MayRetire Tutorial

1. Introduction

MayRetire is a retirement planning application for Canadians. It helps you model retirement cash flow, withdrawals, taxes, portfolio evolution, and estate outcomes for single or couple plans.

This draft reflects the latest sections documented from current app screens and source behavior.

2. Using The Interface

• Click the ? icons for contextual help on fields and panels.
• Use panel chevrons to collapse or expand sections.
• You can work panel-by-panel; calculations use the full set of current inputs.
• For numeric fields, use + / - controls or type values directly.

3. Personal Details

_{Figure 1: Personal Details - Planning}

_{Figure 2: Personal Details - Retired}

This panel establishes the timeline and household context for the entire model. Age inputs here affect pension start logic, tax modeling, survivorship projections, and how many years your assets must support spending.

• Province or territory Select your current province or territory of residence. MayRetire applies province-specific tax brackets and credits to all annual calculations.

• Your retirement status (Planning or Retired) Use Planning when retirement has not started yet. Use Retired when it has already started. This switch changes several fields from projected values to current values so the model starts from the right baseline.

• Start retirement age (Planning mode) The age at which retirement cash-flow modeling begins.

• Your current age (Retired mode) Your age at current year-end. This helps MayRetire position your plan correctly on the timeline and apply age-triggered rules immediately.

• End planning age The final age in the projection horizon. A longer horizon usually lowers apparent plan safety unless assets/spending assumptions are adjusted.

• Planning For (Single or Couple) Chooses one-person or two-person household planning. Couple mode enables spouse timelines and tax-sharing logic used throughout the plan.

• Spouse age at your retirement age (Planning + Couple) Spouse age in the year your retirement starts. This aligns partner timelines correctly for benefits and tax treatment.

• Spouse current age (Retired + Couple) Spouse age at current year-end for in-retirement couple modeling.

• Spouse end plan age (Couple) Final projection age for spouse. Important for longevity and survivor-risk analysis.

Practical guidance:

• Use realistic longevity assumptions (many users test to age 90 to 95+).
• In couple plans, even small age differences can materially change benefit timing and taxes.
• If uncertain, start conservative, then tune after reviewing simulation, stress-test, and backtest results.

4. Government Benefits

_{Figure 3: Government Benefits - Planning}

_{Figure 4: Government Benefits - Retired (CPP/OAS started)}

This panel configures guaranteed government income from CPP/QPP and OAS for both partners (if applicable). These settings strongly influence required withdrawals, taxes, and long-run sustainability.

In couple mode, the left column is for you and the right column is for your spouse, with matching benefit fields aligned on the same row. In single mode, each applicable field expands to the full panel width.

• CPP start age Choose the age CPP/QPP starts (typically 60 to 70). Starting earlier reduces monthly income; delaying increases monthly income.

• OAS start age Choose OAS start age (typically 65 to 70). Deferral increases monthly OAS.

• CPP amount (Planning-style input) Enter your projected monthly CPP/QPP amount and then choose Estimation at: 65 | 70 | Start. Use 65 if the amount is your estimated monthly CPP at age 65. Use 70 if the amount is your estimated monthly CPP at age 70. Use Start if the amount is your estimated monthly CPP at the age you plan to start CPP. MayRetire converts this input into the correct CPP amount for both age 65 and your selected CPP start age.

• OAS at age 65 (Planning-style input) Enter projected monthly OAS at age 65. MayRetire applies start-age adjustment.

• Your current CPP / Your current OAS (Retired and already started) If benefits are already active, enter your current monthly payments instead of age-65 estimates.

• Spouse CPP/OAS fields (Couple mode) Use the same logic for spouse: start ages plus projected amounts (planning) or current amounts (retired-started). For spouse CPP, Estimation at: Start means the estimated monthly CPP at the start of your spouse’s CPP.

• CPP Sharing Enabling CPP sharing does not change total household CPP. It changes taxable attribution between spouses and can improve tax efficiency.

Practical guidance:

• Use official CPP estimates where possible.
• Do not include Post-Retirement Benefit (PRB) in the CPP amount entered here.
• PRB does not participate in CPP sharing and does not affect CPP survivor benefit calculations.
• Enter PRB separately as an Additional Income entry. It will be taxed as regular income to the CPP recipient.
• Keep start ages and amounts internally consistent.
• Test scenarios with CPP sharing both on and off for couple plans.

5. Registered Accounts

_{Figure 5: Registered Accounts - Retired Couple}

This panel captures registered balances used to fund retirement in a tax-efficient way.

• TFSA balance In planning mode, enter expected balance at retirement start. In retired mode, enter current balance. TFSA withdrawals are generally tax-free and often used for late-stage tax control.

• RRSP balance In planning mode, enter projected RRSP at retirement start. In retired mode, enter current RRSP/RRIF balance. RRSP/RRIF withdrawals are taxable and central to drawdown-tax planning.

• LIF / LIRA balance MayRetire shows LIF or LIRA based on age/status. LIRA is modeled as locked-in pension assets. Upon retirement or age 55 (whichever is later), MayRetire models conversion to LIF and applies legislated withdrawal limits.

• LIF Jurisdiction (Provincial / Federal) Set governing regime for LIF calculations. This affects annual minimum/maximum withdrawal limits.

• Spouse TFSA / RRSP / LIF (or LIRA) (Couple mode) Enter spouse balances separately so MayRetire can optimize household withdrawals and taxation.

Practical guidance:

• Use one consistent as-of date across all account balances.
• Keep absent accounts at zero rather than leaving values implicit.
• Jurisdiction choice for LIF can noticeably change retirement cash-flow constraints.

Note:

• The LIF jurisdiction selector does not have a dedicated standalone help key in help_info.dart; wording above follows the app’s LIF/LIRA modeling behavior.

6. Non-Registered Account

_{Figure 6: Non-Registered Account}

This panel models taxable investment assets and their embedded tax profile.

• Current Non-Reg Investment balance Enter total non-registered balance (or projected retirement-start balance in planning mode).

• Your share of Non-Registered account (%) (Couple mode) Defines tax attribution split between spouses. Example: 50 means income and gains are attributed 50/50.

• Initial Capital Gain/Loss for Non-Reg Account (%) Enter unrealized gain/loss as a percentage of average cost base. Example: $50,000 unrealized gain on a $200,000 cost base = 25%. Example: $10,000 unrealized loss on a $100,000 cost base = -10%. This drives capital-gain tax on withdrawals/deemed dispositions.

• Current Unused Capital Losses for Non-Reg account Enter carry-forward capital losses that can offset future realized capital gains, reducing projected tax.

Practical guidance:

• Include all taxable brokerage assets here.
• Keep ownership attribution aligned with actual tax reporting.
• Updating unused losses can significantly improve after-tax income projections.

7. Contribution Rooms

_{Figure 7: Contribution Rooms}

This panel defines how much additional tax-sheltered contribution capacity is available.

• Current TFSA contribution room Enter current available TFSA room. MayRetire increases TFSA room annually using the government limit assumption.

• Current RRSP contribution room Enter RRSP room from your latest CRA Notice of Assessment. RRSP contributions are modeled as age-limited (through age 71).

• Current Spouse TFSA contribution room (Couple mode) Same logic for spouse TFSA room.

• Current Spouse RRSP contribution room (Couple mode) Same logic for spouse RRSP room, including age-71 contribution limit.

Practical guidance:

• CRA Notice of Assessment is the preferred source for RRSP room.
• If uncertain, start conservative and refine.
• In MayRetire assumptions, new RRSP room is not earned once retirement is underway.

8. Withdrawal Strategy

_{Figure 8: Withdrawal Strategy - Preset}

_{Figure 9: Withdrawal Strategy - Custom Summary}

This panel controls account drawdown behavior and tax constraints across RRSP/RRIF, non-registered assets, and TFSA.

• RRSP Withdrawal Strategy Choose a predefined style (Conservative, Moderate, Progressive, Accelerated) or define a Custom strategy.

• Preset mode Applies a ready profile to speed up scenario testing.

• Custom mode Displays your active custom constraints (for example: amount limits, tax limits, meltdown, OAS-clawback adjustment).

• Customize Strategy / Modify Custom Strategy Opens the full strategy editor.

• Fund TFSA with RRSP/Unreg Withdrawals When enabled, MayRetire may withdraw beyond immediate spending needs to use TFSA room. TFSA can become a destination account for tax-efficient repositioning.

• TFSA withdrawal rate (0 to 100) (shown when TFSA funding is disabled) Controls the share of remaining shortfall covered from TFSA. Example: if remaining shortfall is $10,000 and rate is 20, TFSA contributes about $2,000 before fallback rules apply.

Practical guidance:

• Use presets first to map the strategy space quickly.
• Use custom controls for tax-aware optimization.
• Compare with TFSA funding on/off to see long-term estate-tax effects.

8.1 RRSP Withdrawal Strategy (Custom Dialog)

_{Figure 10: RRSP Withdrawal Strategy Dialog}

Use this dialog to define annual withdrawal limits and tax targeting behavior.

• RRSP withdrawal limit Options include range, min-only, max-only, fixed amount, or no amount limit.

• Minimum RRSP withdrawal / Maximum RRSP withdrawal Used when floor/ceiling control is enabled.

• Tax rate limit Choose tax control mode:

  • marginal + average
  • marginal only
  • average only
  • RRSP tax-cost limit
  • no tax limit

• Average tax rate limit (%) Best-effort ceiling for average effective tax burden.

• Marginal tax bracket limit (%) Best-effort ceiling for marginal tax on the next withdrawal dollar.

• Enable RRSP meltdown Allows RRSP withdrawals above required income (within limits), often to reduce future tax concentration. Excess can be redirected to TFSA (if room exists) or non-registered account.

• Use RRSP withdrawal adjustment (avoid OAS clawback) Reduces RRSP withdrawals where possible to lower OAS clawback while respecting mandatory minima.

• Apply Gradual RRIF Depletion Adds a minimum pace intended to avoid very large end-of-plan RRIF balances and associated estate-tax spikes.

• Conditional options you may also encounter Bridging before CPP/OAS, fixed-amount override behavior, RRSP tax-cost limit, and other mode-specific controls.

9. Investment Assumptions

_{Figure 11: Investment Assumptions - Simplified Method}

_{Figure 12: Investment Assumptions - Asset Allocation per Account}

This panel sets inflation and return modeling assumptions that feed income, tax, and confidence-level projections.

• Projected inflation rate (%) Long-term inflation assumption. MayRetire uses inflation to keep results in real-dollar terms and for calculations that require nominal tracking (for example, capital-gain tax effects).

• Investment Return Method Choose one of two approaches:

  1. Overall rate of return (simplified): enter one real appreciation rate plus one dividend yield for the portfolio.
  2. Asset allocation per account: define account-level asset mixes; MayRetire derives returns using FP Canada Projection Assumption Guidelines.

