The Free Retirement Checkup™ · 2 minutes
You know the retirement you want.
Now see exactly where you stand.
Whether your plan is finished, half-built, or not started: seven questions give you a 0–100 score, your strong and thin spots, and expert guidance for what to do next.
Take the Checkup
Seven plain questions, a 0–100 score, and your top lever.
Get your score →Plan for Retirement
See how much is enough — and whether you’re on pace for it.
Start planning →Understand Social Security
62, 67, or 70 — what each claiming age really pays.
Compare ages →Cut Retirement Taxes
Brackets, the 0% gains window, and tax-smart withdrawal order.
See the moves →Handle RMDs & Roth
When withdrawals become required — and when converting wins.
Learn the rules →Navigate Medicare
The 7-month window, Part B costs, and the IRMAA cliffs.
Get oriented →Run the Calculators
Retirement, investment, 2026 brackets, Social Security, Roth.
Open the tools →Talk to Us
A free 30-minute conversation with a qualified fee-only advisor.
Book a time →Every figure cited to a primary source · no email needed to see your score
Start with your question
Searches every guide — plain answers, no email, no signup.
Our system · free · 2 minutes
The Retirement Checkup™
The state of your retirement, told to you straight — the way a good checkup should.
Answer seven plain questions
No jargon, no documents to dig out, no email to get started. Two minutes, start to finish.
See your 0–100 score and your four pillars
One readiness number, broken into the four things that make a retirement hold up.
Leave with your pointers
Guides matched to your weakest pillar, your top lever named — and if you’d like a person, we’ll introduce you to a qualified fee-only advisor (CFP®, CIMA®, CAIA) for a free conversation.
Illustrative and educational. Your score reflects the answers you give.
About this site
Free to use. Nothing gated. No commissions.
Retirement Made Clear is a free educational website. There are no products for sale here — the guides, calculators, and the Checkup are free, and no email is needed to see your score.
If you’d like a person, we’ll introduce you to a qualified fee-only advisor — CFP®, CIMA®, CAIA® — for a free conversation. Thirty minutes, by video or phone. And if it’s not the right fit, we’ll say so and point you elsewhere.
Request an introduction
Latest from the Learn library
How Much Do You Actually Need? The ×25 Rule, and Where It Bends
Multiply the spending your portfolio must cover by 25 — the research range, the input everyone gets wrong, with a mini-calculator.
Read the guide →
Medicare Part B Costs $202.90 a Month in 2026 — Here’s the Math Behind It
Up $17.90, just under 10% — what it nets against the 2.8% COLA at three benefit levels, and who pays more.
Read the guide →
The Step-Up: Why Some Taxes Disappear at Death — and Some Don’t
Inherited assets reset their basis at death — but IRAs never step up, and one common deed mistake forfeits it.
Read the guide →Common questions
What people ask about Retirement Made Clear
What is Retirement Made Clear?
Retirement Made Clear is a free retirement-education site. It offers the Retirement Checkup™, a seven-question self-assessment that returns a 0–100 readiness score; free planning calculators; and guides on Social Security, taxes, Medicare, required minimum distributions and Roth conversions. Every official figure is cited to its primary source, such as the IRS, the Social Security Administration or CMS. It is built for every starting point, including people who have never made a plan.
Is Retirement Made Clear free?
Yes. The Retirement Checkup™, the calculators and every guide cost $0, and none of them requires a sign-up. The full Checkup result appears on screen without a name or email. Contact details come up only if you choose to book a conversation or leave an email for the monthly note, and the conversation is free too: 30 minutes, by video or phone.
Is the information on Retirement Made Clear financial advice?
No. Everything on the site is general education. The guides explain how the rules work, and the Checkup and calculators reflect only the numbers you enter. None of it knows your full situation, and none of it recommends that you claim, convert, withdraw or buy anything in particular. A personalized recommendation requires a review of your whole picture with a qualified professional.
How does the Retirement Checkup™ work?
You answer seven questions, one tap each, in about two minutes. Your answers become a 0–100 readiness score across four pillars: Income, Taxes, Resilience and Clarity. The full result appears on screen right away, with the open decisions your answers point to and a short explanation of each pillar. It works whether your plan is finished, half-built or not started.
What happens to the information I enter?
Your Checkup score is calculated in your browser, and no name or email is needed to see it. Your answers are linked to you only if you book a conversation; then they travel with the booking so the advisor can prepare. If you accept analytics cookies, those tools receive general events such as a score range, never your individual answers. Personal information is never sold.
Two minutes from now, you could know your number.
Seven questions. A 0–100 score. Your top lever. No email needed to see it.
Take the CheckupPrefer a person? Request an introduction →