Boldin (Formerly NewRetirement) Review: Pros And Cons

Boldin, formerly NewRetirement, is a retirement planner tool that can help you build your path to financial independence, set retirement savings goals, and maximize your estate.

While building a financial plan can often be expensive, Boldin offers their most popular online tools for free. And if you feel like you need extra help from a human being, you can pay for one-time or ongoing support from a Boldin Advisors CFP®.

But it should be noted that Boldin doesn't actually manage any of their member's investments. So their financial planning options are meant to complement, rather than replace, your current stock broker or robo-advisor. Find out more about how Boldin works in our full review.

Who Is Boldin?

What Do They Offer?

Boldin has two main plans for customers to choose from when planning out and managing their retirement. Many people will find that the free plan does most of what they need. It includes the all-important retirement calculator and score.

Also, you can upgrade at any time to the paid plan as your needs change. In addition to the two main subscriptions, you can also purchase one-off services from Boldin. Here's a closer look at what it offers.

Planner — Free

This is the free plan and allows you to create a personalized retirement plan. In 5 to 10 minutes, you’ll be able to fill out Boldin's intake form and get an analysis of your retirement.

Data is collected using a conversational format that seamlessly guides you through inputs. The analysis will forecast your retirement income vs. expenses – factoring in Social Security, any pension, part-time work, RMDs (Required Minimum Distributions), and taxes.

After Biden signed the Omnibus Spending Bill in late December 2022, there are changes to watch out for, specifically for RMD ages on projected income, taxes, and Roth conversion strategies. It will impact how you may affect your finances moving forward.

RMD changes are as follows:

If you are born:

• Before Jan. 1, 1951, your RMDs have already started and nothing changes
• Between Jan. 1, 1951 and Dec. 31, 1959, then your RMDs must start at age 73 
• After Jan. 1, 1960, then your RMDs will begin at age 75

The Boldin Planner helps you make better decisions about your money and help you understand the impact of the new RMD ages. You can use the Boldin Planner to: 

• See projected RMDs for each year on the Lifetime Income Projections chart, Savings Insights, and/or Income & Expenses Insights
• PlannerPlus users can use Tax Insights to assess the impact of RMDs on tax thresholds
• Assess Roth conversion strategies with Roth Conversion Explorer tool

You can also do scenario comparisons, which helps you makes better decisions with a side-by-side analysis of 2 to 3 scenarios or projections.

Examples:

• What is your estate value in a worst vs. a best case scenario?
• Will you run out of money if you buy the lake house?  
• What are the tax implications of moving to Arizona? 
• What are the income differences if you retire at 50, 60, or 65? 

You can then make decisions about better opportunities using what-if modeling. You’ll also receive a retirement score, which lets you know at a glance how efficient and optimized your retirement plan is. Get started with Boldin's free plan.

Boldin continues to roll out new features every few weeks. And while it doesn't currently have a dedicated mobile app, it says that each of its updates are mobile- and tablet-friendly. Most recently, it added new graphs, an updated goals section, an easy way to update account balances, and the ability to exclude certain accounts from your default withdrawal strategy.

PlannerPlus — $120/year)

PlannerPlus includes everything in the free plan. But for $120 per year, you can access to a lot more functionality. Here's all the extra features that Boldin packs in to their PlannerPlus tier.

• Multiple Scenarios: Run scenarios for 15 different variables like your savings rate, your social security start age, your investment returns, and more.
• Detailed Charting & Printable Reports: Get greater insight into your plan so you can discover opportunities and make better decisions.
• Plan Monitoring and Alerts: Boldin will monitor your plan and alert you to big risks, oversights, and options to improve your plan.
• Budgeting: Budgeter will help you achieve more reliable projections, improved tax planning abilities and better asset and income strategies.
• Tax Modeling: Model Roth conversions and withdrawals to stay below marginal tax rates. Recent updates to the Roth Conversion Explorer tool allow users to identify opportunities for Roth Conversions in the current year. 
• Manage Your Healthcare Costs: Research and choose the right Medicare Plan and related insurance.
• Increase & secure your income: Model smart withdrawals, annuities, and pensions.
• Inspector: Make a reasonable estimate of your total lifetime out of pocket medical spending after age 65.
• Explorers: Let the planner suggest how to optimize your plan against a goal, such as how to maximize your Social Security Benefit, estate value and withdrawal strategy.
• Expert Help: Get suggestions from the Coach or access a Certified Financial Planner who is completely aligned with you.