Note: Overall rate of return (simplified) is a legacy what-if method. It uses synthetic, portfolio-wide assumptions and can be less realistic than account-level asset allocation, especially at high return inputs.

9.1 Overall rate of return (simplified)

This mode is best for quick scenario testing (“what if returns are X?”) rather than selecting a recommended long-term portfolio.

• Investment Price Appreciation % (inflation adjusted) Expected real capital growth excluding dividends. A value near 0 means growth roughly keeps pace with inflation.

• Initial Dividend Yield Expected annual dividend income as a percent of portfolio value.

• Dividend Change Sensitivity (DCS) Controls how dividend amounts respond to price changes. Example: DCS 50 means a 10% price move changes dividends by about 5% in the same direction. Example: if price rises 20%, DCS 50 implies ~10% higher dividends. Example: if price falls 30%, DCS 50 implies ~15% lower dividends. At DCS 100, dividend yield as a percentage of price remains roughly constant.

• Unregistered Account Dividends Withdrawal Choose one:

  • Withdraw dividends first: prioritize dividend cash flow before principal sales.
  • As part of unregistered withdrawal: treat dividends and principal as a pooled source.

9.2 Asset allocation per account

_{Figure 13: Asset Allocation Dialog (RRSP/RRIF/LIF)}

In this method, users input allocation weights, not return rates.

• MayRetire applies FP Canada asset-class assumptions.
• Account return expectations are derived from each account’s mix.
• Each account column must total 100%.

Asset buckets and tax interpretation in non-registered context:

• Cash: interest-like return, taxed as regular income.
• Fixed Income (Bonds): modeled with interest and price movement; interest is taxed as regular income.
• Canadian Equity: dividends typically modeled as eligible dividends.
• US Equity: dividends treated as foreign income (regular-income taxation).
• International Equity: dividends treated as foreign income.
• Emerging Market Equity: dividends treated as foreign income.

Editor features:

• ETF shortcuts for quick starting templates.
• Real and nominal implied return shown for the selected mix.

10. Income Requirements

_{Figure 14: Income Requirements - Constant Dollar}

_{Figure 15: Income Requirements - Flexible}

This panel defines baseline after-tax income targets in today’s dollars (real purchasing power). Use it to separate preferred lifestyle spending from the minimum spending level you want the plan to protect.

• Target annual income (after tax) Preferred after-tax income level for normal retirement lifestyle spending.

• Income Withdrawal Strategy

  • Constant Dollar: stable real spending target year to year.
  • Flexible: income can adjust between target and minimum based on plan strength and return conditions.

• Minimal annual income (after tax) (shown in Flexible mode) Lower after-tax income floor MayRetire attempts to protect in weak scenarios.

• Survivor Spending Need (%) (Couple mode) Percent of combined household budget the surviving spouse is expected to need. Common planning range is roughly 60% to 70%, because many fixed costs remain after one partner passes.

10.1 How Flexible Income Is Used

Flexible income is best understood as a planning guardrail, not an automatic real-life withdrawal rule. The target income represents preferred lifestyle spending, while the minimum income represents a lower level the plan should try to preserve when markets, balances, or other assumptions are under pressure.

For Calculate-style runs, MayRetire first tests whether the plan can support the full target income. If the target is not sustainable, it tests whether the minimum income is sustainable. If the minimum works, MayRetire searches between the minimum and target to find the highest income level that can still keep the plan funded under the selected assumptions or return sequence.

For simulation and backtesting runs, MayRetire also compares each scenario’s current asset path against a reference baseline. If assets are tracking below the reference path, the current year’s flexible income is reduced toward the minimum. If assets are healthy, income can remain closer to the target. The intent is to spend more when the plan has room and less when markets or balances are under pressure.

In practice, do not treat the flexible result as an exact spending rule for every future year. A more practical approach is to create an updated plan at least annually using current account balances, current pension and income details, updated debt or insurance assumptions, current tax context, and any changed priorities. At that point, you may also decide whether the target and minimum income range itself should move up or down.

The first year of the updated projection can then be used as guidance for the upcoming year’s cash flow, including planned spending, account withdrawals, taxes, contributions, debt payments or advances, and other income sources. In this sense, MayRetire helps answer: given where the plan stands now, what cash-flow plan looks reasonable for the next year while preserving the long-term plan?

Practical guidance:

• Start with Constant Dollar for baseline planning.
• Add Flexible strategy for robustness testing.
• Revisit the target and minimum income range whenever your plan is updated.
• Add known one-time or phase-based expenses separately in Additional Withdrawals, such as travel years, vehicle replacement, renovations, or health-care support.
• Run Calculate, Stress Test, and Simulate after major updates, then use the first projected year as guidance for the coming year.
• Revisit survivor percentage carefully, as it meaningfully affects required assets.

11. Additional Withdrawals

_{Figure 16: Additional Withdrawals panel with multiple planned withdrawals}

This section lets you model discretionary or phase-specific spending that sits on top of your base income target. Typical use cases include travel phases, gifts, major purchases, family support, or one-time events.

Panel behavior:

• Each withdrawal appears as a separate item with amount and timing summary.
• Checkbox toggles include/exclude an item from the scenario without deleting it.
• Trash icon deletes an item.
• Add withdrawal creates a new item using the edit dialog.

11.1 Edit Dialog Fields

_{Figure 17: Additional Withdrawal edit dialog}

• Withdrawal name Use a descriptive label (for example: Go-Go, Slow-Go, Car purchase, Family support).

• Annual Withdrawal Amount Target yearly amount for this withdrawal item.

• Additional Withdrawal Strategy Choose one:

  • Constant Dollar: keeps the withdrawal amount fixed in real terms.
  • Flexible: allows the withdrawal to vary when needed, subject to a minimum floor.

• Minimal annual income (after tax) (shown when strategy is Flexible) Minimum after-tax amount you still want to preserve for this withdrawal category.

• Starts from (years into retirement) Offset from retirement start.

  • 1 means first retirement year.
  • 11 means withdrawal starts in year 11 of retirement.

• Withdrawal repeats Choose recurrence mode:

  • Once: one-time withdrawal.
  • Indefinitely: repeats every year for the full remaining plan.
  • Fixed Term: repeats for a specified number of years.

• Withdrawal is made for (years) (shown for Fixed Term) Number of years the withdrawal repeats.

Practical guidance:

• Use multiple items instead of one large blended amount when goals occur at different times.
• Keep optional spending separate from core lifestyle spending (configured under Income Requirements) for clearer stress testing.
• Enable/disable items to run quick what-if comparisons without re-entering data.

12. Additional Incomes

_{Figure 18: Additional Incomes panel with recurring and one-time income items}

This section models non-portfolio income sources you expect during retirement. Common examples include part-time work, annuities, a business sale, inheritances, and other cash inflows.

Panel behavior:

• Each income source is listed with amount, timing, tax category, and attribution summary.
• Checkbox toggles include/exclude an item without deleting it.
• Trash icon removes an item.
• Add Income opens the edit dialog.

12.1 Edit Dialog Fields

_{Figure 19: Additional Income edit dialog}

• Income name Use a clear label (for example: Part-time work, Annuity, Home sale, Inheritance).

• Annual Income Amount Annual amount for this income stream. For one-time events, this is the one-time value.

• Annual Income Adjustment Choose how the amount evolves over time:

  • Indexed (keeps pace with inflation): preserves purchasing power in real terms.
  • Fixed nominal (if selected): amount stays flat in dollars and loses real value over time.

• Income Taxation Category Controls how the income is taxed in projections (for example regular income vs tax-favoured categories). Choose the category that best matches the real tax treatment of this source. Under Taxed, you can choose:

  • Full amount: the entire income is taxed using the selected category.
  • Partially (annuity, etc.): only the entered taxable percentage is taxed using the selected category, and the remainder is treated as tax-free. This option was added mainly for annuities and similar income streams where only part of each payment is taxable.

• Income attribution Assign income to Yourself, Spouse, or both, depending on who receives it. This matters for personal tax calculations and cash-flow allocation in couple plans.

• Starts from (years into retirement) Timing offset from retirement start.

  • 1 means first retirement year.
  • 12 means year 12 of retirement.

• Income repeats Choose recurrence pattern:

  • Once: one-time income event.
  • Indefinitely: repeats every year through the remaining plan.
  • Fixed Term: repeats for a selected number of years.

• Income is made for (years) (shown for Fixed Term) Number of years that the income repeats.

Annuity example:

• If part of an annuity payment is considered return of capital, choose the appropriate tax category and then select Taxed: Partially (annuity, etc.).
• Enter the taxable percentage so MayRetire treats only that portion as taxable and the rest as tax-free cash flow.

_{Figure 20: Additional Income dialog showing a partially taxed annuity example}

Practical guidance:

• Enter each income source separately so you can enable/disable scenarios quickly.
• Confirm taxation category and attribution carefully; both can materially change net after-tax outcomes.
• Use one-time items for events (for example business/home sale) and fixed-term items for phased earnings.

13. Investment Portfolios

_{Figure 21: Investment Portfolios panel with multiple taxable portfolios}

Investment Portfolios are optional taxable portfolios that coexist with the regular non-registered account. They are useful when you want a separate asset mix, tax attribution, access rule, or distribution policy for part of the household’s taxable assets.

Note: Investment Portfolios are supported when Asset allocation is enabled.

Common uses:

• Splitting taxable assets into portfolios with different ownership shares or asset allocations.
• Modeling an income-focused portfolio where distributions are prioritized for withdrawal before other optional income sources, while capital can remain protected until needed.
• Setting aside part of taxable capital for a specific purpose, while leaving other capital available for normal retirement spending.
• Planning when a separate taxable portfolio should become available for spending or be sold and merged into the regular non-registered account.
• Using FP Canada asset-class assumptions for each portfolio when a normal asset allocation is enough.
• Customizing an income portfolio with separate price appreciation, distribution yield, tax-treatment mix, and market behavior through a reference allocation and correlation (Beta).

Panel behavior:

• Each portfolio row summarizes name, balance, adjusted cost base, ownership share, capital access, distribution policy, and return/allocation setup.
• Checkbox toggles include/exclude a portfolio without deleting it.
• Trash icon deletes a portfolio record.
• Add Portfolio opens the multi-tab edit dialog.

13.1 Portfolio Tab

_{Figure 22: Investment Portfolio dialog - Portfolio tab}

• Portfolio name Use a clear label (for example: Growth, Income ETF, Emergency fund, or Spouse taxable portfolio).

• Initial balance Current market value of this portfolio, or the projected retirement-start value in planning mode.

• Adjusted Cost Base Tax cost base of the portfolio. MayRetire uses this to estimate capital gains or losses when capital is withdrawn, the portfolio is liquidated, or the estate is calculated. In real-dollar projections, ACB is adjusted for inflation over time because the nominal tax cost base does not automatically grow with inflation.

• Your share of portfolio (%) (Couple mode) Ownership/tax attribution assigned to you. The remainder is attributed to spouse while both spouses are alive.

