A good target is to have enough saved by age 18 to cover the full cost of college. For a public in-state university that's roughly $120,000–$160,000 in today's dollars; private universities run $250,000–$320,000. NestPlan projects your 529 balance at college age based on current savings, monthly contributions, and a 7% investment return, then compares it against costs adjusted for college inflation (historically ~5.6%/year).

The standard rule is 25× your annual retirement spending — based on the 4% safe withdrawal rate. If you plan to spend $100,000/year, you need $2.5M. NestPlan calculates your personal target from your desired income, Social Security estimate, pension, tax rate, and withdrawal rate preference, then shows exactly how far your current savings rate will take you.

Common benchmarks: 1× your annual income saved by 30, 3× by 40, 6× by 50, 8× by 60. NestPlan uses a 10-level system tied to your actual income — so a household earning $150k has different milestones than one earning $300k. It shows exactly where you stand and what it takes to reach the next level.

The 4% rule states that you can safely withdraw 4% of your portfolio in year one of retirement, then adjust for inflation each year — and your money will last 30+ years with high probability. It implies a savings target of 25× your annual expenses. NestPlan applies this automatically and lets you adjust the rate (3%–5%) based on your risk tolerance and retirement length.

A 529 is a tax-advantaged account for education savings. Contributions grow tax-free and withdrawals for qualified expenses (tuition, books, room and board) are also tax-free. Many states offer additional state tax deductions on contributions. You can open one for each child and change beneficiaries freely. NestPlan tracks each child's balance separately and shows whether you're on track by the time they start college.

Yes — NestPlan is free to use today. No credit card required. Sign in with Google to save your plan securely across devices, or explore the full tool in demo mode without an account. We may introduce optional premium features or plans in the future, but our goal is to keep the core planning tools accessible to every family.

Retiring at 55 means funding 35+ years of retirement, so you need a lower withdrawal rate than the standard 4% — closer to 3.3–3.5%. If you want $100,000/year in today's dollars and Social Security won't kick in for 12+ years, you may need $2.5M–$3M or more depending on your tax situation. NestPlan calculates your exact target for any retirement age, including the duration adjustment to the withdrawal rate.

FIRE means saving and investing aggressively — typically 40–70% of income — until your portfolio generates enough passive income to cover your expenses forever. The core formula is 25× annual spending (the 4% rule). Variations include Lean FIRE (frugal lifestyle), Fat FIRE (high spending), and Barista FIRE (part-time work). NestPlan's retirement planner lets you model any target retirement age and shows exactly how much extra you'd need to save per month to get there.

Social Security uses your highest 35 years of earnings to calculate your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME), then applies a progressive formula with bend points to get your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). Claiming at 62 reduces your benefit by up to 30%; waiting until 70 increases it by 8% per year beyond your full retirement age. NestPlan estimates your benefit from your salary using the SSA's bend-point formula and lets you enter your actual SSA statement to override it.

A common benchmark is 3× your annual salary saved by 40. So if you earn $120,000, aim for $360,000 in retirement savings. But the right number depends on when you want to retire — targeting 55 requires much more aggressive savings than planning to work until 67. NestPlan shows where you stand relative to your personal target, not just a generic age bracket.

At minimum, contribute enough to get your full employer match — that's an immediate 50–100% return on that portion. Most planners recommend 15% of gross income including the match. The 2024 limit is $23,000 ($30,500 if you're 50+). Roth vs. traditional depends on whether you expect to be in a higher tax bracket in retirement. NestPlan tracks your savings rate and tells you if it's enough to hit your retirement target.

College costs rise roughly 5–6% per year — faster than general inflation. A 4-year public in-state degree runs about $110,000–$130,000 today; private universities cost $280,000–$320,000. By the time a newborn turns 18, those figures could be 2.5× higher. NestPlan projects your child's estimated costs using 5.6% annual inflation and shows whether your 529 contributions are on track to cover them.

Home equity counts toward your net worth, but it's illiquid — you can't spend it without selling or borrowing against your home. Whether to include it in retirement planning depends on whether you plan to downsize, relocate, or use a reverse mortgage. NestPlan lets you toggle home equity in or out of your retirement projections so you can plan for both scenarios.

NestPlan is your family's financial operating system — a single, always-current dashboard that gives you a live pulse on every major financial dimension of family life: retirement readiness, college savings, net worth trajectory, debt payoff, and Social Security planning. Instead of juggling a retirement calculator here, a 529 calculator there, and a spreadsheet somewhere else, everything lives in one place. When something changes — a raise, a new baby, a home purchase — you update one number and every projection updates with it.

A spreadsheet takes hours to build and breaks the moment you change an assumption. A financial advisor meets with you once a year and charges thousands. NestPlan sits in the middle: it does the financial modeling of a good advisor — Social Security bend-point estimates, 529 projections, safe withdrawal rates adjusted for retirement length, net worth compounding — but it's always on, always up to date, and free. Think of it as your family's financial co-pilot that you can check at any time.

Your NestPlan Score is a single number — 0 to 100 — that gives you an instant pulse on your family's overall financial fitness. It's calculated across four dimensions: retirement readiness (are you on track for your target?), education savings (will your 529s cover college?), savings rate (are you saving enough of your income?), and net worth level (how does your wealth compare to income-relative benchmarks?). The score also shows you which dimension is dragging it down and what single action would improve it most.

Congratulations! Three things to do right now: Open a 529 — even $100/month from birth compounds to $50,000+ by college at 7% returns. Check your life insurance — you now have a dependent counting on your income. Revisit your savings rate — childcare costs can quietly squeeze retirement contributions. Add your child to NestPlan, set a college target, and see instantly whether your 529 is on track and whether your retirement plan still holds up alongside the new expense.

A home purchase shifts your net worth (new equity asset, new mortgage liability) and your monthly cash flow. Home equity typically grows at 3–4% annually, quietly building wealth alongside your portfolio. The risk is that a higher mortgage payment quietly reduces your retirement savings rate — even a 1–2% reduction compounds into a significant gap over 20 years. Enter your property value, mortgage balance, and target payoff date into NestPlan and every projection — net worth, retirement readiness, timeline — updates to reflect the full picture.

A raise is the single best opportunity to accelerate your financial plan — before lifestyle inflation absorbs the increase. If your income rises by $25,000, directing even $1,000/month of that into retirement savings will compound into hundreds of thousands of dollars over 20 years. Update your income and monthly savings in NestPlan and you'll see the immediate effect on your retirement age, nest egg projection, and NestPlan Score.

The decade before retirement is when the details matter most. Four things to review: (1) Retirement readiness — is your projected portfolio at retirement above your nest egg target? (2) Social Security claiming age — delaying from 62 to 70 can increase your monthly benefit by 70%+. (3) Withdrawal rate — a shorter retirement horizon means you can safely withdraw more than 4%, which reduces the portfolio you need. (4) Tax strategy — a mix of Roth and traditional accounts gives you flexibility. NestPlan models all of this in the Retirement tab and lets you play with claiming age and withdrawal rate to find the optimal plan.

Generational wealth is what remains after you've fully funded your own retirement. It's built through compounding on multiple fronts: maximizing retirement accounts (which pass to heirs with favorable tax treatment), paying off your mortgage (home equity transfers cleanly), funding 529s early (tax-free growth for children and grandchildren), and investing in taxable brokerage accounts (heirs receive a stepped-up cost basis on gains). NestPlan's Net Worth Journey projects your family's wealth over 40+ years, showing how your savings rate, investment return, and key decisions like retirement age or mortgage payoff compound into a lasting legacy.