When should I claim Social Security?

The optimal claiming age depends on your life expectancy, other income sources, and spouse's benefits. Delaying from 62 to 70 increases your benefit by about 77%. Our calculator compares different claiming ages to show which strategy maximizes your lifetime income.

Why does the Monte Carlo success rate change each time I run it?

Monte Carlo simulations use random sampling, so results vary slightly each run. With 1,000+ trials, the variation should be small (typically ±1-2%). Run more trials for more stable results.

Should I aim for 100% success rate?

Not necessarily. A 100% success rate often means you're being overly conservative and may have a large unused balance at the end. Most financial planners consider 90-95% success rate a reasonable target.

Why does the Roth optimizer sometimes lower my success rate?

Roth conversions require paying taxes now, which reduces your portfolio balance in early retirement, making you more vulnerable to poor early market returns (sequence-of-returns risk). The tax savings come later.

Yes, 100%. retireclarity runs entirely in your browser. No data is sent to any server. Your inputs are saved in your browser's localStorage and never leave your device.

Does this replace a financial advisor?

This tool is for educational and planning purposes. For significant financial decisions, consider consulting a fee-only fiduciary financial planner who can review your complete financial situation.

Privacy Policy - retireclarity

Name: retireclarity
Author: retireclarity

Last Updated: December 8, 2025

Core Privacy Principles

Your financial data stays on your device—with one optional exception. All calculations run in your browser. The optional AI Assistant sends a summary to generate responses (see details below).
No user accounts or authentication. We don't collect names, emails, or any personal information.
100% client-side application. There is no backend server storing or processing your data.
Anonymous analytics only. We use Vercel Analytics to understand site usage and feature engagement, but no financial data is tracked.

Data Storage

Browser Local Storage

retireclarity uses your browser's localStorage to save your inputs, settings, and optimization results. This data:

Stays exclusively on your device
Is not accessible to us or any third party
Persists between browser sessions for your convenience
Can be cleared at any time using your browser's settings

What Gets Stored Locally

The following information is stored in your browser only:

Personal information (age, retirement age, filing status)
Account balances (cash, brokerage, tax-deferred, Roth)
Income sources (salary, Social Security, pensions)
Expense amounts and categories
Investment assumptions and Roth conversion settings
Optimization results and timing strategies
Display preferences (today's dollars vs. future dollars toggle)

Clearing Your Data

You can clear all locally stored data at any time by clearing your browser's localStorage or browsing data. Instructions vary by browser:

Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Clear browsing data → Cookies and other site data
Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data → Clear Data
Safari: Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data → Remove All

Anonymous Analytics

We use Vercel Analytics to understand how visitors use our site. This helps us improve the calculator and identify technical issues.

What Vercel Analytics Collects

Page views and navigation paths
Referring sites (where visitors come from)
Browser type and device type (desktop, mobile, tablet)
Country/region (based on IP address, not stored)
Page load performance metrics
Anonymous feature usage events (e.g., "ran simulation", "used optimizer") — no financial data included

What Is NOT Collected

Any financial data from your inputs
Account balances or income amounts
Names, emails, or contact information
IP addresses (not logged or stored)
Unique user identifiers or tracking cookies

Important: Vercel Analytics is privacy-focused and does not use cookies. It collects aggregate, anonymous data only. For more details, see Vercel's Analytics Privacy Policy.

No Backend Server

retireclarity is a 100% client-side application. This means:

All calculations run in your browser using JavaScript. Your financial data is processed locally on your device.
There is no backend server collecting, storing, or processing your retirement planning data.
We cannot access your inputs, balances, or projections because they never reach us.
Even if we wanted to, we have no technical ability to view your financial information.

The application is hosted on Vercel's content delivery network (CDN), which serves the static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files to your browser. Once loaded, the application runs entirely on your device.

Security

HTTPS Encryption

The site is served over HTTPS, ensuring that communication between your browser and our servers is encrypted. This protects against man-in-the-middle attacks.

Client-Side Processing

Since all calculations occur in your browser, your financial data never travels over the internet. This eliminates the most significant security risk: data transmission.

No Authentication Required

We don't require accounts, passwords, or login credentials. This eliminates risks associated with password breaches or account compromise.

Browser Security

Your data's security depends on your device and browser. We recommend:

Keep your browser and operating system updated
Use device encryption (FileVault, BitLocker, etc.)
Lock your device when not in use
Use browser profiles or private browsing if sharing a computer

Because all financial data is stored and processed locally on your device, the security of your information depends entirely on the security of your device, browser, and network. You are solely responsible for maintaining appropriate device security, including operating system updates, access controls, and safe browsing practices.

Third-Party Services

retireclarity uses the following third-party services, none of which have access to your financial data:

Vercel (Hosting & Analytics): Hosts the application and collects anonymous page view analytics. See Vercel Privacy Policy.
Buy Me a Coffee: Optional donation link. If you choose to donate, Buy Me a Coffee processes the transaction. See Buy Me a Coffee Privacy Policy.
Tally (Feedback Form): Optional feedback link. If you submit feedback, Tally processes your submission. See Tally Privacy Policy.

These services are only used when you explicitly click the respective links. They do not run automatically or have access to your calculator data.

AI Assistant (Data Shared with Third Party)

The AI Assistant is the only feature that sends your data to an external service.

When you use the optional AI Assistant (the chat button on Calculator, Roth Conversion Planner, and Chance of Success pages), a summary of your financial data is sent to Anthropic (the company behind Claude AI) to generate responses.

What IS Sent to Anthropic

Age, retirement age, life expectancy, filing status
Account balances (totals by type: cash, brokerage, tax-deferred, Roth)
Annual expenses amount
Projection summary (final balance, success rate if run)
Optimizer results (strategy name, conversion amounts if run)
Your question

What is NOT Sent

Your name, email, or any identifying information
Account numbers or financial institution names
Social Security numbers
Full year-by-year projections (only summaries)
Your IP address (not included in the request)

Data Handling

Questions and answers are not logged or stored on our servers
Data is sent securely via HTTPS to Anthropic's API
Anthropic's data retention policies apply—see their Privacy Policy

Opting Out

The AI Assistant is completely optional. If you don't want any data sent externally, simply don't click the chat button. All other features of retireclarity continue to work entirely in your browser with no external data transmission.

Your Rights

Because we don't collect or store any personal or financial data on our servers, there is no data for us to access, correct, or delete. You have complete control:

Access: All your data is in your browser's localStorage and can be viewed using browser developer tools.
Correction: Edit your inputs directly in the calculator at any time.
Deletion: Clear localStorage via your browser settings to permanently delete all local data.
Portability: Export your projections and Monte Carlo results to CSV files for use in other tools.

Children's Privacy

retireclarity is not intended for use by children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect information from children. If you are under 18, please do not use this service or provide any information.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Changes will be reflected by updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Material changes that affect how we handle data (such as adding new analytics services) will be noted on this page with an updated date.

Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy, please use our Feedback form.

Privacy Summary

Bottom line: Your financial information stays on your device. We use anonymous analytics to understand site usage (page views only). Your retirement planning data—balances, income, expenses, projections—never leaves your browser except when you use the optional AI Assistant, which sends a summary (no identifying information) to Anthropic. You can use all other features without any external data transmission.