Practical guidance:

• Keep the initial balance and ACB as of the same date.
• Use separate portfolios when spouses have materially different ownership or asset allocation.
• If the portfolio is jointly owned, set the share to match actual tax attribution rather than convenience.

13.2 Access Tab

_{Figure 23: Investment Portfolio dialog - Access tab}

This tab controls whether capital and distributions can be used to fund retirement income.

• Capital access

  • Available: capital can be used like regular non-registered assets.
  • Reserved: capital is used only after regular non-registered capital and available portfolio capital are exhausted.
  • Locked: capital is not used for retirement spending unless the portfolio is later released or liquidated.

• Portfolio Release When enabled, a reserved or locked portfolio can become available in a selected retirement year. Release changes the access rule but keeps the portfolio intact.

• Portfolio Liquidation When enabled, MayRetire sells the portfolio in the selected retirement year, realizes the capital gain/loss, and moves the proceeds into the regular non-registered account.

• Distributions

  • Withdraw first: taxable distributions are consumed before other income-gap withdrawals.
  • As needed: distributions remain available and are used only when needed to meet the income target.
  • Reinvest only (shown for Locked capital): distributions are still taxable, but they are not available for retirement spending and remain invested in the portfolio.

Practical guidance:

• Use Reserved for assets intended as a last-resort buffer.
• Use Locked for assets you do not want the retirement-income engine to spend.
• Use Reinvest only when a locked portfolio should stay outside retirement cash flow, including its annual distributions.
• Use liquidation when the portfolio should stop being tracked separately and become part of the regular non-registered account.

13.3 Returns Tab

_{Figure 24: Investment Portfolio dialog - Returns tab}

This tab defines how the portfolio produces price growth and taxable distributions.

• Return mode

  • Asset allocation using FP Canada Assumptions: return and distribution assumptions come from the portfolio’s asset mix.
  • Manual appreciation, yield and tax treatment: you enter projected price appreciation, distribution yield, and tax-treatment breakdown.

• Projected Price Appreciation (%) (Manual mode) Expected real price growth before distributions.

• Projected Distribution Yield (%) (Manual mode) Expected annual distribution as a percentage of portfolio value.

• Market correlation (Beta) (Manual mode) Controls how strongly the manual portfolio responds to market behavior from the reference allocation in simulations. A higher value makes the portfolio move more with the reference allocation; lower or negative values reduce or invert that relationship.

• Distribution Tax Treatment Breakdown (Manual mode) Split distributions across taxable categories such as interest, eligible dividends, foreign dividends, and capital gain distributions. The components must total 100% before the dialog can be saved.

Practical guidance:

• Use asset-allocation mode when the portfolio can be represented using the FP Canada asset-class categories.
• Use manual mode for specialized income portfolios where yield and tax mix are known or intentionally modeled.
• Do not include return of capital in the taxable distribution breakdown for now; model only the taxable components MayRetire currently supports.

13.4 Assets Tab

_{Figure 25: Investment Portfolio dialog - Assets tab}

This tab sets the portfolio’s asset allocation.

In asset-allocation return mode, this allocation directly drives expected price return and distribution assumptions. In manual return mode, it acts as the reference allocation used for market correlation and simulation behavior.

• Asset allocation inputs Set portfolio mix across Cash, Fixed Income/Bonds, Canadian Equity, US Equity, International Equity, and Emerging Market Equity.

• ETF shortcuts Quick presets for common ETF-style allocations.

• Total % check Allocation must total 100%.

Practical guidance:

• Use the same allocation as the regular non-registered account when testing whether a separated portfolio behaves equivalently.
• Use a different allocation when the purpose of the portfolio is to represent spouse-specific risk, income-oriented holdings, or a dedicated reserve.
• In manual mode, choose a reference allocation that best represents the market behavior you want the portfolio to follow.

14. Defined Benefit Pensions

_{Figure 26: Defined Benefit Pensions panel with multiple pension records}

Use this section for employer pensions that provide predictable lifetime income. Properly entering bridge benefits, indexation, and survivor percentage is important because these settings directly affect long-term cash flow and estate outcomes.

Panel behavior:

• Each pension item shows key terms: annual amount, start age, bridge details, indexation mode, survivor benefit, and owner.
• Checkbox toggles include/exclude a pension from the scenario without deleting it.
• Trash icon deletes a pension record.
• Add DB Pension opens the pension edit dialog.

14.1 Edit Dialog Fields

_{Figure 27: Defined Benefit Pension edit dialog}

• Pension Name Use a clear plan name (for example: HOOPP, OMERS, Teachers, Employer DB Plan).

• Pension Owner Select who receives this pension (Yourself or Spouse). Owner selection affects tax calculation and survivor planning in couple scenarios.

• Pension Start Age Age when payments begin.

• DB Annual Payment Base annual lifetime payment (excluding temporary bridge benefit).

• Bridge Benefit Until Age 65 Enable this if the plan pays a temporary top-up before age 65.

• Total Annual Payment (with Bridge) (shown when bridge is enabled) Combined annual payment before age 65, including base pension plus bridge amount.

• DB Pension Indexation Defines how pension payments change over time. Common options include:

  • Indexed (keeps pace with inflation): payment rises with CPI to preserve purchasing power.
  • Not indexed: payment is flat in nominal dollars.
  • Partially indexed: payment tracks only part of CPI.
  • Custom fixed rate: payment rises by a fixed nominal percentage each year.

• Partial indexing (%) (shown when Partially indexed is selected) Percent of CPI passed through to pension increases (for example 50% of CPI).

• Fixed annual increase (%) (shown when Custom fixed rate is selected) Nominal annual increase applied each year.

• Survivor Benefit % Portion of pension that continues to the survivor after first death. Typical values are 0, 50, 60, 66, 75, or 100, depending on plan option.

Practical guidance:

• Enter gross annual pension amounts and let MayRetire handle taxes in projections.
• Verify whether bridge payments stop at age 65 and capture that using bridge fields.
• Confirm indexation terms from your pension statement; this can materially change late-retirement purchasing power.
• Survivor percentage has a large effect on spouse security in couple plans, so match plan documents carefully.

15. Whole Life Insurance

_{Figure 28: Whole Life Insurance panel with benefit amount summary}

Use this section to model whole life insurance policies that have predictable premiums and a predictable death benefit. This includes participating whole life, non-participating whole life, and Term-to-100 style policies. MayRetire does not attempt to model Universal Life mechanics.

Insurance can affect the plan in three ways:

• Premiums are annual cash-flow outflows while they are payable.
• Death benefits can provide a tax-free inflow to the survivor when a payout occurs during the planning horizon.
• The policy’s projected benefit amount contributes to estate value before payout.

Panel behavior:

• The panel summarizes the enabled policy benefit amount.
• Checkbox toggles include/exclude a policy from the scenario without deleting it.
• Trash icon deletes an insurance record.
• Add Insurance opens the insurance edit dialog.

15.1 Edit Dialog Fields

_{Figure 29: Whole Life Insurance edit dialog}

• Policy name Use a clear name for the policy, such as Whole Life, Participating WL, or the insurer name.

• Policy Type (Couple mode) Choose when the policy pays out:

  • Your life insurance
  • Spouse's life insurance
  • Joint first-to-die insurance
  • Joint last-to-die insurance

In single plans, MayRetire treats the policy as your own life insurance and does not show the policy-type selector.

• Annual premium Fixed nominal premium paid each year while premiums are still required. Because this is a nominal amount, its real cost declines over time with inflation.

• Premium payments Choose how long premiums continue:

  • No more premium payments: the policy is paid up.
  • Payments until insurance payout: premiums continue while the policy is active in the plan.
  • Pay for a fixed number of years: premiums continue for a fixed number of remaining years.

• Years remaining to pay (shown when Premium payments is Pay for a fixed number of years) Number of years premiums still need to be paid.

• Current death benefit Current nominal death benefit amount.

• Benefit increases over time Turn this on when the death benefit is expected to grow, such as from participating dividends or paid-up additions.

• Estimated annual growth rate % (shown when benefit growth is enabled) Estimated annual nominal growth rate for the death benefit. Use 0 or leave growth off for a fixed death benefit.

Practical guidance:

• Use one entry per policy so ownership, premium schedule, and payout timing remain clear.
• Use the current death benefit as the starting value, then add growth only when you have a reasonable basis for estimating increases.
• Death-benefit payouts are modeled as tax-free cash flow to the survivor when the payout occurs within the plan timeline.
• In couple plans, if both spouses die in the final projection year, there is no surviving planning year to receive the payout as cash flow.
• If a policy is also used as collateral for borrowing, model the borrowing separately in the Debts section. MayRetire does not verify whether the debt limit, interest rate, repayment terms, or timing are permitted by the insurer or lender. Use reasonable debt assumptions based on the actual policy loan, collateral loan, HELOC, or lending arrangement, and review them against your policy and loan documents.

16. Donations

_{Figure 30: Donations panel with multiple charitable gifts}

Use this section to model charitable giving as part of your retirement plan. Donations can be repeated, timed for specific years, and funded in different ways so you can compare both cash-flow impact and tax efficiency.

Panel behavior:

• Each donation item shows amount, funding type, recurrence, and timing.
• Checkbox toggles include/exclude a donation without deleting it.
• Trash icon deletes a donation record.
• Add Donation opens the donation edit dialog.

16.1 Edit Dialog Fields

_{Figure 31: Donation edit dialog}

• Donation name Use a clear label for the charity or purpose (for example: Hospital Foundation, Church, Food Bank, Family Foundation).

• Annual Donation Amount Target amount donated each year while this donation is active.

• Donation funding Choose how the gift is funded:

  • Cash (After-Tax): donation is funded from personal after-tax cash flow.
  • In-Kind (Non-Registered): donation is made using eligible securities or funds from the personal non-registered account.
  • In-Kind (Corporate): donation is made using eligible securities or funds held inside the corporation.

• Donation repeats Choose recurrence pattern:

  • Once: one-time donation event.
  • Indefinitely: repeats every year through the remaining plan.
  • Fixed Term: repeats for a selected number of years.

• Donation is made for (years) (shown for Fixed Term) Number of years the donation repeats.

Practical guidance:

• Use separate entries for recurring giving vs one-time large gifts.
• Use Cash (After-Tax) when you want the donation funded directly from annual spending cash flow.
• Use in-kind funding when you want to model tax-efficient giving from appreciated investments.
• Corporate in-kind donations should be used only when a corporate account exists in the plan.

17. Rentals

_{Figure 32: Rentals panel with multiple properties}

This section captures rental-property cash flow, financing, planned disposition, and tax treatment so projections include both ongoing rental income and eventual sale/estate outcomes.

Panel behavior:

• Each property card summarizes market value, cost base, rental income, debt terms, sale plan, and CCA usage.
• Checkbox toggles include/exclude a property from the scenario without deleting it.
• Trash icon deletes a property record.
• Add Rental opens the multi-tab rental property dialog.

