A book of record, not a black-box score.
Start with clean income, wealth and tax inputs. The Ledger carries them forward year by year — opening balance, money in, taxes, withdrawals and closing balance — so you can see what is happening before you ask what might happen.
| Year | Money in | Taxes + health | Spending | Closing balance | In the margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026age 61 | 148,000 | −42,400 | −76,000 | 2,495,000 | Last working year — reconciled to the dollar. |
| 202762 | 12,400 | −8,640 | −92,000 | 2,468,000 | Retires. Roth conversions begin — filling the 22% bracket. |
| 202863 | 12,800 | −8,640 | −92,000 | 2,489,000 | |
| 202964 | 13,100 | −5,580 | −94,000 | 2,522,000 | Conversion trimmed to keep the ACA subsidy. |
| 203065 | 13,600 | −9,900 | −94,000 | 2,561,000 | Medicare begins — premiums replace ACA. |
| 203267 | 59,800 | −11,300 | −96,000 | 2,650,000 | Social Security claimed at 67. |
| 203873 | 117,400 | −21,700 | −104,000 | 2,918,000 | First required distribution — planned for, not a surprise. |
| ⋮ every year in between, carried forward the same way | |||||
| 205590 | Funded ✓ | Every year funded, including the last. | |||
One repeatable Ledger run. No hidden probability in the answer you use to make a decision.
Brackets, Social Security, RMDs, ACA and Medicare stay visible instead of collapsing into one flat rate.
Once the base plan makes sense, run randomized market paths to explore what could change.