Fidelity Planning & Guidance Center vs MaxiFi

Fidelity Planning & Guidance Center is a free web tool for reviewing retirement readiness, investment strategies, and possible next steps. Retirement Analysis lets users explore hypothetical scenarios based on current savings and estimated future contributions, while multiple independent financial goals can be created and monitored. The analysis uses historical returns, market volatility, and correlations to estimate potential retirement income. Fidelity says Probability of Success replaced the Fidelity Retirement Score as a holistic measure of financial plan strength and supports planning beyond retirement. Information may carry into other Fidelity tools, including Guided Portfolio Summary and Fidelity Income Strategy Evaluator. The tool may use financial details previously provided to Fidelity, a workplace plan sponsor, or a third party, so users should check them for accuracy. Its projections are hypothetical, do not represent actual investment results, and are not guarantees. The analysis is informational and nondiscretionary, not personalized advice. Generating a plan has no fee, though investment expenses and account transaction fees may still apply.

MaxiFi builds a lifetime financial plan and estimates sustainable annual spending using income, assets, taxes, Social Security and other inputs. You can revise the plan to compare choices such as changing jobs, buying a home or retiring early. It models federal, state, FICA and IRMAA taxes, Social Security benefits and Medicare Part B premiums. Paid optimizers cover Roth conversions, Social Security filing and retirement withdrawals. Living Standard Monte Carlo compares how investment strategies and spending behavior affect discretionary spending; the software also estimates life insurance needs using contingency plans. Annual reports can be exported as PDF or Excel files, and plans can be shared with an advisor who has a MaxiFi PRO subscription. MaxiFi is available on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web and Windows. It offers a 14-day trial with limited features and comparison of three alternate scenarios. The Unlocked plan is listed at $149 a year. Support is through online tickets; phone support is not included.