Learning Center

Getting Started 7

• Getting Started
• Getting Started Video Series
• Finding Help
• Setting Up Your Family
• Importing Social Security History from SSA.gov

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Quick Start Video Guides 2

• Quick Start Guide - MaxiFi Settings & Assumptions
• Quick Start Guide - Roth Conversion Optimizer

Basic Concepts 11

• Two Approaches and Two Purposes to Planning (why be so cautious?)
• Maximizing Your Plan
• Today’s Dollars vs Nominal Dollars
• What is Fixed Spending?
• Discretionary Spending

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Understanding Reports 12

• Lifetime Balance Sheet
• Regular Asset Saving Plan Report
• Understanding Your Report
• Alternative Profiles and Comparison Reports
• Updating Your Data and Rerunning Your Base Plan

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Video Tutorials 11

• Roth Conversion Optimizer
• Roth Conversions
• MaxiFi Walkthrough
• Reading Reports
• The Retirement Date

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Larry's Podcasts 11

• Economics-Based Financial Planning -- Larry Kotlikoff's Presentation to Wade Pfau's Retirement Income Institute
• Former Airforce Pilots, Mark and Kara Brandt, Talk Landing their Finances With MaxiFi
• Using MaxiFi to do Estate Planning
• Kevin Esler is Back with an Improved Version of TipsLadder.com
• In Depth Conversation with Wade Pfau on Retirement Planning

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Larry's Substack Articles 30

• Use MaxiFi Planner to Produce an Actual Retirement Smile, Not a Bad Guess or a Grimace
• Let MaxiFi Raise Your Estate for Free!
• Beware of AI's Social Security "Advice"
• Genuine versus Artificial Intelligence
• Why AI Can't Get Real Financial Planning Right

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Basics 10

• Inflation and Rate of Return Data
• How long will this take?
• What will the report look like if I leave names blank?
• I add up the yearly numbers but they don't match the lifetime totals. Why?
• Why do you ask about child disability?

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Earnings and Pensions 13

• How do I know if a pension is covered or non-covered?
• Should my military pension be entered as a non-covered pension?
• Why does my pension amount decrease every year when it should be inflation adjusted?
• What if I don't have access to my deceased or divorced spouse's past covered earnings?
• What If I'm past my full retirement age (FRA) but the software is asking for my estimated retirement benefit at my FRA?

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Social Security 23

• What are the different types of Social Security benefits?
• How does the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 affect me?
• What are Childhood Disability Benefits (CDB), Social Security Disability Benefits (DIB) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits?
• For benefit amounts or estimates, do you want the gross benefit amount before deductions?
• What do you mean by past covered earnings?

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Maximized Social Security Report 11

• How do I ensure I'll actually file as intended?
• Do you account for lost earnings on investments I sell to allow me to delay filing for benefits?
• How do I apply for Social Security benefits?
• Can the software's estimates match AnyPIA's estimates if I'm under age 62?
• Why does the software show one spouse claiming before their FRA and suspending soon after?

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Pro Features 1

• How do I customize the report cover page?

Glossary 14

• Child's Benefits
• Covered Earnings
• Disability Benefits
• Earnings Deduction
• Earnings Test

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Field-Specific Help 4

• Growth Rate
• Non-Covered Pensions and Retirement Accounts
• Pension Percent Inflation Indexing
• What-If (Planned) Benefit Filing Dates

Basics 24

• MaxiFi New Year Update Guide
• How are inflation rate and nominal rate of return determined and used in MaxiFi?
• Why does the maximum age of life default to 100?
• End of Year
• Cares Act

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Insurance 6

• How can I purchase a life insurance plan that decreases every year to match these numbers?
• How did you come up with the life insurance coverage amount?
• What if I don't see any life insurance recommendations?
• How are Medicare Part B premiums calculated?
• How do I enter Long Term Care (LTC) policy premium?