17.1 Rental Tab

_{Figure 33: Rental Property dialog - Rental tab}

• Property name Descriptive label for the property (for example: Townhouse, Condo, Duplex).

• Adjusted cost base (purchase price and associated expenses) Your tax cost base, including purchase price and eligible acquisition/capital-improvement costs. Used to estimate capital gains when the property is sold.

• Market property price Current estimated market value of the property.

• Price Appreciation Rate % (inflation adjusted) Expected long-term real appreciation rate. 0% means the property grows with inflation only.

• Monthly rental income Gross monthly rent before expenses.

• Income Change Rate % (inflation adjusted) Real growth rate of rental income. 0% means rent keeps pace with inflation. Negative values mean rent lags inflation; positive values mean it grows faster than inflation.

• Annual Expense (as % of property price) Operating costs as a percentage of property value (for example maintenance, condo fees, insurance, vacancy, property tax, and management).

17.2 Sale Tab

_{Figure 34: Rental Property dialog - Sale tab}

• Property name Shown on each tab for context.

• Sale Expense (as % of property price) Estimated transaction costs at sale (for example realtor commissions and legal fees).

• Rental Property Sale Toggle whether this property is planned to be sold during the planning horizon.

• Property sale (years into retirement) (shown when sale is enabled) Timing of sale relative to retirement start. 10 means planned sale in year 10 of retirement.

17.3 Debt Tab

_{Figure 35: Rental Property dialog - Debt tab}

• Property name Shown on each tab for context.

• Does this property have a mortgage Toggle mortgage financing on/off for this property.

• Mortgage balance (shown when mortgage is enabled) Current outstanding mortgage principal.

• Mortgage interest (shown when mortgage is enabled) Annual interest rate on the mortgage.

• Remaining mortgage payment years (shown when mortgage is enabled) Years left to repay the mortgage.

17.4 CCA Tab

_{Figure 36: Rental Property dialog - CCA tab}

• Property name Shown on each tab for context.

• Have you claimed CCA for this property Indicates whether CCA was claimed historically.

• Are you planning to claim CCA for this property Controls whether future CCA claims are modeled.

• Building cost (initial unused capital cost) Original building component used as the starting CCA basis.

• Current UCC (unused capital cost) Remaining depreciable balance for future CCA claims.

Practical guidance:

• Keep market value and cost base updated; these drive sale proceeds and capital-gain tax.
• Enter realistic expense and rent-growth assumptions, since small rate changes can materially shift long-term net cash flow.
• Use Sale tab timing for planned liquidations; leave sale disabled for hold-to-estate scenarios.
• Model debt terms carefully because interest cost and amortization materially affect early-retirement cash needs.
• Use CCA settings only when they reflect your tax filing strategy; CCA can improve current cash flow but may increase recapture/capital-gain tax on sale.

18. Debts

_{Figure 37: Debts panel with multiple debt items}

This section lets you model personal or household debt that continues through retirement, such as a mortgage, HELOC, car loan, reverse-mortgage-style borrowing, or other loan. Debt can start as an existing balance at retirement, or it can begin later as future borrowing. Debt affects required cash flow, taxes when interest is deductible, income-source reporting when borrowing proceeds are advanced, and net estate at death.

Panel behavior:

• Each debt card summarizes attribution, interest setup, payment mode, borrowing setup, and any special handling such as tax-deductible interest or early payoff.
• Checkbox toggles include/exclude a debt from the scenario without deleting it.
• Trash icon deletes a debt entry.
• Add Debt opens the debt edit dialog.

18.1 Debt Tab

_{Figure 38: Debt dialog - Debt tab}

• Debt (Mortgage, Car loan, HELOC, etc.) Use a descriptive name so the debt is easy to identify in the panel and detailed projections.

• Debt owner (Couple mode) Choose whether the debt is attributed to you, your spouse, or both jointly. This affects survivor treatment and tax attribution for deductible interest.

• Existing debt / Future borrowing Use Existing debt for a loan that already exists at the start of the plan. Use Future borrowing for a loan that begins in a later retirement year.

• Debt balance (existing debt) Current outstanding balance at retirement start, or the current balance if already retired.

• Starts in year of retirement (future borrowing) Year when the future debt begins. 1 means the first year of retirement.

• Initial borrowing amount (future borrowing) One-time amount advanced when the future debt begins. This becomes the starting balance of the debt in that year.

• Debt interest tax deduction Turn this on only when interest on the debt is legitimately deductible. When enabled, MayRetire applies the deduction according to who the debt is attributed to.

• If debt owner passes away (shown only in couple plans for single-owner debt) Choose whether the debt transfers to the surviving spouse or is paid off from estate at first death.

_{Figure 39: Debt dialog - Future borrowing setup}

18.2 Rate Tab

_{Figure 40: Debt dialog - Rate tab}

• Debt interest Choose Fixed Rate or Variable Rate.

• Annual interest rate % (shown for fixed rate) Annual fixed borrowing rate used for the debt projection.

• Prime spread % (shown for variable rate) Spread relative to prime. Example: 0.50 means Prime + 0.50%. Example: -0.75 means Prime - 0.75%.

Practical note:

• In MayRetire, variable debt is modeled using a prime-based approximation rather than a lender-specific mortgage-renewal schedule.

18.3 Terms Tab

_{Figure 41: Debt dialog - Terms tab}

• Debt payment mode Choose one:

  • Amortizing
  • Interest Only
  • Fixed Annual Payment
  • Capitalized Interest

• Remaining amortization years (shown for amortizing mode) Years left to repay the debt under standard amortizing payments.

• Fixed annual payment amount (shown for fixed annual payment mode) Annual amount paid toward the debt each year.

• Capitalized interest Interest is added to the debt balance instead of being paid as a regular annual debt payment. Use this for reverse-mortgage-style borrowing or other debt where interest accumulates until payoff, sale, death, or the end of the plan.

• Pay off on principal residence sale or downsizing Turn this on when the debt should be fully paid off in the same retirement year that the principal residence is sold or downsized. When this option is enabled, MayRetire hides and ignores the manual early-payoff year because the payoff timing follows the principal residence plan.

• Plan to pay off this debt early Use this when you expect to repay the debt in full before its normal schedule ends.

• Pay off in year of retirement (shown when early payoff is enabled) Timing of the extra full payoff relative to retirement start. 1 means the first year of retirement.

Practical guidance:

• Use amortizing mode for standard loans and mortgages that are being paid down normally.
• Use interest-only mode for HELOC-style borrowing or temporary financing where principal is not being repaid regularly.
• Use fixed annual payment when you want to model a specific planned annual payment amount.
• Use capitalized interest when interest should increase the debt balance rather than increase annual spending.
• If a debt is expected to remain outstanding to the end of the plan, MayRetire treats the remaining balance as an estate liability.

18.4 Borrowing Tab

_{Figure 42: Debt dialog - Borrowing tab}

Use this tab when the debt can provide additional scheduled or as-needed borrowing after the initial balance or initial borrowing amount. Borrowing proceeds are treated as debt advances: they increase the debt balance and appear as a separate income source in charts and projections.

• Allow annual borrowing Turn this on to add recurring annual borrowing to the debt.

• Borrow only when needed Turn this on when the debt is intended as a safety net rather than a planned annual draw. When enabled, MayRetire does not borrow automatically every year. It uses the debt only if other funding sources are not enough to meet the required income level. If the plan never needs the extra cash, no borrowing occurs. This can be useful for testing resilience against less likely but important later-life risks, such as expensive health care, long-term care, or other large support needs. For example, a HELOC, reverse-mortgage-style loan, or borrowing against permanent life insurance may provide a backstop without requiring you to reduce lifestyle assumptions in the base plan. The feature lets you model that safety net while still seeing whether, when, and how much borrowing would actually be needed. This option is available for interest-only and capitalized-interest debts.

• Annual borrowing amount / Annual borrowing amount limit When Borrow only when needed is off, this is the amount advanced each year while annual borrowing is active. When Borrow only when needed is on, this is the maximum amount MayRetire can borrow in a year if other funding is not enough.

• Debt balance limit (shown when Borrow only when needed is enabled) Turn this on to cap total borrowing for this debt.

• Maximum debt balance (shown when Debt balance limit is enabled) Highest total debt balance allowed for flexible borrowing. If borrowing is adjusted with inflation, this limit is adjusted the same way.

• Annual borrowing period Choose whether borrowing continues every year until the end of the plan, or only for a fixed number of years.

• Number of borrowing years (shown when borrowing is not until end) Number of years the annual borrowing amount is advanced.

• Adjust borrowing with inflation Turn this on when future annual borrowing amounts should increase with inflation.

Practical guidance:

• For a reverse-mortgage-style scenario, combine future borrowing, capitalized interest, and optional annual borrowing.
• For a HELOC or credit-line scenario, use annual borrowing when you want scheduled draws from the credit line.
• For a safety-net scenario, use Borrow only when needed so borrowing happens only if other funding is insufficient.
• Debt advances can reduce withdrawals needed from investment accounts in the same year, but the unpaid debt remains a liability and reduces estate value.

19. Principal Residence

_{Figure 43: Principal Residence panel with residence summary}

Use this section to model your principal residence separately from investment accounts and rental properties. The residence can be kept to the end of the plan, sold, or downsized to another property. MayRetire treats the principal residence as part of estate value while it is owned, and records sale or downsizing proceeds as cash flow in the disposition year.

Panel behavior:

• If no principal residence is configured, the panel shows an add action.
• When configured, the panel summarizes current value, real appreciation, sale/disposition cost, and the planned action.
• Edit Principal Residence opens the residence edit dialog.
• Remove Principal Residence removes the residence from the plan.

_{Figure 44: Principal Residence edit dialog}

• Current market value Estimated current value of the principal residence.

• Real appreciation rate Expected annual property appreciation after inflation. This is consistent with rental-property assumptions, where appreciation is entered in real terms.

• Disposition cost Estimated selling or disposition cost as a percentage of property value. This reduces estate value and sale/downsize proceeds.

• What are your plans for the principal residence? Choose one:

  • Keep property: residence remains part of the estate through the plan.
  • Sell property: residence is sold in the configured year and net proceeds become available cash flow.
  • Downsize to another property: current residence is sold and replacement home value is deducted from proceeds.

• Sale / downsizing year Retirement year when the sale or downsizing occurs. 1 means the first year of retirement.

• Replacement home value (shown when downsizing) Cost of the new principal residence. If replacement value is lower than net sale proceeds, the difference is modeled as residence proceeds. If replacement value is higher, the difference is modeled as a residence shortfall.

Practical guidance:

• Use Keep property when the home is intended to remain part of the final estate.
• Use Sell property when the plan relies on fully unlocking home equity.
• Use Downsize to another property when only part of the home equity is expected to become available.
• Debts connected to the residence are configured from the debt’s Terms tab with Pay off on principal residence sale or downsizing.
• Residence sale proceeds and shortfalls appear in cash-flow charts, income-source reporting, and the detailed projections table.

