Planning for retirement can feel like trying to predict the future — full of unknowns about income, taxes, investments, and even healthcare. Boldin, formerly known as New Retirement, aims to bring clarity to that uncertainty. It’s a comprehensive financial planning platform built to help users stress test their retirement strategies and gain a realistic view of their long-term financial outlook.
This review explores what Boldin offers, its standout features, potential drawbacks, and how it compares to competitors like Empower and Projection Lab.
What Is Boldin?
Boldin isn’t just another investment tracker. While many platforms focus only on what you already own, Boldin takes a forward-thinking approach — integrating multiple aspects of personal finance, including:
- Taxes and income planning
- Debt management and budgeting
- Real estate holdings
- Healthcare and long-term care costs
By analyzing how these variables interact, Boldin provides a panoramic view of your financial future.
Getting started is straightforward: you input your financial details, and Boldin generates a baseline forecast of where you stand. From there, you can explore “what-if” scenarios such as:
- Retiring earlier than planned
- Weathering multiple down years in the stock market
- Downsizing or relocating to reduce living costs
As your financial life evolves, Boldin’s planner can be updated to keep your strategy aligned with your goals.
Key Benefits of Boldin
1. Monte Carlo Simulations
Boldin uses Monte Carlo simulations to model thousands of potential future outcomes. It tests your plan against different assumptions—market volatility, inflation, life expectancy, and spending—to calculate a “retirement success score.” This data-driven insight helps you gauge the resilience of your plan and adjust variables like saving rate or retirement age accordingly.
2. Intuitive, Interactive Dashboard
Boldin’s visual dashboard transforms complex financial data into actionable insights. You can tweak factors such as annual expenses, investment strategies, or retirement timelines and immediately see the projected impact. This interactivity helps you visualize tradeoffs and make informed decisions, rather than relying on guesswork.
3. Advanced Financial Calculators
The platform includes a comprehensive library of tools, such as:
- FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) calculator
- Roth conversion calculator
- Lifetime annuity calculator
These go beyond the simplicity of typical free calculators, allowing for deeper analysis of financial strategies within one cohesive system.
4. Access to Fee-Only Advisors
A standout feature of Boldin is its network of advice-only financial advisors — professionals who provide unbiased guidance without selling products or earning commissions. This ensures that users receive independent, conflict-free advice tailored to their goals.
Drawbacks to Consider
1. Limited Free Plan
While Boldin offers a free “Basic” tier to help users test the platform, its full power is unlocked only through the Planner Plus subscription. Premium features such as Monte Carlo simulations, advanced calculators, and advisor support require an upgrade.
2. Paid Account Syncing
Automatic account syncing—through integrations like Plaid, MX, and Finicity—is reserved for paid users. Free-tier users must enter financial information manually, which can be time-consuming for those managing multiple accounts.
3. Learning Curve
Because Boldin provides such a detailed overview of your finances, beginners may initially find the interface overwhelming. Charts, sliders, and inputs require some financial literacy to interpret correctly. Fortunately, Boldin offers classes, Q&A sessions, and coaching support for users who need extra guidance.
4. Annual Pricing
Planner Plus costs $144 per year (approximately $12 per month, billed annually). While not exorbitant, this is a notable difference compared to free platforms like Empower. However, the tradeoff is that Boldin avoids the sales-driven model used by some competitors.
How Boldin Compares to Competitors
- Empower offers strong retirement planning tools for free but includes sales outreach once your assets exceed $100,000. Boldin, in contrast, provides a sales-free experience and more detailed simulations—at a price.
- Projection Lab is another alternative, featuring a slightly lower cost and offering Monte Carlo results even in its free tier. While both platforms are forward-looking and flexible, Boldin edges ahead in depth and professional advisor access.
Final Verdict
Boldin earns a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars for its robust design, analytical depth, and focus on comprehensive retirement forecasting. It’s best suited for individuals who want to:
- Understand how different life choices affect long-term outcomes
- Run detailed simulations to measure retirement readiness
- Access unbiased, fee-only financial advice
Although it has a modest learning curve and a higher cost than free tools, Boldin delivers a professional-grade planning experience that empowers users to make confident, data-driven financial decisions.
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