3664: Why Most Retirement Calculators Don't Work by Darrow Kirkpatrick of Can I Retire Yet on Retirement Planning
Optimal Finance DailyAugust 14, 2026
3664
00:12:48

3664: Why Most Retirement Calculators Don't Work by Darrow Kirkpatrick of Can I Retire Yet on Retirement Planning

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Episode 3664:

Darrow Kirkpatrick explains why most retirement calculators give you a false sense of precision. He walks through the flaws in steady-growth math, Monte Carlo simulations, and history-based models, including how the sequence of returns can sink a portfolio whose average return looks perfectly fine. His takeaway for anyone investing toward retirement is to treat a calculator as a direction indicator rather than a prediction.

Read along with the original article(s) here: https://www.caniretireyet.com/why-most-retirement-calculators-dont-work/

Quotes to ponder:

"Most retirement calculators are broken."

"History might rhyme, but it doesn't precisely repeat itself."

"In the end, no retirement calculator can predict the future. All it can tell you is which direction you're headed."

Optimal Finance Daily is a daily personal finance podcast where we narrate the best articles on financial independence, investing, saving money, and money management, read to you by a professional narrator so you can grow your wealth a little more every day.

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