20. Corporate Account

_{Figure 45: Corporate Account panel with account summary}

Use this section for a Canadian Controlled Private Corporation (CCPC) investment account that supports retirement funding through dividends and tax-efficient corporate distributions.

Panel behavior:

• Displays a compact summary of account value, tax/notional accounts, ownership split, distribution settings, and asset mix.
• Edit Corporate Account opens a 3-tab dialog (Account, Assets, Dividends).
• Remove Corporate Account deletes the corporate-account setup from the plan.
• If no corporate account is configured, the panel shows an add action instead of summary details.

_{Figure 46: Corporate Account panel when no corporate account is configured}

20.1 Account Tab

_{Figure 47: Corporate Account dialog - Account tab}

• Account balance Current market value of the corporation’s investment portfolio.

• Adjusted Cost Base Tax cost base of corporate investments (purchase cost plus acquisition costs), used to calculate capital gains when assets are sold.

• CDA Balance Capital Dividend Account balance available for tax-free capital dividends.

• NERDTOH Balance Non-Eligible Refundable Dividend Tax on Hand. Represents refundable corporate tax generally recovered when non-eligible dividends are paid.

• ERDTOH Balance Eligible Refundable Dividend Tax on Hand. Represents refundable corporate tax generally recovered when eligible dividends are paid.

• GRIP Balance General Rate Income Pool balance. Determines how much can be paid as eligible dividends.

• Your share of corp (%) Your ownership percentage. In couple mode, the remainder is treated as spouse ownership for attribution purposes.

20.2 Assets Tab

_{Figure 48: Corporate Account dialog - Assets tab}

• Asset allocation inputs Set corporate portfolio mix across: Cash, Fixed Income/Bonds, Canadian Equity, US Equity, International Equity, and Emerging Market Equity.

• ETF shortcuts Quick presets for common ETF-style allocations.

• Total % check Allocation must total 100%.

• Implied return display Dialog shows implied adjusted/nominal return from the selected mix. In asset-allocation mode, MayRetire derives expected returns from asset-class assumptions (aligned with FP Canada projection guidelines), rather than asking you to enter a single return manually.

20.3 Dividends Tab

_{Figure 49: Corporate Account dialog - Dividends tab}

• Annual Distribution Base annual dividend amount to distribute from the corporation. MayRetire determines a tax-efficient composition of capital/eligible/non-eligible dividends for this payout.

• Adjust Dividends Distribution When enabled, MayRetire adjusts annual corporate dividends to help bridge income needs (instead of using only a fixed dividend amount).

• Enforce Account Depletion When enabled, MayRetire targets a payout path that fully depletes the corporate account by plan end.

Practical guidance:

• Pull CDA, RDTOH, and GRIP balances from current corporate tax records (for example T2 schedules) to avoid tax-projection distortion.
• Keep ownership percentage aligned with legal/economic ownership because it affects income attribution and taxes.
• Use fixed annual distribution for stable policy; enable adjustment when you want the corporation to actively fill household income gaps.
• Use depletion mode intentionally; it can improve spending support but may increase near-term taxable distributions.

21. Plan Analysis Actions

_{Figure 50: Main planning action buttons - Calculate, Stress Test, Simulate, Backtest}

These commands run your plan using different analysis methods. Use them together: start fast with Calculate, challenge the plan with Stress Test, validate robustness with Simulate, then test real history with Backtest.

• Calculate Quick deterministic projection using a constant-return assumption. Best for rapid iteration while adjusting inputs. It does not model year-to-year market randomness.

• Simulate Monte Carlo analysis (500 scenarios) that introduces return variability and sequence risk. Use this as the primary realism check after baseline setup. Confidence level reflects the share of scenarios where your plan remains sustainable for the full horizon. In many plans, a more flexible withdrawal approach and a less aggressive asset mix can improve simulation success rates.

• Stress Test Runs a curated set of fixed adverse scenarios against your current asset-allocation plan. Unlike Monte Carlo, these scenarios are not random. Unlike Backtest, they are not tied to one exact historical period. They are intentionally severe and can be more conservative than many Monte Carlo outcomes. Stress Test is available only when using detailed asset allocation (not the simple overall-return method).

• Backtest Runs your plan through historical market regimes instead of randomized scenarios. Useful for stress testing against known high-inflation and severe drawdown periods. A depletion event in a historical path highlights vulnerability to that return sequence.

Note: Each button’s Learn more link opens focused guidance for interpreting that method’s outputs and limitations.

22. Top Action Bar Actions

The top-right action bar provides quick access to navigation, file operations, sharing, and account actions.

_{Figure 51: Top Action Bar icon row including Suggested Adjustments}

1. Scroll to the top Jumps to the top of the page.

2. Scroll to the bottom Jumps to the bottom of the page.

3. Open MayRetire GPT Opens the MayRetire GPT assistant.

4. Suggest adjustments Opens the Suggested Adjustments workflow for the current plan. Detailed workflow is covered in Suggest Adjustments.

5. Compare retirement plans Loads one or more .json plan files and opens plan comparison. Detailed workflow is covered in Compare Plans.

6. Check Survivor Safety Visible only when planning for a couple and both start/end ages cross the age-75 safety check window. Runs survivor safety analysis. Detailed workflow is covered in Check Survivor Safety.

7. Load retirement parameters from a file Loads saved plan parameters from file and resets current results.

8. Save retirement parameters to a file Prompts for a file name, then saves current plan parameters as JSON.

9. Save calculator screenshot to a file Prompts for a file name, then captures and saves a full-page screenshot.

10. Create PDF report Prompts for a file name, then generates and saves a PDF report.

11. Send feedback Opens feedback flow to contact support.

12. Open Facebook page Opens the MayRetire Facebook page.

13. Open subreddit Opens the MayRetire subreddit.

14. Open home page Redirects to the MayRetire home page.

15. Sign Out Shows a confirmation dialog. On confirm, clears current saved plan state and signs out.

23. Compare Plans

_{Figure 52: Compare Retirement Plans dialog with metric chips and multi-plan chart}

Use this dialog to compare multiple saved plan scenarios against each other and optionally against your currently loaded plan.

23.1 File Selection And Plan Set

• Start from Top Action Bar -> Compare retirement plans.
• A file picker opens for .json plan files. Typical usage is 1 to 4 files.
• If 1 file is selected:
  • Comparison is between the selected file and the Current Plan.
• If 2 to 4 files are selected:
  • Selected plans are compared together.
  • You can still enable Include Current Plan to add your active plan to the chart.
• Plan labels are taken from file names (without extension).
• Each selected plan is recalculated with the current engine logic before plotting.

23.2 Metrics And Controls

• Metric chips (top row(s)) switch the charted outcome:
  • After Tax Estate
  • Liquid Assets
  • Net Income
  • CPP Collected
  • OAS Collected
  • DB Collected
  • Add. Income Collected
  • Corp. Div. Collected
  • RRSP/RRIF/LIF Balance
  • TFSA Balance
  • Unreg. Acc. Balance
  • Corporate Balance
  • Total Tax Paid
  • Estate Tax
• Include Current Plan
  • Available when multiple external plans are loaded.
  • Lets you overlay the currently active plan on the same chart.
• Zoom Y-Axis
  • Tightens Y-axis scaling to highlight differences between plans.
  • Turn off for broader absolute-scale context.
• Learn more
  • Opens chart guidance describing that this view compares projected values across selected plans to visualize outcome differences over time.
• Legend and line markers
  • Each line represents one plan.
  • Hover/trackball shows point values by age/year.
• Close
  • Closes the comparison dialog.

Practical guidance:

• Use clear file names (CPP60, CPP65, CPP70, etc.) so legend labels are immediately meaningful.
• Start with After Tax Estate, then review Net Income and Total Tax Paid to understand trade-offs.
• Keep Zoom Y-Axis on for fine differences; turn it off to evaluate absolute magnitude.

24. Suggest Adjustments

_{Figure 53: Suggested Adjustments dialog with category chips and adjustment cards}

Suggested Adjustments helps surface a small set of potentially useful plan changes without running a full exhaustive optimization. This feature does not use AI to generate ideas. Instead, MayRetire evaluates targeted variations of your current plan and shows adjustments that appear promising enough to review.

24.1 What This Feature Does

• Suggestion cards stay relatively local to your current plan rather than exploring every possible combination.
• Adjustments may involve:
  • benefit timing
  • RRSP withdrawal settings
  • TFSA behavior
  • corporate withdrawals (only when a corporate account is present)
  • asset allocation
  • target income changes
• Each card shows both:
  • the plan changes being proposed
  • the resulting projected plan metrics, such as average income, after-tax estate, stress-test funding, and funded-until age when applicable

24.2 Select Categories

_{Figure 54: Select Categories dialog shown before generating suggestions}

MayRetire opens Select Categories before generating suggestions so you can focus the search on the adjustment types you care about most.

• All available categories are enabled by default.
• Fewer selected categories can make the search faster.
• Use this when you want to focus only on a few adjustment areas instead of reviewing every available type.
• Corp is shown only when the current plan includes a corporate account.

24.3 How To Use It

• Start the feature from the app’s Suggested Adjustments action.

• MayRetire first opens Select Categories so you can choose which adjustment types to analyze.

• After categories are chosen, MayRetire reviews the current plan and shows a progress dialog while generating possible adjustments.

• If no suggestions are found for a narrowed category selection, MayRetire lets you reopen Select Categories and broaden the search.

• If no suggestions are found even with all categories selected, MayRetire shows a simple no-adjustments message.

• If suggestions are found, they are shown as cards inside the dialog.

• Category chips at the top let you filter the list by suggestion type when multiple kinds of suggestions are present.

• If not all categories were included in the search, the dialog also offers Select Categories so you can rerun with a different scope.

• Compare

  • Opens a side-by-side plan comparison between your current plan and the selected suggested plan.
  • Use this before applying a change when you want more detail.

• Apply

  • Replaces the current plan with the selected suggestion.
  • MayRetire recalculates immediately.
  • After applying, the app asks whether you want to look for more suggested adjustments for the updated plan.
  • If you choose Yes, MayRetire opens Select Categories again before rerunning the search.

24.4 Important Interpretation Notes

• These are suggestions, not recommendations to apply blindly.
• Some suggestions are tradeoffs. For example, a change may reduce average income in exchange for better durability, better stress-test funding, or improved estate outcomes.
• Income Adjustment suggestions appear when changing the target income seems to be the most practical way to improve viability.
• The feature should be treated as a useful starting point, not a full optimization engine.
• MayRetire will likely keep refining this feature over time by improving suggestion quality, explanation clarity, and the kinds of adjustments it can explore.

25. Check Survivor Safety

_{Figure 55: Check Survivor Safety dialog (Compare Plans framework with survivor scenarios)}

This action reuses the Compare Plans charting framework, but instead of loading external files it auto-generates survivor scenarios to test household resilience.

