Methodology
Learn about Income Lab's planning philosophy and how the Income Lab engine manages data
Why are portfolio withdrawals lower than expected in a joint plan with cash flows that change when a spouse dies?
Discover the reasons behind lower than expected portfolio withdrawals in joint plans with changing cash flows upon a spouse's death....
Why is the Final Portfolio Balance (legacy) so High in Life Hub and the Tax Lab?
Discover the factors behind the high Final Portfolio Balance in Life Hub and Tax Lab....
Average Historical Returns
This article reviews the average historical returns used in Income Lab....
What Asset Classes are used for Returns in the 1800s or early 1900s?
Discover the historical asset classes utilized for returns in the 1800s and early 1900s....
How does Income Lab handle longevity planning?
Learn about longevity planning, plan length, and mortality risk in Income Lab plans....
How does Income Lab create its default capital market assumptions?
This article explains how Income Lab calculates default capital market assumptions for each analysis type....
How does the "Age-Based" income path work?
This article will explain how the "Age-Based" income path functions....
How is Inflation Handled in Income Lab?
This article explains how Income Lab handles inflation and how users can adjust inflation assumptions....
What indices does Income Lab use to model asset class returns?
This article will explain the indices used in Income Lab to model asset class returns....
How are Portfolio Withdrawals Calculated?
This article will review how portfolio withdrawals are calculated in Income Lab....
How are a Plan's Guardrails and Spending Capacity Calculated?
Learn how Income Lab calculates a plan's guardrails and spending capacity. ...
How are average returns and standard deviation calculated?
See how average returns and standard deviations are calculated in the app and what settings affect these values....
How are net-of-fee returns calculated?
Returns and fees are calculated using monthly compounding. This can produce a lower than expected net-of-fee return....
How does asset allocation modeling work in Income Lab?
Things to consider when establishing asset allocations in Income Lab plans...
What is the difference between real and nominal?
Both real and nominal views account for inflation. Real keeps purchasing power constant. Nominal shows the effect of values rising due to inflation....
Why are growth and inflation different than expected in the first year of a plan?
Unless it is currently January, the software knows that less than 12 months of inflation and returns are ahead in the current year....
Why does my plan switch from Historical to Monte Carlo?
Learn why your financial plan may switch from historical data analysis to Monte Carlo simulation...
Tax Lab methodology
Learn about the methodology used to produce the tax analyses shown in the Tax Lab?...
How do Income Lab's Monte Carlo simulations model the distribution of returns and inflation?
Learn how Income Lab's Monte Carlo simulations accurately map out return and inflation distributions....
Guardrails in Retirement Stress Test and Tracked & Monitored Plans
Learn about why you may see guardrails adjust throughout a plan....
Navigating Mortality Risk in Retirement Planning
A comprehensive guide to understanding mortality risk in retirement planning, exploring how life expectancy and potential income changes can impact financial strategies for couples....
Explain the Tax Treatment and Inflation Treatment types for a plan's Non-Portfolio Income Streams and Expenses
Tax treatment and Income Treatment have a large impact on plans...
Are Income Lab guardrails based on Guyton-Klinger guardrails?
Income Lab guardrails are not the same as Guyton-Klinger guardrails. Income Lab guardrails are "risk-based" and much more powerful and accurate than static withdrawal-rate-only guardrails....
Modeling Cash Inheritances in an Income Lab plan
Enter a projected inheritance as a tax-free lump sum item in the Other Income part of a plan....
Account Types
View the list of account types that can be included in a plan and the options that are available for each account type....