Tool Estimates Retirement Health Care Expenses

Independent investment adviser Financial Engines has launched a College Expense Planner and a Retirement Healthcare Expense Planner. Both utilize empirical forecasting methodologies to offer actionable information.

The Financial Engines Retirement Healthcare Expense Planner enables users to estimate what they might need to pay for Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket health care expenses once they stop working. The planner leverages Financial Engines’ partnership with HealthView, a provider of health care cost-projection software. With the planner, users receive a location-specific estimate for how much they can expect to pay for health care services in retirement. That estimate can then be integrated into their overall retirement income goal.

The Financial Engines College Expense Planner helps develop a saving and investing strategy to pay for college. It helps people estimate how much they will need to save for their children’s college expenses and gives them a sense of where they stand today in relation to their savings targets. The planner incorporates third-party tuition cost growth estimates for public and private colleges and a variety of portfolio forecasting options to estimate the savings users could have when their children are ready for college.

“Our new digital planners address key areas where people need help navigating unfamiliar systems, so they can develop smart saving and investment strategies,” explains Karen White, vice president of consumer products at Financial Engines. “By offering accessible, easy-to-use tools on topics that cause a lot of stress and uncertainty, we’re inviting more people into the financial planning conversation and are helping them connect the choices they make today with the options they’ll have tomorrow.”

The launch of the planners is a part of Financial Engines’ continued commitment to deliver holistic financial wellness solutions through digital tools, multi-channel communications and advisor interactions.

“These two new digital planners represent a reimagining of how we can help 401(k) participants achieve their goals,” says White. “Building on many years of success driving better retirement outcomes, we’re developing additional innovative digital tools to provide personalized help with the big and small financial challenges that can sometimes eclipse long-term planning. By engaging people throughout their journey, we can help them balance the now with the next, empowering them to make choices with confidence.”