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Special Data Entry 16

• Special Expenses and Receipts
• Special Data Fields
• Medicare B
• Rates of Return
• Capital Gains and Qualified Dividends

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Housing and Real Estate 10

• Mortgage, property tax, homeowners insurance
• One year in my plan has a large negative number in the Housing column, why is that?
• Is my mortgage eligible for the higher pre-TCJA interest deduction limit?
• How do I see the impact of paying off a mortgage early?
• How do I model moving into a home I now rent?

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Spending 9

• Why does my annual discretionary spending amount go up? I thought it was supposed to be the same every year.
• One year in my plan has a large negative number in the Total Spending column. Why?
• How do I leave an inheritance for kids?
• What is Per-Adult Living Standard and how is it calculated?
• How are the adult equivalents for various combinations of adults and children calculated?

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Assets 8

• How do you handle tax advantages of 529 plans?
• Mid-year and end of year changes to your plan
• How are regular assets and retirement assets accounted for in the reports?
• How can I treat unrealized long term capital gains in regular assets?
• How do reserve funds work?

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Retirement Accounts 13

• How do I change when retirement withdrawals start?
• Why are there retirement withdrawals before the date I set?
• Do you account for Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)?
• Why is there a large negative net addition to my retirement accounts in one year and then no more assets?
• How does the program help me use a Roth account?

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Glossary 16

• Annuity Income
• Bequest
• Discretionary Spending
• FICA Taxes
• Fixed Spending

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Field-Specific Help 22

• Annual Increase
• Annual Living Standard Index
• Annuity Growth Rate
• Annuity: Certain Years
• Annuity: Net Cost

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Screen Guides 16

• Current/Future Earnings Screen
• Pension Screen
• Annuities Screen
• Social Security Record Screen
• Special Receipts Screen

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How To's 7

• How do I change marital status?
• How to import past covered earnings
• How to see the impact of a cut in Social Security benefits
• How to Adjust or Disable Life Insurance
• Modeling Term Life Insurance in Survivor Reports

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Managing Your Subsciption 5

• Managing Your Subscription
• Cancelling Your MaxiFi Subscription
• How to Remove a Cancellation
• Re-Subscribe to MaxiFi
• Upgrading from MaxiFi Standard to MaxiFi Premium

Living Standard Monte Carlo 22

• How are inflation rate and safe rates of return used in Monte Carlo Risk Analysis?
• What is the MaxiFi Comfort Index?
• Exploring Sequence of Return Risk
• Setting up Monte Carlo
• Manage Assets and Investment Strategies

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Contingency Planning 7

• Contingency Planning
• How do contingency settings affect my plan?
• How do contingency settings work for retirement age?
• How do contingency settings work for retirement account contributions?
• How do contingency settings work for future earnings?

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Sample Families 4

• Sample Family Overview
• Sample - Married Family
• Sample - Single Family
• Sample - John Samuels (Roth Conversion Optimizer)

Reading Sample Married Reports 7

• Reading Sample Married Family--Move to New State
• Reading Sample Married Family--Maximize the Base
• Reading Base Plan Maximized--Fix Constraint
• Reading Sample Plan--Future Special Expenses
• Reading Sample Family--Roth Conversion

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Account and Billing Management 7

• Managing Your MMSS Subscription
• How to Reset Your Password
• Do you automatically renew my subscription?
• How do I renew my subscription?
• Can you tell me a little more about the Expert Review?

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License Questions 2

• Can others in my financial planning office use this software?
• Can I use the household version to help my friends?

Security and Privacy 1

• Is my data secure?

Compatibility 2

• Will your software work on my iPad, tablet, phone, or other mobile device?
• What operating systems (Mac, Windows, etc.) does your software work on?

Troubleshooting 1

• Troubleshooting Login Problems

Features and Benefits 8

• How Does MaxiFi Differ From My Current Financial Planning Tool?
• Is MaxiFi up to date with the latest tax law changes?
• Can MaxiFi help me if I’m nowhere near retirement?
• Can MaxiFi help me if I’m already retired?
• Does MaxiFi include investment or portfolio analysis?

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Organizations and Family Sharing 7

• Organizations and Family Sharing Overview
• Set Up an Organization
• Invite Members to Join an Organization
• Remove a Member from your Organization
• Change access level for members of an Organization

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