Retirement Planning Tools

michaels

NickEMR said:

I've just come across this discussion, and I noticed several comments about EvolveMyRetirement touching on a few topics. As the creator of the app, I thought I'd answer some of the issues raised. I've grouped them by topic.

1. @eh5757 said "it seemed like magic", @cfw1994 said there was "no explanation of the numbers", and @garmeg said it's "a black box". Some of our users communicated similar sentiments to us directly. In response, we added new features that go a long way to addressing these issues. We added detailed tables to scenarios for users having a Standard subscription. Our feedback from users on these improvements has been positive.

2. @cfw1994 said it "dropped my discretionary spending. No clear reason why", and "it reduced my discretionary spending yet said I was likely to leave an inheritance of over a million....even when I told it I wasn’t interested in leaving anything!". The app never tells you you're likely to leave a legacy, only the distribution of possible legacies, including the median value. Even if you say you're not interested in leaving a legacy, that doesn't guarantee you won't leave one. You can't know in advance exactly how long you'll live, or how your investments will perform. The only way of guaranteeing no legacy would be to immediately buy a lifetime annuity, but with low rates that too might well result in low income and less to spend. The app presumably lowered your discretionary spending because it reduced your insolvency risk. Running a sensitivity analysis on discretionary spending should shed some light.

3. Optimisation can sometimes look like a "black box" or "magic". @cfw1994 said there's "no way of knowing why is suggested some numbers". The optimiser arrives at the strategy that gives the best statistical outcome. Being able to evaluate thousands of potential strategies very quickly using a genetic algorithm makes this process far faster than a human could manage. The app doesn't hold opinions: it's all about outcomes. If you edit your strategy, you can compare outcomes. Or by running a sensitivity analysis you can spot trends for specific strategy settings.

4. @westv said that pricing was hidden away, and @garmeg said you needed to register and log in to see the pricing. That's no longer the case, and there's been a dedicated pricing/features comparison page (accessible from the home page) for several months now. By the way, we don't push any ads, so we have to charge a nominal fee for all but the 'basic' users of this app.

I'm happy to answer further questions in this forum. Of course, any user, whether free or subscribed, can contact us directly with queries about using the app or about understanding its results. The output from the app is only ever as good as the input, and sometimes a simple pointer makes a big difference. We also often make enhancements that take into account user suggestions and feedback.

Nick, I think there are some rules for businesses posting on MSE (things like stating your position in your signature and possibly getting this approved by the forum moderators).  HTH

NickEMR

Hello @michaels, I trust the moderators will have seen that I declared myself to be the app creator. I'm also the MD of the owning company (Okinawa Zest Ltd). Having read posts with comments about our app, I've assumed that my post/reply would be helpful.

michaels

NickEMR said:

Hello @michaels, I trust the moderators will have seen that I declared myself to be the app creator. I'm also the MD of the owning company (Okinawa Zest Ltd). Having read posts with comments about our app, I've assumed that my post/reply would be helpful.

Wasn't suggesting it wasn't helpful.  Just letting you know that if a moderator noticed you have a commercial interest but weren't declaring it they might suspend your account.

Langtang

michaels said:

NickEMR said:

Hello @michaels, I trust the moderators will have seen that I declared myself to be the app creator. I'm also the MD of the owning company (Okinawa Zest Ltd). Having read posts with comments about our app, I've assumed that my post/reply would be helpful.

Wasn't suggesting it wasn't helpful.  Just letting you know that if a moderator noticed you have a commercial interest but weren't declaring it they might suspend your account.

The British at their finest. Suspend first, ask questions later. Gotta love us... 

westv

Just giving evolvemyretirement a go. One thing I don't understand is that the investment income is always shown as  2.7% in the random scenarios section.

Albermarle

westv said:

Just giving evolvemyretirement a go. One thing I don't understand is that the investment income is always shown as  2.7% in the random scenarios section.

Just had a look at the website which looks interesting. However I would be a bit cautious ( maybe unnecessarily )

You have to put all details about your whole financial situation ( obviously )
I have no idea who Okinawa Zest are ( they operate the site )
It is free - What's in it for them ?

Same for any of these types of websites really . I just do not feel comfortable posting ALL my financial details in this way .

NickEMR

westv said:

Just giving evolvemyretirement a go. One thing I don't understand is that the investment income is always shown as  2.7% in the random scenarios section.

EvolveMyRetirement assumes investment income to be a percentage of the mean growth rate. In the assumptions, the specified growth rates assume income is reinvested. For lowest risk, income is assumed to be 100% of growth: in other words, it's all income and no growth. For highest risk, income is assumed to be 0%: all growth and no income. For risks in between, the percentage is interpolated. So in the random scenario, the percentage income will only change during rebalancing of investment risk. This means that the investment income percentage is deterministic rather than randomised. But the net investment growth percentage is randomised; the growth percentage shown is the net growth percentage minus the income percentage.

I was looking through the website to find where this was explained, but couldn't find it. We'll add an explanation in due course. Thanks @westv for pointing this out.

NickEMR

Albermarle said:

Just had a look at the website which looks interesting. However I would be a bit cautious ( maybe unnecessarily )

You have to put all details about your whole financial situation ( obviously )
I have no idea who Okinawa Zest are ( they operate the site )
It is free - What's in it for them ?

Same for any of these types of websites really . I just do not feel comfortable posting ALL my financial details in this way .

There's nothing to stop anyone signing up with an anonymous email address. But the holding company and its directors are legally bound by the published Privacy Policy. What's in it for us? Currently we rely on some of our users paying to activate added features, and/or on any of our users spreading the word!

westv

Just thought of another question. What are the programs assumptions regarding home equity? Does it assume that equity will be released if needed? Up to the 25% or so I've seen mentioned elswhere?

NickEMR

westv said:

Just thought of another question. What are the programs assumptions regarding home equity? Does it assume that equity will be released if needed? Up to the 25% or so I've seen mentioned elswhere?

Yes, EvolveMyRetirement releases home equity, but only if needed. It assumes a maximum of 25% of home value for a 50-year-old, with a sliding scale up to (a conservative) 50% for an 85-year-old or older.