Overview
Clients often plan for different spending levels throughout retirement. For example:
Higher spending in early retirement (travel, lifestyle)
Reduced spending in later years
Expenses during specific periods
In Planworth, the recommended approach is to:
Set the Retirement Spending goal to the lowest long-term spending level.
Use Recurring Major Expense toggles to model increases in spending.
This structure keeps projections clean and ensures spending phases are clearly defined.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Set the Baseline Retirement Spending
Under Assumptions, set the Retirement Spending amount to the minimum level the client expects to maintain long term. This represents the steady-state spending floor.
Step 2: Add Spending Increases
To model higher spending during specific periods:
Go to the left-side Toggle panel.
Click to create a new toggle.
Step 3: Configure the Toggle
Category: Income / Expense
Toggle Type: Major Expense
Enter the annual amount of additional spending for that interval.
Note: The amount entered represents the annual expense.
Step 4: Make the Expense Recurring
Turn on “Recurring” to ensure the expense repeats annually.
Once Recurring is enabled:
Set the frequency (typically annual)
Define the start and end dates for the interval
This determines how long the increased spending applies.
What Happens in the Plan
Once saved:
The additional spending will appear during the specified interval.
When hovering over the applicable years in the cash flow chart, you will see the increased total spending reflected.
This method allows you to clearly model phased retirement spending without changing the core retirement goal.