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Dividend.com: Retirement Center
It’s often said that it’s never too early to begin retirement planning. This is especially true for investors with lofty income and lifestyle goals.
If you want to live out your golden years in style and comfort rather than just scraping by, it’s time to apply proven investing rationale to your retirement portfolio. When it comes to investing, knowledge is power. The following apps help you take that same approach to retirement planning.
Before you begin, be sure to check out a comprehensive list of the top free and paid investment tools available on the internet.
Rank | App Name | Downloads | Platform(s) | Best Features | Reviews | Pricing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Vanguard | ~1M | Online, Android & iOS | Investment app geared toward retirement when used with online Retirement Nest Egg and Retirement Income Calculator; easily manage account activity; trade financial assets in retirement accounts. | Highly recommended for investors; complete retirement investing solution; free Nest Egg Calculator helps people who are nearing retirement set up the right portfolio. | Free |
2 | Mint | ~10M | Android & iOS | Comparative projection tool for various retirement accounts; powerful charting tools; automatic categorization. | Easy to use and access format; easy for money management; worthwhile for more than just retirement planning. | Free |
3 | RetirePlan | 0.005M | iOS (iPad) | Outcome-based app that allows users to compare various retirement outcomes; results compiled on spreadsheet; comprehensive savings tool. | Comprehensive, detailed and easy to use; responsive updates; sophisticated without being overly complicated. | $6.99 |
4 | Financial Calculators | 1M | Android & iOS | Extensive selection of calculators for retirement, savings and payments; retirement savings analysis; stock return calculator and financial planner. | Complete solution; easy to use for quickly crunching numbers; simple interface; great for evaluating financial opportunities. | Free |
5 | Retirement Outlook Estimator | 0.01M | Android & iOS | In-depth financial data at a glance; imports banking information; data is easily compiled into a budget. | Provides a near-painless budgeting process; simple to understand and apply; easy to search transactions; in-depth graphical analysis. | Free |
Investors need no introduction to Vanguard, which is one of the world’s largest investment companies with more than $3.5 trillion in global assets. Vanguard is a company of tremendous resources, and for that reason can offer premium retirement planning tools free of charge. Vanguard boasts one of the best mobile apps in the financial industry; combined with its free online Nest Egg Calculator, it also makes one of the best retirement planners.
Best Features: Vanguard offers two of the best retirement income calculators on the market. The Retirement Nest Egg Calculator provides an easy method for aligning your retirement goals with the realities of your financial health. The Retirement Income Calculator then helps you estimate how much income you’ll need to achieve your lifestyle goals during retirement. The calculators rely on statistically rigorous calculations using a Monte Carlo analysis to determine the probability you’ll achieve your income goals in retirement. These features may prove sufficient without the mobile app should you choose not to open a Vanguard account.
Pricing: Free (online calculators and mobile app)
Demographic: The retirement calculators can be used by anyone in the initial or advanced planning stages of their retirement. The mobile app is geared toward active investors and Vanguard account holders.
Platform(s): Online, Android & iOS
How to use Vanguard
Mint is one of the most popular financial budgeting tools on the market. Its capabilities extend far beyond simple tracking and analysis; it is a complete financial planning app that helps investors compare and monitor the outcomes of their investment and retirement portfolios.
Best Features: Mint allows investors to compare projections for investing in various retirement accounts, including a 401(k), Roth 401(k), Roth IRA or traditional IRA. The app also allows investors to link various financial accounts and credit cards, providing a central repository for financial transactions. The tool provides an attractive, colorful layout with detailed transactions of incomes and outlays.
Pricing: Free
Demographic Base: Dividend investors, early- to mid-career professionals pursuing lifestyle goals or early retirement.
Platform(s): Android & iOS
How to use Mint
RetirePlan has more exclusivity than the other platforms since it is only available on the Apple iPad. The app is designed to help users answer questions about retirement, including “When can I retire?” and “How much do I need to save every year?” By inputting values such as current age, expected retirement age, life expectancy and average yearly savings, users can begin to form a clearer picture of their retirement goals and what they need to do to get there.
Best Features: RetirePlan is an intuitive platform that provides no shortage of variables for answering life’s most important retirement questions. Users can control a wide variety of values from marital status all the way up to interest rates. Each change may bring about a different outcome for retirement, allowing you to plan effectively. Results are available in spreadsheet format that can be sent to your email.
Pricing: $6.99
Demographic Base: Anyone in the initial or advanced planning stage for retirement.
Platform: iOS (iPad)
How to use RetirePlan
Financial Calculators offers a myriad of investment tools geared toward both investors and consumers. It also has one of the largest selections of retirement calculators in the market, allowing investors to perform asset allocation and determine their required minimum distribution. The app is available on mobile phones and tablets, giving investors plenty of options to crunch their numbers.
Best Features: Living up to its name, this app provides seven categories of calculators, including Finance and Investment, Loan/Mortgage, Retirement, Stock, Credit Card, Auto Loan and Lease, and Miscellaneous. The Retirement category provides the following calculators:
Pricing: Free
Demographic Base: Investors planning for retirement, dividend investors, stock traders, consumers looking for a comprehensive budgeting tool.
Platform: Android & iOS
How to use Financial Calculators
In the world of mobile apps and digital devices, creativity goes a long way. That’s why Retirement Outlook Estimator (ROE) cracks our list. Rather than just give you the bare bones budgeting tools and calculators, Retirement Outlook Estimator helps you answer the following question: How close am I to meeting my retirement income goals?
Best Features: ROE cleverly provides a weather forecast for your retirement savings, giving you an intuitive, easy-to-understand snapshot of your financial health as it relates to your overall goals. By playing around with your personal income and desired outcomes, you can begin to brighten your retirement forecast. ROE isn’t the most comprehensive tool on the market, but offers something unique that investors will enjoy.
Pricing: Free
Demographic Base: Anyone in the initial or advanced planning stage for retirement.
Platform(s): Android & iOS
How to use ROE
Remember, you can supplement these and many other apps with Dividend.com’s compounding returns calculator and other online resources, such as the top 20 blogs/websites for dividend investors.
Retirement planning doesn’t have to be onerous. If you’re a dividend investor, you’re likely ahead of the curve in many respects. By complementing your investment portfolio with some of the budgeting tools provided above, you can save valuable time en route to the retirement lifestyle of your dreams.
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Make sure to read our article on budgeting apps you should know about as well.