These links leave this site and open official pages in a new tab. Nothing you've typed here goes with you.
Answer a few questions about your job, your savings, and your Social Security. We'll show you every combination of retirement age and Social Security age β and which ones your money can handle.
π Everything stays on your phone or computer. Nothing you type is sent anywhere. How your entries are stored
This is version one, and it will get better with your help. What confused you? What didn't match your situation? What's missing? A couple of sentences is plenty.
π Answer a short anonymous survey β no name or email asked; opens in a new tab.
βοΈ Email your thoughts β opens your mail app with the subject filled in.
Please don't include account numbers or anything private in feedback. Your planner entries are never sent β only what you choose to write.
I created this tool as the spouse of a small-town postmaster nearing retirement. Weβve tried online calculators, general financial advice and a conglomeration of spreadsheets to hone in on the decisions of when to retire, and when to start drawing Social Security. The decisions are not simple, and along with other factors in a person or a coupleβs overall financial picture, the factors to consider in the calculations go beyond assumptions that the longer you wait to retire and the longer you wait to start drawing Social Security, the better off you will be.
The definition of βbetter offβ is very specific and personal, and goes beyond finances β especially with postal jobs that can take a real toll on the physical body, particularly in those years leading up to retirement. But there is no question that having more information about your own finances will help you make other decisions, and may open up possibilities you might not have considered or thought would apply to you.
We have found that to be the case. Small changes in income, savings rates and ways to save, and those break-even points that used to be just about all anyone had to make sense of the true implications of drawing SS early vs. later, can make a really almost puzzling amount of difference in some scenarios, and an equally puzzling lack of real difference in other scenarios.
A word about the edges. When one retirement age barely runs out at 100 and the next one finishes with money to spare, that is not a cliff you must clear β itβs two plans within one year of each other on the same line, and the tool now says so when it happens. Please donβt work an extra year, or start Social Security a year later, because of a number 30 years out. Use those close calls the other way around: they tell you the plan is sensitive to timing, which means small, steady changes you can make now β spending a little less, saving a little more β move it just as much. Look for margin and direction, not the exact edge. And remember the assumptions are deliberately conservative, so a close call is more likely to work out than not.
So enter your numbers, and play around with the things you can do β save a little more, spend a little less, spend a little or a lot more at a planned later date β and see what it does to the numbers and the retirement dates.
A note about me: I am not a financial planner. Use this tool to try different scenarios and discuss them with your own financial planner. Compare them with the tools and processes you have previously used to plan. Verify any big or strange differences with a professional advisor. Send me feedback through the Feedback button and Iβll continue to hone and refine this tool.
About the AI I use to build and update this: This tool was built using Claude Code running its highest current model, Fable 5. It uses standard and publicly available information from USPS, IRS, SSA and other sources β all accessible through the little i button beside nearly everything β wrapped in an accessible user interface that I tried to make as streamlined as possible. What started out in my mind as a very simple tool has quickly evolved into a rich set of tools for truly honing in on your own retirement wishes and details. The siteβs tools will evolve based on feedback and any laws or regulations that may change.
Your basic USPS work history. Your High-3 salary is on your latest annuity estimate from LiteBlue or HR.
Use one recent earnings statement (every-two-weeks numbers, just as printed). Overtime in that check is fine β we sort out basic pay from the TSP line.
Your TSP balance is at tsp.gov or on your quarterly statement.
π Yes, growth is counted: we assume TSP earns 7%/yr while you work and 4%/yr once retired, and other savings earn 4%/yr. Change these in the advanced settings.
Log in at ssa.gov/myaccount and open your Statement. It lists your estimated monthly benefit at different ages.
You've already started Social Security (entered in step 1) β nothing to fill in here. If your spouse hasn't started theirs, step 8 covers that.
Nobody spends evenly through retirement β the early "go-go" years (travel, projects, grandkids) usually cost more than the quieter years later, when most of us stay closer to home and live more simply. Enter what a typical month looks like in each stretch, in today's dollars β the math converts everything to future dollars for you. Only the first box is required; leave any box blank to keep the same amount as the stretch before. Don't count loan payments β those go in step 5 so they can stop when a loan is paid off.
Loans you're still paying on. We add the payments to your spending until each one is paid off, and subtract what's owed when we show your net worth. Leave rows blank if they don't apply.
Credit cards, personal loans, family loans, a second car β anything with a monthly payment. Leave the year blank and we'll estimate it from the balance and payment.
Cars wear out, kitchens age, travel calls, kids get help. Plan the big one-time costs here so the numbers stay honest. Enter today's prices β the math adjusts them for inflation to the year you pick. "Cash" means it's paid from savings that year; "borrow" spreads monthly loan payments over the term instead.
Leave rows blank if they don't apply. Borrowing uses the interest rate in the advanced settings (7% unless you change it). Try a purchase in different years or cash vs. borrowing and watch how the plan reacts β that's what this section is for.
Side work, self-employment, rental income β money the two of you expect to keep earning in retirement. Skip it if there's none.
Here's what you've told us so far. Give it a once-over β if something looks off, fix it above.
Each box tries one plan: retire at the age on the left, start Social Security at the age on top. The number is how long your money lasts. Yellow means close call either way β read those for margin and direction, not the exact edge. Tap any box to see its details below.
Starts this year and runs to the end of the plan. Rows before you retire show your paycheck covering the bills, with what goes into (or comes out of) savings. Balances are what's left at the end of each year, in future dollars.
What's stored, and where. To save you retyping, the numbers you enter are kept in this browser's own storage on this device β not on any server, and never sent anywhere. Nothing you type includes your name, Social Security number, or account numbers. On a shared or borrowed device, turn saving off or clear your entries when you're done.
Terms, in plain English. Route2Retirement is a free educational tool made by and for postal workers. It gives rough estimates from the numbers you enter and standard assumptions; it is not financial, tax, or legal advice, and it can be wrong. Nothing here is a promise about what you'll receive from FERS, TSP, or Social Security β confirm those with HR/OPM, tsp.gov, and ssa.gov, and talk to a qualified planner before deciding. It's provided as-is, without warranty; you use it at your own risk. Not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Postal Service, OPM, or the Social Security Administration.