FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What the tool does, how accurate it is, what it covers, and where your data lives. For the tax concepts behind the numbers, see Methodologies or the info icons in the app.
Is this advice?
Is Decumulator financial, tax, or investment advice?
No. It produces retirement projections for educational purposes — not financial, tax, investment, or legal advice. Verify anything here with your own advisor before acting on it.
Does it recommend specific investments?
No. The tool models whatever holdings you enter and recommends no securities, funds, ETFs, or allocations. The withdrawal order among account types (taxable vs. tax-deferred vs. Roth) is a tax-efficiency question, not a recommendation to buy or sell anything.
Accuracy & assumptions
How accurate are the numbers?
The tax and projection math is AI-drafted and pending review by a credentialed professional, so figures may be wrong. Treat every output as illustrative and check it against your own situation.
Why isn’t there a “probability of success”?
The projection is deterministic: it uses the single return and inflation rate you enter, not a Monte Carlo distribution. Stress tests replay fixed historical bad-market sequences (1929, 1973, 2000, 2008) to illustrate downside — but that is one scenario each, not a probability of success.
How do you handle future tax-law changes?
Tax law is in flux (the TCJA sunset, ACA enhanced subsidies). The engine models it with configurable “regimes” and simplifying assumptions, and defaults to projecting current law forward. The disclaimer at the bottom of every page covers this uncertainty.
Scope & coverage
Which states are supported?
Six: California, New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, and Washington. Other states aren’t modeled yet — their income tax would be missing from the projection.
What account types can I enter?
Traditional and Roth IRAs, 401(k)/403(b)/457(b) plans, taxable brokerage, HSA, and inherited IRA.
Do you model 72(t) SEPP?
Yes, on Traditional IRAs — both the RMD-single-life and amortization methods. It models a cleanly maintained SEPP; it does not model the retroactive penalty from “busting” a SEPP by taking the wrong amount, the annuitization method, or SEPPs on employer plans.
What are the main modeling simplifications?
A few worth knowing: RMDs use the Uniform Lifetime Table only (no joint-life reduction for a much-younger spouse); taxable gains use pro-rata average basis and are treated as long-term; IRMAA surcharge dollar amounts are held flat across the projection; and Social Security defaults to a full-retirement age of 67. The Methodologies section on the About page explains each concept and its limits, and the info icons throughout the app open the same explanations in context.
Your data
Where is my data stored?
In the free tier, everything stays in your browser’s local storage — no account needed. If you sign in for cloud sync, your profile and saved scenarios are stored to your account so they follow you across devices.
Do you file my taxes or connect to my accounts?
No. The tool never files anything with the IRS and isn’t connected to any brokerage — there’s no account aggregation and no trade execution. You act on your own, elsewhere.