Getting your data together

Income

Your most recent pay stub has your current gross salary and, usually, your 401(k) contribution percentage. If you're self-employed, last year's tax return (Schedule C/SE) is the fastest source for both your income and your typical business expenses.

Don't have exact numbers yet? A rough estimate is fine to start — Run Projections lets you come back and edit anything before you run it, and again afterward.

Your Social Security statement

The most accurate Social Security estimate comes from uploading your real earnings history, not from estimating years worked.

• Where to get it: go to ssa.gov/myaccount, sign in (or create a free account — takes a few minutes and requires identity verification), then open your Statement.
• What to download: look for a download link near the top of your Statement and choose the XML / data format — not the PDF. That XML file is what "I have my SSA statement" accepts, both here and on the Estimate my Social Security page.
• Don't have it handy?: "Use simplified calculation" (years worked) or "I will enter my AIME" (if you already know that figure from elsewhere) both work as a starting estimate — you can upload the real statement later and re-run.

Bank and investment accounts

For each account you plan to include, jot down these four things before you start — having them ready turns each account into a 30-second entry instead of a trip back to your bank's website mid-form:

• Institution and account name: whatever tells you apart later, e.g. "Fidelity 401(k)" or "Chase Savings" — this is just a label, it isn't sent anywhere or verified.
• Account type: which category it falls into — 401(k), Roth IRA, Traditional IRA, Brokerage, Savings, Checking, Crypto, HSA, Pension, Annuity, or Other. This drives which tax rules apply to it, so it's worth getting right.
• Current balance: today's market value, from your most recent statement or your bank/brokerage's website — doesn't need to be to the penny.
• Contribution details (retirement accounts only): your own contribution rate and, if you know it, your employer's match formula (e.g. "50% of what I contribute, up to 6% of my pay") — usually on your pay stub or your plan's benefits portal.

Monthly expenses

This is usually the hardest number to pin down from memory. Rather than guessing, use the worksheet below to total up your actual spending by category from a few recent bank/credit card statements — then enter the one grand total into "Estimated monthly expenses for household" on the form.

Prefer to fill in one file instead of the form?

RetireWell also accepts a complete profile as a CSV — every field on the form, in one plain-text file you can fill in at your own pace and upload all at once (Run Projections → "Import a file"). It's the same sample file referenced throughout the User guide.