25.1 Availability And Scenario Setup

• Available from Top Action Bar -> Check Survivor Safety.
• This action is shown only in Couple planning mode and only when timeline settings allow a meaningful age-75 survivor check.
• No file picker is used.
• MayRetire automatically creates and compares three scenarios:
  • Both Alive (base plan).
  • Survivor (Spouse) (you pass away at age 75).
  • Survivor (You) (spouse passes away at age 75).

25.2 Metrics And Interpretation

• Uses the same metric chips as Compare Plans:
  • After Tax Estate, Liquid Assets, Net Income, CPP Collected, OAS Collected, DB Collected, Add. Income Collected, Corp. Div. Collected, RRSP/RRIF/LIF Balance, TFSA Balance, Unreg. Acc. Balance, Corporate Balance, Total Tax Paid, Estate Tax.
• Include Current Plan toggle is not shown here because the generated set already includes the base scenario (Both Alive).
• Zoom Y-Axis works the same way as in Compare Plans to focus on differences.
• Learn more explains the survivor-specific interpretation.

Interpretation guidance:

• Higher survivor lines can occur because household spending usually drops after one spouse passes.
• If any survivor trajectory drops to zero, the survivor safety check has failed and the plan should be adjusted.

Practical guidance:

• Start with After Tax Estate and Net Income to confirm survivor sufficiency.
• If survivor paths weaken, test adjustments to spending flexibility, drawdown strategy, and asset mix.
• Re-run this check after major plan changes (income targets, pensions, CPP/OAS timing, or withdrawal strategy).

26. Calculate Results

This section documents the results area shown after running Calculate. The same results UI pattern is also reused in Stress Test, Simulate, and Backtest when you focus on a specific sequence or selected scenario.

26.1 Funded Outcome And Main Stats

_{Figure 56: Fully funded outcome with projected net estate and summary cards}

_{Figure 57: Partially funded outcome (funded until a specific age) with the same summary-card layout}

25.1.1 Outcome Banner (Top Line)

• Fully funded outcome
  • Banner text indicates full plan sustainability across the full planning horizon.
  • It also shows projected Net Estate (after-tax estate value at plan end).
• Partially funded outcome
  • Banner reports the age until which the plan remains funded (for you, or spouse context in couple plans).
  • This is an early warning that spending, withdrawals, risk assumptions, or timeline may need adjustment.

25.1.2 Main Stats Cards (Two-Column Summary)

The summary block provides a quick top-level diagnostic before you dive into charts or detailed yearly rows.

Left-side card (income/assets/benefits focus) includes:

• Annual after-tax income range (max, min, average).
• Remaining balances near plan end (TFSA, non-registered, RRSP/RRIF/LIF).
• Distributions/dividends collected.
• Total government benefits collected (CPP/QPP, OAS; GIS when applicable).
• Total additional income collected (and DB pension totals when applicable).

Right-side card (tax/estate/returns focus) includes:

• Total tax paid (you/spouse in couple mode).
• Maximum observed combined average and marginal tax rates.
• Total OAS clawback (you/spouse).
• Capital loss carryover at plan end.
• Compound price return and compound total return (inflation-adjusted, fixed-return context for Calculate).
• Estate totals: gross estate, after-tax estate, estate tax, and estate tax-rate measures.

How to use this section effectively:

• Read the banner first for pass/fail framing.
• Then check Min annual after tax income and After Tax Estate Amount together to judge income stability vs legacy outcome.
• If funded only to a certain age, inspect tax burden and remaining registered balances before tuning strategy.

26.2 Charts

This subsection will cover all results charts that appear below the summary cards. Each chart will be documented in its own sub-subsection (22.2.x) with:

• What the chart shows.
• How to read the axes and series.
• What to watch for when interpreting plan quality.
• Key Learn more guidance (when available).

25.2.1 Common Chart Interaction Tips

• Charts show only relevant series MayRetire hides series that are not applicable to the current plan/scenario. Example: if no GIS is received in the plan, a GIS series will not be shown.

• Toggle series from legend Click a legend item to show/hide that series. Use this to isolate one account, one spouse, or one metric line.

• Hover for exact values Move the cursor over chart points to see detailed values for that specific year/age.

• Collapse/expand chart sections Use the chart section chevron to collapse charts you are not using and expand them again when needed.

• Use chart-specific Learn more links Most charts include a Learn more action that explains intent and interpretation nuances.

• Read trends, not only endpoints Two plans can finish similarly but differ substantially in mid-retirement stress years.

• Use complementary views Charts, summary cards, and the detailed projections table present the same plan through different lenses: trend view, headline metrics, and year-by-year detail.

25.2.2 Gross Income Breakdown: Spending, Taxes, Savings

_{Figure 58: Gross income breakdown chart (spending, taxes, OAS clawback, savings)}

What this chart shows:

• A Gross Income line across retirement years.
• A stacked annual breakdown showing where gross income is used:
  • Spending
  • Tax
  • OAS clawback
  • Savings flows (TFSA contribution / Unregistered deposit)
• A Target line for after-tax income comparison.

How to read it:

• Use the line trend to spot periods where gross income rises/falls materially.
• Use bar composition to understand whether changes are driven by taxes, clawback, or savings redirection.
• Hover tooltips provide year-specific values for each component.

25.2.3 Income Sources

_{Figure 59: Income Sources chart (stacked annual income by source plus target line)}

What this chart shows:

• Annual stacked bars by income source, such as:
  • CPP/QPP and OAS
  • RRSP/RRIF withdrawals
  • TFSA and non-registered flows
  • DB pension, additional incomes, and corporate dividends (when applicable)
• A Target line for income-goal context.

How to read it:

• Track how income composition transitions over time (for example, from registered withdrawals to government benefits).
• Compare stack height to target line to see when income mix is tight or comfortably above target.
• Hide/show specific sources from the legend to isolate dependency on one source.

25.2.4 Projected Account Balances Over Time

_{Figure 60: Projected account balances over time (stacked by account type)}

What this chart shows:

• Stacked annual portfolio balances by account type (for example RRSP/RRIF/LIF, TFSA, non-registered, corporate).
• Total stack height reflects total investable balance in each year.

How to read it:

• Focus first on overall stack trajectory (depleting, stable, or rising).
• Then inspect account mix shifts (e.g., registered balances depleting while TFSA/non-reg/corporate remain).
• Use legend toggles to isolate individual account paths.

25.2.5 Non-Registered Balance Breakdown

This chart appears when the plan includes investment portfolios. It provides a more detailed view of taxable non-registered assets than the overall account-balance chart.

_{Figure 61: Non-registered balance breakdown by account and portfolio capital access}

What this chart shows:

• Regular Non-Reg Account balance.
• Investment portfolio balances grouped by capital access:
  • Available Capital
  • Reserved Capital
  • Locked Capital
• In couple plans, segmented controls let you switch between Combined, Yours, and Spouse.

How to read it:

• Use Combined to understand total taxable non-registered wealth.
• Use Yours and Spouse to inspect attribution and survivor-sensitive ownership patterns.
• Watch for portfolio balances moving into the regular non-registered account after liquidation.
• Reserved and locked capital help distinguish assets that are not part of normal spending capacity.

Interpretation guidance:

• The regular non-registered account is shown separately from investment portfolios because portfolios can have different access rules, ownership shares, and return assumptions.
• Values follow the same real/future-dollar display setting used by the result view.

25.2.6 RRSP/RRIF Withdrawals, DB Pensions, And Taxable Attribution (Annual + Total)

This chart block is available for couple plans, where cross-spouse taxable attribution and splitting effects can be shown.

_{Figure 62: Annual attribution chart (top) and total-withdrawal/taxation summary pies (bottom)}

What this chart block shows:

• Top chart (annual view):
  • Year-by-year RRSP/RRIF withdrawals and DB pension amounts for each spouse.
  • Year-by-year taxable attribution split between spouses.
• Bottom charts (total-period summary):
  • Left pie: total RRSP/RRIF withdrawals by spouse.
  • Right pie: how that income was ultimately taxed between spouses.

How to read it:

• Use the top annual chart to see when attribution changes over time (especially around age 65+ pension-splitting years).
• Use the bottom pies to evaluate cumulative balance between who withdrew and who was taxed.
• It is normal to see one spouse withdraw more while taxable attribution is closer to balanced due to pension-income splitting optimization.

Interpretation note for this example:

• Taxable attribution is nearly equal between spouses, which indicates tax-sharing logic is actively balancing household tax burden.

25.2.7 Donations Over Time

This chart appears only when at least one donation is configured in the plan.

_{Figure 63: Donations chart with stacked funding types and total tax credit}

What this chart shows:

• Annual charitable giving by funding type:
  • Cash
  • In-Kind (Non-Registered)
  • In-Kind (Corporate) when applicable
• Total Tax Credit series when the plan includes personal donations that generate donation tax credits.

How to read it:

• Use the stacked columns to see how giving is funded over time.
• Compare cash vs in-kind years to understand whether donations are being funded from annual cash flow or appreciated investments.
• Use the tax-credit series to see when personal giving generates meaningful tax relief.

Interpretation guidance:

• Corporate in-kind donations may appear without a personal tax-credit series because they are not modeled as a personal donation tax credit.
• A shorter chart horizon is normal here because the chart ends at the last year with a non-zero donation.

25.2.8 Corporate Dividends Breakdown

_{Figure 64: Corporate dividends composition and refundable-tax flow over time}

What this chart shows:

• Annual corporate dividend mix by type:
  • CDA (Tax Free)
  • Eligible Dividends
  • Non-Eligible Dividends
• Dividends Refund series showing refundable-tax recovery flow (RDTOH refund effect).

How to read it:

• Track how the dividend mix changes as notional accounts are used through retirement.
• Watch whether payouts shift from eligible/non-eligible toward CDA or vice versa.
• Use the refund series to understand how distribution choices influence corporate tax recovery.

25.2.9 Projected Estate Over Time

_{Figure 65: Projected estate over time (total, after-tax, and estate-tax components)}

What this chart shows:

• Estate trajectory over retirement with separation of:
  • After Tax Estate
  • Estate Tax
  • Total Estate
• Optional overlays may appear when relevant (for example taxable-estate or unrealized-gain components).

How to read it:

• Use the gap between total and after-tax estate to gauge estate-tax drag over time.
• Observe whether estate tax pressure grows or stabilizes late in retirement.
• Compare this chart with summary-card estate metrics for headline end-state context.

25.2.10 Investment Return (Annual And Compound Views)

_{Figure 66: Investment return chart in Annual + Real-return view}

_{Figure 67: Investment return chart in Compound + Real-return view}

What this chart shows:

• Portfolio return behavior over time, with controls for:
  • Return family: Total or Price
  • Time lens: Annual or Compound
  • Value basis: Real return (inflation-adjusted) or Nominal return

How to read the two views shown:

• Annual view (Figure 66):
  • Highlights year-by-year return variability.
  • Useful for identifying volatility and sequence-of-returns pressure years.
• Compound view (Figure 67):
  • Shows cumulative growth path over time.
  • Useful for understanding long-horizon growth outcomes and divergence between price-only and total-return accumulation.

