An enormous gulf separates conventional and economics-based financial planning. I am going to briefly lay out the differences.

For most people, Kotlikoff argues, the ideal path for allocation to stocks is high when they’re young, low in the years just before and after retirement and then higher again in the last stage of retirement.

“Advisors are systematically telling clients the wrong thing about retirement planning because they’re trying to maximize their profits,” he argues in an interview with ThinkAdvisor.

Deciding when to file for Social Security benefits can be daunting. Some choose to file early, while others believe it is a better bet to wait.

Typical workers’ lifetime spending could increase by 10.4% if they simply waited until age 70 to start Social Security benefits. But, according to a new study, “How Much Lifetime Social Security Benefits Are Americans Leaving on the Table?” only 10.2% of Americans do so. This means a median loss of “lifetime discretionary spending of $182,370.”

Laurence Kotlikoff has another good example of pulling certain levers involving a couple that comes to him with their proposed retirement plan.

An Economist’s Look Into Personal Finance

Figuring out when to collect your Social Security benefits is a personal decision. You’ll want to account for factors like your current health status, spouse and additional sources of retirement income.

MaxiFi Planner is a fee-based Social Security tool developed by economist Laurence Kotlikoff. The software focuses on helping retirees smooth consumption over time. In other words, it creates a plan for retirees that allows them to have a standard of living that stays constant once they’re done working.

In his new book, Money Magic: An Economist’s Secrets to More Money, Less Risk, and a Better Life, Laurence Kotlikoff says everything financial planners tell you is wrong

Principles of economics-based financial planning provide an answer. Any change in taxes and benefits can be modeled and the effect, while measurable, is sensitive to the age and financial characteristics of the individual and the household.

David Goldstein was terminated from his job as an environmental consultant and learned he had terminal bone cancer in the same week last November.

Caution: Read this column only if the idea of “running out of money” in your lifetime (with the exception of Social Security) keeps you awake at night! Relying on conventional financial planning could give you a 20 percent likelihood of that result.

If inflation doesn’t drop back to where it was before the pandemic, nearly every American—rich or poor—will see their spending power diminished, a new working paper finds.

Each month, about 71 million Americans - retirees, disabled workers and others – receive checks from Social Security. But each year, about a million people get something else in the mail – a bill. They're told they owe the government money, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars, because the Social Security Administration miscalculated their benefits and paid them too much.

There are some important decisions that you’ll have to make with respect to Social Security along the way. Some of them have big consequences. There’s one Social Security mistake that could even cost you $182,000.

Let’s start with regret. Kotlikoff worries that people will regret retiring early and then coming up a few dollars short. That may be a mistake. But so would working an extra decade to pad the portfolio, only to find yourself among the half of people who stop needing any money prior to average life expectancy.

The National Bureau of Economic Research study found that Social Security beneficiaries are missing out on receiving nearly $200,000 by claiming too early.

While some people would only gain a few thousand dollars by delaying until age 70, those at the high end would gain about $900,000 over the course of their retirement by waiting, according to a National Bureau of Economic Research paper by authors at Boston University and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

The majority of Americans should wait until they’re age 70 to begin collecting their Social Security benefits to maximize their monthly payments, according to a study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

If you’re going to read just one financial book this year, read Money Magic by well-known economist Laurence Kotlikoff, who also co-authored the definitive book on Social Security, “Get What’s Yours.” Kotlikoff has the extraordinary ability to make complicated money matters understandable – and to debunk the lures of Wall Street and the financial planning community.

This article reviews MaxiFi, focusing on its ability to compare an unlimited number of alternative financial plans.

If you demand the deepest and most powerful financial planning engine, look no further.

Roth conversions make sense for retirees who have enough after-tax money to pay the taxes on the funds being converted. Otherwise, retirees have to pull even more money from their tax-deferred account to cover taxes.

MaxiFi will also make suggestions to help improve your money plan. These changes are intended to lower your tax bill, optimize your income and help correct your current spending habits.

But others liken it to an annuity that provides free rent long after the house is paid off. This group includes economist Larry Kotlikoff, who was a guest on a recent webinar discussing reverse mortgages.

I rarely promote products at my blog but I know that many of my readers are do-it-yourselfers and many have expressed interest in software tools. I have a lot of confidence in MaxiFi.

Maxifi Planner is a powerful budgeting platform with future-thinking analysis tools you’d usually only get with a financial planner.

We dug into readers’ questions on Roth IRA conversions and other maneuvers to reduce your taxes in retirement.

"It's a complicated product to get your brain around. If you couldn't come up any other option to stay in the home, then use a reverse mortgage."

Should I sell stocks or wait for the market to recover? Should I tap into my retirement funds now? What should I do about Social Security?

Life-cycle economics can provide guidelines for far more than retirement finance questions.

Sure, there's plenty of financial software out there that can help you establish a budget, save money for your kids' education and even live out your dream retirement. But can these apps help you calculate your highest sustainable living standard? MaxiFi Planner takes on the role of a financial planner to help you live your best life. It takes into account your entire financial picture and calculates what your retirement will look like with several scenarios

Professor Kotlikoff's Economic Security Plannings Inc.'s tools include MaxiFi, which works to analyze your spending, saving and insurance to make sure they match your lifestyle and level of wealth. It also looks at other ways to increase the money you take in through Social Security, annuities or retirement savings.

Planning for retirement? Look no further than your tablet or smartphone.

A growing array of apps and websites make it easier to complete many of the most basic—and most important—tasks, from saving money and creating legal documents to figuring out a second career and where to live.

The best and most comprehensive retirement planning software . . . is Laurence Kotlikoff's MaxiFi.com

MaxiFi Planner is a simple and elegant solution for financial advisors seeking to advise clients or for unadvised investors looking to optimize their own plan.

Optimization means getting the most consumption for a given amount of variability, but not eliminating variability.

One of the most sophisticated financial planning tools is based not only on mathematical factors but on economic-based decision making.

But there is room for a solution, Kotlikoff said. “But it has to be done carefully so Social Security doesn’t lose money,” he said.

Delaying your Social Security is one of the best ways to expand your retirement income. Your monthly check from the government will often be three-quarters larger if you claim at 70 instead of at 62, said Laurence Kotlikoff, an economics professor at Boston University and the author of " Get What's Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security ."