Why we started RetireRebel
Retirement is more than a number. It is a set of choices that shape the retirement you actually want.
Most retirement tools answer one question: will your money last? We want that answer too. We also want the rest. What is the earliest we can retire? Can we afford to travel? Should we move? When should we take Social Security? If we spend more while we are younger and healthier, do we run out later?
What we didn't want.
What we built instead.
To pay thousands of dollars for advice
Your full roadmap, no advisor required
Generic projections based on averages
Projections built on your real numbers, not averages
Jargon-heavy recommendations we couldn't understand
Plain English, with every term explained
More information than anyone could use
One clear answer first, the details when you want them
To remember every enrollment date, or pay for missing one
The deadlines that cost money, tracked before they pass
Answers on paper that never turn into action
A prioritized list of what to do, and by when
Retirement decisions treated as if they don't affect each other
Every decision modeled together, because each one affects the rest
And we go further.
RetireRebel is for people who want to see their real options and make the call themselves.
Want to see how the math works?
The assumptions, sources, and boundaries are all here. Dig in as far as you want.
What the model includes
Markets & longevity
- Hundreds of market histories, run with Monte Carlo, reporting how often your money lasts to the age you set
Income & withdrawals
- Withdrawal order across taxable, pre-tax, and Roth accounts, with required minimum distributions and cost basis
- Social Security taxation thresholds and claiming timing
Taxes
- The survivor tax shift when one spouse dies
- Roth conversions sized with their downstream costs: IRMAA, Social Security taxation, NIIT, and capital-gains bracket effects
Healthcare
- IRMAA surcharges, with the two-year income lookback
- Healthcare in phases: ACA cost before 65, Medicare plus IRMAA after
- Long-term care as a modeled cost event, not an afterthought. How Medicare and Medicaid cover it.
Housing
- State income, property, and sales tax, plus homeowners insurance, and the home-sale math when you move
Life changes
- Real spending shape: higher early, easing later, plus one-time expenses
- Enrollment and tax deadlines on your Timeline, with a calendar export
Core assumptions and sources
With year-to-year swings near 12%. These are RetireRebel planning assumptions, not a cited figure: 6% is a blended stock-and-bond return in today's dollars, and 12% is the size of a typical balanced portfolio's yearly ups and downs.
The long-run average of the Consumer Price Index (BLS).
Health and long-term-care costs rise faster than general inflation. Care costs use about 4.5% a year, from the CareScout/Genworth Cost of Care Survey (2025 results, released March 2026) and CMS National Health Expenditure projections (2025 to 2034, updated June 2026), which put national health spending growth at 5.4% a year.
Current federal brackets and approximate per-state income and property tax. From a tax registry stamped by year and source, updated as the IRS publishes.
Everything shown in today's dollars.
Privacy
Inputs are stored encrypted and tied to your account. Uploaded source documents are never stored. No bank login required. No ads. We never sell your data.
Boundaries
RetireRebel is educational, not a registered financial adviser or fiduciary. It shows roadmaps and trade-offs so you can decide — it does not provide regulated financial, tax, or legal advice. For a decision you are about to act on, talk to a fee-only fiduciary or a CPA.
Build the plan. Make the call.
See where you stand, test the choices, and decide what works for you.