Interpretation guidance:

• Real-return mode is best for purchasing-power planning.
• Nominal mode is useful when comparing to statement-style or market-quoted return figures.
• Compare Price vs Total to understand the role of distributions/dividends in overall growth.

25.2.11 Tax Rates

_{Figure 68: Tax rates chart (cash-flow, average, effective marginal, and bracket rates)}

What this chart shows:

• Four tax lenses over time:
  • Cash Flow Tax Rate (%)
  • Average Tax Rate (%)
  • Effective Marginal Tax Rate (%)
  • Marginal Tax Bracket (%)

How to read it:

• Compare Average vs Marginal lines to understand incremental-tax pressure relative to blended-tax burden.
• Use Effective Marginal Tax Rate to evaluate withdrawal-attribution and income-composition impact.
• Use Cash Flow Tax Rate to see practical year-level tax drag against available spending cash flow.

Interpretation guidance:

• Large divergence between average and marginal rates can indicate sensitivity to additional withdrawals in that period.
• Step changes often reflect transitions in income mix (for example, changing RRIF/DB attribution, pension splitting effects, or account depletion patterns).

25.2.12 Rental Equity Over Time

This chart appears only when at least one rental property is configured in the plan.

_{Figure 69: Rental equity chart (market value, mortgage balance, and resulting equity)}

What this chart shows:

• Rental-property value structure over time:
  • Market Value
  • Mortgage Balance
  • Equity

How to read it:

• Equity reflects the difference between market value and mortgage balance.
• Sharp shifts may reflect a planned sale year, mortgage payoff milestones, or major financing transitions.
• Use this chart to see whether rental wealth is being built through appreciation, debt paydown, or both.

Interpretation guidance:

• Rising equity with a stable/declining mortgage usually indicates deleveraging and/or property appreciation.
• If a property is planned for sale, the post-sale profile should align with the rental cash-flow and estate charts.

25.2.13 Rental Cash Flow Over Time

This chart appears only when at least one rental property is configured in the plan.

_{Figure 70: Rental cash-flow chart (income, expenses, mortgage interest, and mortgage principal)}

What this chart shows:

• Annual rental cash-flow components:
  • Rental Income
  • Rental Expenses
  • Mortgage Interest
  • Mortgage Principal

How to read it:

• Compare income vs combined costs to see net contribution pressure from rentals each year.
• Watch the interest/principal mix change over time as mortgages amortize.
• Step changes can occur when a mortgage ends, a property is sold, or rent/expense growth assumptions shift.

Interpretation guidance:

• Improving net rental cash flow over time often comes from declining financing costs and ongoing rent growth.
• Use together with the Rental Equity chart to evaluate both liquidity impact and balance-sheet growth.

26.3 Detailed Projections Table

The detailed table is the year-by-year numeric companion to the summary cards and charts. It lets you inspect exact values for each age and each major planning component.

25.3.1 Table Layout And Controls

_{Figure 71: Detailed annual retirement financial projections table with grouped columns and top actions}

What this section shows:

• A yearly projection grid with grouped column families (for example benefits, withdrawals, balances, taxes, estate, rentals, and corporate-account metrics).
• Ages for you and spouse in the left-most columns.
• One row per projection year, so you can track transitions and milestones precisely.

Top actions above the table:

• Columns...: open the column-group picker to simplify the view.
• Export to Excel: download the projections for spreadsheet analysis and sharing.
• Export to JSON: download structured projection data for integrations or custom analysis.
• Today's dollars / Future dollars: switch display basis to inflation-adjusted or nominal-dollar views.

Usage tips:

• Use the table when you need exact annual values instead of trend-level chart patterns.
• Use this view to verify timing details (for example start ages, withdrawal transitions, sale years, and depletion points).

25.3.2 Show/Hide Columns Dialog

_{Figure 72: Show/Hide Columns dialog for selecting table column groups}

What this dialog does:

• Lets you include only the column groups relevant to your review task.
• Helps reduce horizontal scrolling by hiding unrelated groups.

Typical workflow:

• Enable the groups you want to focus on.
• Save the selection to refresh the table layout.
• Export to Excel or JSON if you need to share or analyze that view outside MayRetire.

26.4 Annual Tax Report

The Annual Tax Report is a worksheet-style companion to the detailed projections table. It focuses on tax computation rather than account balances or withdrawal mechanics, making it easier to review deductions, credits, surtax, health premium, and total tax payable across the retirement timeline.

_{Figure 73: Annual tax report with year-grouped columns, per-person values, and detailed or compact tax views}

What this section shows:

• A horizontally scrollable annual tax worksheet with one grouped column per retirement year.
• In couple plans, a separate subcolumn for You and Spouse while both are alive.
• In survivor years, only the remaining person’s column is shown for that year.
• In single plans, the year subcolumn header shows Age: N.

Controls above the table:

• Learn more: opens contextual help for interpreting the report.
• Today's dollars / Future dollars: changes only the tax report display basis, independently from the detailed projections table.
• Detailed / Compact: switches between a fuller tax audit view and a shorter summary view.

What the rows cover:

• Taxable-income inputs such as regular income, taxable capital gains, and dividend gross-up.
• Deductions such as RRSP contributions and OAS clawback when they apply.
• Federal tax components: gross federal tax, credits, and net federal tax.
• Provincial tax components: gross provincial tax, credits, surtax, health premium, and net provincial tax.
• Final annual Total Tax Payable.

Usage tips:

• Use Detailed when validating how credits and add-ons affect tax.
• Use Compact when scanning many years side by side.
• Compare this report with the Detailed Projections Table when you want both tax detail and cash-flow/account detail for the same year.

26.5 RRSP Withdrawal Strategy Evaluation

MayRetire can evaluate multiple RRSP/RRIF withdrawal strategies for the currently selected return sequence and show the outcome tradeoffs side by side.

_{Figure 74: Entry link to evaluate RRSP withdrawal strategies for the active sequence}

_{Figure 75: Withdrawal strategy evaluation table with strategy settings and key outcome metrics}

How it works:

• Click Evaluate different withdrawal strategies for this sequence of returns.
• MayRetire generates a comparison table of strategy variants.
• Use View/Apply on any row to load that strategy and immediately inspect its full output in charts and the detailed annual projections table for the same sequence.

What the evaluation table includes:

• Strategy controls (for example RRSP Meltdown, Gradual RRIF Depletion, target average tax rate, withdrawal rate, OAS-clawback handling, and CPP/OAS bridge options).
• Outcome metrics such as average net income, after-tax estate values, gap vs best result, remaining RRSP/LIF balance, and depletion age.

When to use it:

• After initial Calculate/Stress Test/Backtest/sequence review, to optimize withdrawal design without manually testing each variant one by one.
• To balance spending stability, tax efficiency, and estate goals based on your priorities.

27. Stress Test Results

Stress Test runs a small curated set of fixed adverse market regimes and shows how your plan behaves under each one. The goal is not to estimate probability. The goal is to pressure-test the plan against a handful of deliberately difficult environments that are easy to interpret and compare.

_{Figure 76: Stress Test outcomes with scenario tiles, baseline reference, and selected scenario focus}

27.1 Summary And Scenario Tiles

What this view shows:

• A top-level headline with the Average funding across stress scenarios.
• A secondary line showing how many scenarios were fully funded.
• A row of clickable scenario tiles, plus a Baseline tile for normal assumptions.
• After selecting a tile, the full result area below updates using the same charts and detailed table structure as Calculate.

How the summary is calculated:

• Each stress scenario is assigned a funding score based on the share of retirement years that remained funded.
• Example: if a plan stays funded for 24 of 32 planned years in one scenario, that scenario contributes 75%.
• The main headline is the average of those scenario funding percentages.
• The Baseline tile is shown for reference but is not included in the average stress score.

How to read the tiles:

• Green tiles indicate fully funded outcomes.
• Darker green means the ending net estate is closer to the baseline result.
• Amber tiles indicate partial funding.
• Darker amber means the plan remained funded through a larger share of the retirement horizon.
• Tile text shows either:
  • Fully funded plus Net Estate, or
  • Funded: xx% plus the age reached.

How to use it:

• Start with the average-funding headline to gauge overall resilience across the full stress set.
• Then review which named scenarios are weakest.
• Click the weakest tile to inspect the exact path using the normal detailed charts and yearly table.
• Compare a weak scenario against the Baseline tile to see how much deterioration the stress path causes.

Interpretation guidance:

• A strong average score with one weak tile usually means the plan is robust, but sensitive to one specific market regime.
• A weak average score means the plan depends heavily on favorable market conditions.
• If multiple scenarios fail early, first review spending, retirement timing, and asset mix before fine-tuning withdrawal strategy.

27.2 Why These Scenarios Were Selected

These scenarios are stylized planning tests, not forecasts. They were chosen to represent adverse regimes that retirement-income research repeatedly identifies as dangerous:

• early negative returns and sequence risk,
• early inflation shocks,
• prolonged low real returns,
• weak diversification between stocks and bonds,
• and long periods of structurally disappointing market performance.

The scenario set is informed by retirement-income research and practitioner commentary from sources such as:

• Michael Kitces on sequence risk and bad early decades:
  • https://www.kitces.com/blog/understanding-sequence-of-return-risk-safe-withdrawal-rates-bear-market-crashes-and-bad-decades/
• Wade Pfau / Michael Kitces on safe withdrawal sensitivity to market conditions:
  • https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2497053
• Morningstar on the combined danger of early losses and inflation:
  • https://www.morningstar.com/retirement/how-worried-should-new-retirees-be-about-market-losses-high-inflation
• Vanguard on inflation shocks and periods where stocks and bonds both struggle:
  • https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/corporatesite/us/en/corp/articles/higher-inflation-not-end-60-40-portfolio.html
• Finke, Pfau, and Blanchett on low-yield / low-return retirement conditions:
  • https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2201323

27.3 Scenario Reference

26.3.1 Crash At Start

What it represents:

• A major equity drawdown right at the start of retirement, followed by several weak years.

Why it matters:

• This is the classic sequence-of-returns risk problem: losses early in retirement are especially damaging because withdrawals continue while the portfolio is down.

Why it was selected:

• This is one of the most frequently discussed retirement failure patterns in practitioner and academic work.
• It is strongly aligned with Kitces and Pfau discussions of poor first-decade outcomes and safe-withdrawal fragility.

26.3.2 Crash Plus Inflation

What it represents:

• An early market decline combined with an inflation spike.

Why it matters:

• Retirees are harmed twice: portfolio values fall while required spending rises in nominal terms.
• This is especially dangerous early in retirement, when the portfolio is largest and most exposed to sequence damage.

Why it was selected:

• Morningstar has highlighted that early-retirement inflation shocks combined with market weakness can be materially worse than either problem on its own.

