Helpful Apps for Retirement Planning

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A couple using retirement planning apps on their couch

Whether you’re planning your retirement or already enjoying it, you’ve no doubt discovered that when it comes to planning and tracking, retirement is far from simple. Fortunately, whatever is occupying your mind at the moment, there are plenty of apps for retirement planning to help. Easy-to-use apps and online tools offer help with everything from estimating your retirement benefits to tracking Medicare and staying healthy. 

The following apps give an overview of what’s available and can be found on Google Play or in the Apple App Store. Before downloading or sharing any personal information over the internet, it’s always sound to vet the app’s source and make sure it’s secure and legitimate. 

Financial Planning and Tracking 

These apps gather your investments in one location, so it’s easier to manage and track your investments’ progress.

Personal Capital tracks and helps you manage your entire portfolio for free. It also offers financial tools, including a net worth calculator, fee analyzer, and investment checkup tool. Even personal guidance from affordable, registered financial advisors is available.  

 Other retirement planning apps worth considering include Betterment, Wealthfront, and Stash.  

Estimating Social Security Retirement Benefits  

An excellent first step to getting a handle on your retirement finances is understanding how much Social Security benefit you can count on.

The Social Security Administration’s official website offers an online Retirement Benefits Estimator that helps you calculate your monthly benefit amount based on your actual Social Security earnings record. It also estimates how your benefit can increase or decrease depending on the year you plan to retire.  

Finding a Reputable Financial Advisor  

SmartAsset is an online tool that can help you find up to three local fiduciary advisors through its SmartAdvisor program. You can also book an appointment for an introductory interview.  

Saving Money and Budgeting 

Living on a fixed income is challenging. Qapital boasts it makes saving money fun. This app helps you save and budget effectively and enables you to control overspending with little stress or effort. It’s free for 30 days, after which you can choose a monthly payment option ranging from $3 to $12 a month.  

The AARP website and mobile app give you easy access to member’s-only offers and discounts like 10% off popular hotels or restaurant chains and 35% off car rentals. You will also enjoy their invaluable travel, health, and technology tips. The app makes it easy to become a member or renew, and it always has a digital version of the membership card at hand. 

Staying Healthy 

The website and free mobile app through myfitnesspal.com help you eat more mindfully and easily track your meals and exercise activity to lose weight and get fit. The app offers a searchable food database of more than 5 million items and a barcode scanner so you can make smart choices whether you’re at the store, at home, or at a restaurant.  

Yoga helps improve strength, balance, and flexibility and encourages peace of mind. The PocketYoga mobile app recreates the experience of being in a yoga studio no matter where you are and lets you practice at your own skill level. Want to know what the caterpillar pose looks like? PocketYoga includes a comprehensive and searchable pose dictionary.  

Monitoring Your Medicare Coverage and Costs  

Most people underestimate what their health care expenses can be when they retire. Available on Google Play, and the Apple App Store, Medicare’s free “What’s Covered” mobile app provides general cost, coverage, and eligibility details for items and services covered by Medicare Part A and Part B right to your smartphone. You can also get a list of covered preventive services. 

Making Travel Plans 

Skyscanner’s website and free mobile app help you easily search for and book flights. You can even customize your search to eliminate layovers and red-eye flights. And with COVID still a factor, Skyscanner gives you details about testing measures and travel requirements for every country. 

If you want to enjoy a city from a local’s perspective, Localeur’s website offers that POV into more than 200 cities around the world. A vast community of local insiders and specialists provides invaluable tips on where to eat and drink, what to do, and what not to miss.  

Whether you’re driving around at home or away, the Waze navigation mobile app can get where you’re going faster by passing along real-time feedback from Waze drivers out on the road. If there’s a traffic jam looming, Waze will suggest ways to get around it. In addition to directions, you’ll get alerts about traffic conditions, potholes, even police up ahead. It even has a carpool feature if you’re up for ride-sharing. 

Keeping Track of all Your Passwords

Internet passwords are so vital and yet so irritating because you need so many of them. LastPass keeps your passwords, addresses, credit cards, and important data safe in a secure vault, yet the info is easily accessible whenever you need it. LastPass even automatically fills in the info you need. 

This is just a sample of the kinds of apps you can use as a retirement planning and living resource. If you don’t see an app that fits your need here, that doesn’t mean it’s not out there. Chances are an online search will turn up just what you’re looking for.  

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