Who's in your plan

LongSpan works out everyone’s age in every year of your plan. A lot of the rules that shape your money change with age, so the forecast follows them as you get there:

• Catch-up contributions. From 50, you can put more into a 401(k), IRA and similar accounts each year.
• Penalty-free withdrawals. From 59½, money comes out of a 401(k) or traditional IRA without the 10% early-withdrawal penalty. An HSA opens up for any spending at 65.
• Required withdrawals. From 73, or 75 if you were born in 1960 or later, LongSpan takes the minimum the law requires from tax-deferred accounts each year.
• Social Security and retirement. Each starts in the year you reach the age you choose for it, later in setup.

This is how you file your federal tax return. It sets the brackets and standard deduction LongSpan uses to work out your taxes in every year.

Most married couples file jointly. If you’re not sure, use the status on last year’s return. You can change it whenever you like.

LongSpan charges your state’s income tax in every year of your plan, using that state’s own brackets.

Nine states have no state income tax, and LongSpan charges none there: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.

The state is optional. Leave it blank and LongSpan leaves out state income tax altogether, so your forecast may look a little better than it will be. If you’re planning a move, you can add it on the Assumptions step, and LongSpan switches states in the year you go.

Turn on Plan together with a partner and add their name and birth date. LongSpan then plans for both of you, with each of your accounts, incomes and retirement ages in one forecast.

Turning it off later takes your partner out of the plan without deleting anything you entered, so it’s all there if you turn it back on.

Add each child, or anyone else you support, with the year they were born. LongSpan shows how old they are now and the years they’d be in college, assuming 4 years starting at 18.

Those years don’t add a cost on their own. If you’re saving in a 529, you set the college plan for that account on the Accounts step: when it starts, how long it lasts and what it costs. LongSpan then pays the bills from the account as they come due.