PlannerPlus members also get unlimited product support. You can try PlannerPlus for 14 days before you’ll be charged. It’s a risk-free trial, so If you cancel within the 14-day trial period, you won’t be charged anything.

Services

Want to work one-on-one with a financial advisor to develop a plan or make sure that the plan you have is still the right for your needs and goals? If so, you may want to schedule a "Live" or "Advisor" session. Here's what they offer.

Live — Starting At $250

Live allows you to work with a coach to check your plan and discuss financial questions on your mind. You can use these sessions to:

• Configure your plan for accuracy
• Confirm that your plan is on track
• Answer your PlannerPlus questions
• Discuss criteria to make decisions

Your coach can teach you how to use the PlannerPlus tool, educate you on financial strategies, and provide all the information you need to make informed decisions for your future.

Advisor — $1650 On Average

Get access to a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) (rather than a coach), who can help you customize your retirement plan and provide advice.

Note that Boldin doesn’t manage investment or retirement accounts so you aren’t charged based on assets under management (AUM). The advisor option is fee-only and you’ll know exactly what the advisor fee is upfront. 

Live Events

Boldin also regularly hosts live demos, Q&A sessions, and "Ask Me Anything (AMA)" webinars about specific topics. For example, when we visited Boldin's site, it had upcoming AMAs about "Donor-Advised Funds and Roth Conversions" and "Solo 401ks."

To view all of Boldin's upcoming live events, visit this page.

Are There Any Fees?

Not for the free plan. The paid plan costs $120/year, and access to a fiduciary Certified Financial Planner costs $1650 on average, depending on the services you use. 

How Does Boldin Compare?

Boldin isn't the only company that offers digital financial planning tools and retirement calculators. There are several other companies that offer similar tools including Savology and Personal Capital.

Savology's model is most similar to Boldin's in that it doesn't actually manage assets and it has both a free and paid plan that costs $120 per year. But the main difference is that the Savology "Plus" plan includes live chat with coaches.

Like Boldin and Savology, Empower offers a huge number of calculators, analyzers, and savings tools. But unlike the other two sites, Empower can also manage your assets for an advisory fee of 0.89% (for the first $1 million). Here's a quick look at how Boldin compares:

How Do I Open An Account?

Visit the Boldin website to open an account online.

Is It Worth It?

While there are other retirement planning and money management tools available, Boldin takes a straightforward, simple approach to help you plan for retirement. Just about everything you need to plan for retirement comes with the free plan. And you can upgrade at any time if, and when, you feel like it.

Unlike other websites, Boldin also won’t bombard you with upsell phone calls or emails. And their retirement score and dashboard visuals are unlike any other retirement planners on the market. 

However, since Boldin doesn't offer wealth management services, you'll need to take it upon yourself to implement their investing advice. If you're comfortable with buying and selling investments yourself on a discount stock broker's platform, that might not be a problem. But if you prefer a more hands-off investing approach, a low-cost robo-advisor may be a better fit.

Boldin FAQs

Let's answer a few common questions that people ask about Boldin:

Does Boldin have an app?

Not yet, but all of its financial planning tools are optimized for mobile browsers.

How many inputs can Boldin's planner evaluate?

Boldin's free planner can consider up to 100 inputs while PlannerPlus can handle 250+ inputs.

Is Boldin secure?

Yes, it uses 128-bit encryption for its servers, never sells user data, and uses Plaid (a popular and highly-trusted financial technology platform) to link to its users' financial accounts.

Does Boldin make money when you choose certain investments?

No, Boldin ever assumes management of its customers' assets. Therefore, it has no vested interest in the investments they choose.

Boldin Features