Larry's Substack Articles

Substack articles on various topics by Larry Kotlikoff

Why AI Can't Get Real Financial Planning Right
First, LLMs can do conventional financial planning (CP). No surprise. CP is a keep-it-simple sales pitch with a mathematical veneer. It’s not real financial...
Wed, 25 Mar, 2026 at 10:19 PM
Genuine versus Artificial Intelligence
AI Will Eat Conventional Financial Planning’s Lunch, but Not MaxiFi’s. When it Comes to Economics-Based Planning, AI is Hopeless and Truly Dangerous to your...
Wed, 25 Mar, 2026 at 10:19 PM
Beware of AI's Social Security "Advice"
Getting Social Security's 22K Pages of Rules Precisely Right is Critical to Your Retirement. Asking AI to Guess What's Best Based Largely on Wall St...
Tue, 28 Apr, 2026 at 8:24 AM
Let MaxiFi Raise Your Estate for Free!
John Doe is a 65-year-old retired widower. He lives where he was born — in Winona, Minnesota. John joined the military after high school, served for 20 year...
Tue, 28 Apr, 2026 at 8:27 AM
Use MaxiFi Planner to Produce an Actual Retirement Smile, Not a Bad Guess or a Grimace
David Blanchette is Prudential’s Head of Retirement Research. He’s a widely respected retirement-planning guru (and a past guest on Economics Matters). In 2...
Mon, 18 May, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Roth Conversions Based on Wall St.'s/AI's Rules of Dumb Can Lose You a Bundle
Why Finding the Optimal Roth Conversion Plan is So Complex There are seven different lifetime tax reductions arising from Roth conversions. First, there’s ...
Mon, 27 Jul, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Don't Borrow for College!
Use MaxiFi Planner to choose your college, pick your major, and avoid student debt Read the full article here. 
Thu, 30 Jul, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Rob Berger's Off-Base Response to My Comparison of MaxiFi and Boldin
Rob doesn’t prescribe specific financial moves. But he does recommend specific financial tools — tools that, in some cases, promote financial behavior and d...
Thu, 30 Jul, 2026 at 5:00 PM