26.3.3 Prolonged Stagflation

What it represents:

• Several years of elevated inflation, weak real equity returns, and muted bond support.

Why it matters:

• Retirement plans can survive a one-year shock and still fail under a long period of weak real returns.
• This scenario tests purchasing-power pressure rather than just a one-time crash.

Why it was selected:

• The 1970s-style stagflation regime remains one of the most relevant retirement stress analogies.
• Morningstar and Vanguard both discuss the importance of stress testing inflation-heavy environments where diversification is less helpful than expected.

26.3.4 Lost Decade

What it represents:

• A long first decade with persistently disappointing equity returns, without requiring one dramatic crash.

Why it matters:

• Some plans do not fail because of one catastrophic year. They fail because the first decade is simply too weak to recover from withdrawals.

Why it was selected:

• Sequence-risk research often emphasizes the damage from bad early decades, not just bad single years.
• This scenario captures that broader structural weakness.

26.3.5 60/40 Breakdown

What it represents:

• A period where both equities and bonds perform poorly at the same time.

Why it matters:

• Many retirement plans assume bonds will cushion equity losses.
• When both sides of the portfolio struggle together, diversification delivers less protection than expected.

Why it was selected:

• Vanguard and many recent market commentaries have focused on the need to test environments where traditional stock-bond diversification temporarily fails.

26.3.6 Low-Return Regime

What it represents:

• No dramatic crash, just persistently lower returns across the full retirement horizon.

Why it matters:

• This tests whether the plan still works when long-run market conditions are simply worse than historical averages.
• It is a useful check against relying too heavily on optimistic return assumptions.

Why it was selected:

• Retirement-income research often warns that lower expected returns and lower yield environments reduce safe withdrawal capacity.
• This scenario captures that forward-looking risk in a simple, intuitive way.

Practical guidance across all scenarios:

• Treat these scenarios as decision tools, not predictions.
• Use them to identify the kinds of environments that would force plan changes.
• If one scenario is weak but others are strong, review whether your plan has a specific vulnerability rather than a general one.
• If the average funding score is weak, start with spending flexibility and asset allocation before making smaller technical adjustments.

28. Simulate Results

The Simulate run summarizes retirement sustainability across 500 randomized return scenarios, then surfaces key risk/opportunity patterns.

28.1 Confidence Level (Success Rate)

_{Figure 77: Simulation confidence-level gauge (success-rate summary)}

What this view shows:

• A confidence-level headline (for example, 89%) indicating the share of simulation paths where retirement income remained sustainable through the plan horizon.
• A visual gauge from weaker to stronger outcome bands.

How to read it:

• Treat this as the top-level success-rate indicator for the current plan assumptions.
• Use it together with scenario highlights and charts to understand why paths failed or succeeded.

28.2 Simulation Highlights

_{Figure 78: Simulation highlights cards (frequency of important risk and outcome patterns)}

What this view shows:

• A set of cards that quantify how often specific conditions occurred across 500 simulations.
• Examples include:
  • Large End Portfolio Value
  • Small End Portfolio Value
  • Substantial OAS Clawback
  • High Estate Tax
  • TFSA Depleted Early
  • RRSP Dominant End Portfolio

How to use it:

• Use the percentages to identify dominant plan risks and tail outcomes, not just median behavior.
• Prioritize adjustments based on cards with material frequencies (for example meaningful OAS clawback or small-end-portfolio rates).
• Re-run Simulate after changes and compare card shifts to validate improvement direction.

28.3 Charts

These charts provide distribution-aware views of simulation outcomes across age, instead of a single deterministic path.

27.3.1 Retirement Portfolio Success

_{Figure 79: Retirement portfolio success curve by age under Monte Carlo simulation}

What this chart shows:

• Success probability trajectory by age for the simulated retirement horizon.
• The y-axis expresses success percentage (0%-100%).

How to read it:

• A flatter, high line indicates stronger robustness across most of retirement.
• A late-life decline indicates higher probability of depletion in advanced ages.
• Use this with the confidence-level gauge: the gauge summarizes overall success, while this chart shows where success pressure appears over time.

27.3.2 Monte Carlo Portfolio Outcomes (Percentile Paths)

_{Figure 80: Monte Carlo portfolio outcomes with percentile paths (10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th)}

What this chart shows:

• Portfolio-value paths across key percentiles:
  • 10th percentile (stress path)
  • 25th percentile
  • 50th percentile (median)
  • 75th percentile
  • 90th percentile (strong path)

What “percentile” means (plain language):

• A percentile tells you where a result sits relative to all simulation outcomes.
• At any age point:
  • 10th percentile means 10% of simulations were at or below that value (and 90% were above it).
  • 50th percentile means the median outcome: half of simulations were below and half were above.
  • 90th percentile means only 10% of simulations were above that value.
• With 500 simulations, this is roughly:
  • 10th percentile: around the 50th weakest outcome.
  • 50th percentile: around the middle (250th) outcome.
  • 90th percentile: around the 50th strongest outcome.
• MayRetire smooths percentile curves by averaging nearby ranked outcomes around each percentile point, so lines are easier to read and less noisy year to year.
• These percentile lines are summary envelopes by age, not single real-world predictions.

How to read it:

• The spread between percentile lines reflects uncertainty/dispersion over time.
• The 10th/25th paths indicate downside vulnerability and sequencing pressure.
• The 75th/90th paths indicate upside potential and legacy/estate headroom.

27.3.3 Income And Asset Projections By Confidence Level (Tabbed Chart)

This is one chart component with multiple tabs. The two views below are different tabs of the same chart:

• Closing balance tab
• Estate tab

_{Figure 81: Confidence-level chart in Closing balance tab}

_{Figure 82: Confidence-level chart in Estate tab}

What this chart shows:

• Outcomes organized by confidence level bands (for example 10% through 90%).
• Different composition breakdowns depending on selected tab:
  • Closing balance: closing asset mix by account/category.
  • Estate: after-tax estate and estate-tax composition.

How to read it:

• Lower confidence levels represent stronger/optimistic portions of the distribution.
• Higher confidence levels represent more conservative/lower-bound portions of the distribution.
• Use tab switching to compare how end-state composition changes across confidence levels without leaving the same chart context.

27.3.4 Real Investment Returns Distribution And Inflation (Tabbed Chart)

This chart is also tabbed. The examples below show:

• Inflation tab
• An equity tab (US Equity) showing return distributions for that asset class

_{Figure 83: Real investment returns distribution chart - Inflation tab}

_{Figure 84: Real investment returns distribution chart - Asset class tab example (US Equity)}

What this chart shows:

• Simulated annual return distributions used by the engine.
• Inflation distribution in the inflation tab.
• Asset-level return distributions in asset tabs (with price and total return views where applicable).

Advanced modeling note (technical/internal):

• In the current version of MayRetire, each year’s vector of simulated returns is drawn independently from the same multivariate distribution (Normal or Student-T).
• This preserves cross-asset correlations within each year, but assumes independence from one year to the next (no Markov or temporal inter-year correlation).
• This design aligns with FP Canada long-term projection assumptions, which treat annual returns as identically and independently distributed to represent long-run averages rather than short-term momentum or mean-reversion dynamics.

Why this matters for interpretation:

• Simulation results are best read as long-run planning ranges and reliability estimates, not as forecasts of short-term market regimes or multi-year streak behavior.

28.4 Confidence-Level Slider (Calculate-Style View)

The confidence slider lets you pick a specific confidence level and immediately view one corresponding retirement outcome in the same style as Calculate (funded banner, charts, and detailed table for that selected level).

_{Figure 85: Confidence slider example at 20%}

_{Figure 86: Confidence slider example at 80%}

_{Figure 87: Confidence slider example at 96%}

What “confidence level” means in this context:

• The selected confidence level is a reliability target for the shown outcome.
• Example interpretation:
  • 80% confidence means the displayed result is expected to be met or exceeded in about 80% of simulation scenarios.
  • 96% confidence is more conservative: it reflects a tougher, lower-bound style outcome that most scenarios still meet.
  • 20% confidence is less conservative: it reflects a stronger/optimistic slice of outcomes that fewer scenarios achieve.

How to use it:

• Drag the slider to the confidence level you want to plan against.
• After selection, MayRetire updates the result view for that level, using the same structure as Calculate outputs.
• Use higher confidence when prioritizing robustness; use lower confidence to inspect upside potential.

29. Backtesting Results

Backtesting runs your plan through many historical return windows. The backtesting screen shows all tested periods together, highlights strongest and weakest outcomes, and lets you drill into any specific period.

_{Figure 88: Backtesting outcomes with historical-period tiles and selected-sequence focus}

What this view shows:

• A multi-line chart of asset paths across historical periods.
• Summary success/failure count across tested periods.
• Clickable period tiles (green/red) for each historical start-end window.

How to use it:

• Start with the overall success line to understand robustness across history.
• Click any specific historical period tile to focus that exact sequence.
• After selecting a period, MayRetire opens the full results view for that sequence, including all charts and the detailed projections table, so you can inspect year-by-year mechanics.

Interpretation guidance:

• Use strong/weak outlier periods to test plan sensitivity to sequence risk.
• Compare selected backtest sequences using the same chart/table workflow you use for Calculate results.

30. Income Source Priority And Fallback Logic

MayRetire uses a flexible withdrawal engine to meet your required retirement income while respecting your strategy settings and tax-efficiency rules.

_{Figure 89: Income source priority and fallback sequence}

Default priority sequence:

1. Core income sources
   • CPP, OAS, GIS (when eligible), DB Pension, plus Additional Incomes and Rental Income.
2. Corporate distributions
   • Start with tax-efficient corporate pools (for example CDA/RDTOH-style optimization), then continue if more cash is needed up to configured and safe tax-efficiency limits.
3. Strategic RRSP/RRIF/LIF withdrawals
   • Follow your selected RRSP Withdrawal Strategy (for example target tax bracket, bridge behavior, or clawback control settings).
4. Unregistered and conditional TFSA mix
   • Draw from personal non-registered savings; MayRetire may mix TFSA withdrawals when configured to manage taxable income and, in some cases, preserve GIS eligibility.
5. TFSA remainder
   • If non-registered assets are depleted, continue withdrawals from remaining TFSA balances.
6. Shortfall fallback (last resort)
   • If required income is still not met, MayRetire escalates by fully draining corporate assets (overriding tax-efficiency limits) and then taking additional registered/corporate withdrawals as needed.

Important interpretation note:

• This is the default decision order, but final yearly behavior is conditional on account availability, legal minimums, selected strategy toggles, and tax/clawback constraints.
• Some steps only apply when the relevant source exists (for example, corporate-distribution logic appears only when a Corporate Account is configured).
• GIS eligibility is determined using GIS-eligibility taxable income from the prior year.

31. Final Note

Thank you for reading the MayRetire tutorial.

If you have feedback, ideas, or feature suggestions, please contact us at support@mayretire.com.

We wish you successful retirement planning with MayRetire: https://mayretire.com

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