte Carlo analysis that actually drives these decisions, and keeps every plan fully independent.

To be clear about what this is: a calculator with unusually good math — not financial advice. It models scenarios; you make the calls.

Say hello

I read everything: feedback, feature ideas, and especially "your IRMAA table is off by a dollar." (Please. Genuinely. Send those.) The quickest way to reach me is the feedback link in the footer — or email simon@retireclarity.com.

— Simon