What's New in the Retirement Estimator Skill for Claude

The newest version is first. The skill's version number is separate from the Retirement Estimator app's version.

Download the latest: RetirementEstimatorSkill.zip (Version 1.4.1). To update, in claude.ai or the Claude app tap your name or initials ▸ Settings, then under Customize ▸ Skills tap retirement-estimator ▸ ⋯ ▸ Replace, and choose the new zip. See Set Up Your Financial Plan with Anthropic's Claude AI.

Version 1.4.1 — October 3, 2026 · RetirementEstimatorSkill-1.4.1.zip

• Available as the retirement-estimator plugin in Claude's plugin directory, together with the Social Security claiming add-on. Added from the directory, updates arrive on their own.

Version 1.4.0 — October 3, 2026 · RetirementEstimatorSkill-1.4.0.zip

Video: Spend Down an IRA by 95 and Redo It Before Every Withdrawal

• Spend down by a target age. Ask how much you can spend each month so an account lasts until an age you choose, such as 90. Claude works out the monthly spending and this month's withdrawal, builds the plan, and explains the Monte Carlo odds and what to weigh, such as living past the age you chose. Before every withdrawal, give Claude the new balance: it redoes the numbers so the plan stays on track to the age you chose.

Version 1.3.2 — October 3, 2026 · RetirementEstimatorSkill-1.3.2.zip

Video: Add Your Own Financial Rules to the Retirement Estimator Skill in Claude

• Social Security claiming add-on. When you ask when to start Social Security, Claude uses the new Social Security claiming add-on if you have it. If you don't, Claude tells you where to get it, and can still compare claiming ages using the amounts on your Social Security statement.

Version 1.3.1 — October 3, 2026 · RetirementEstimatorSkill-1.3.1.zip

Video: How to Update Your Retirement Estimator Skill in Claude | Replace, Then Check the Version

• Steps for adding and updating the skill now match Claude's current menus: tap your name or initials ▸ Settings, then under Customize ▸ Skills. To update, tap retirement-estimator ▸ ⋯ ▸ Replace and choose the new zip.

Version 1.3.0 — October 2, 2026 · RetirementEstimatorSkill-1.3.0.zip

Video: Claude Updates the Plan Already in Your App From a CSV Report | Retirement Estimator Skill 1.3.0

• Changing a plan that's already in the app. The app can't export a plan file, so Claude rebuilds your plan from a CSV report, which lists every item's settings (transfers in priority order). Claude reads only the settings rows to keep usage down, makes the changes you ask for, and suggests an Export Data backup before you import with Replace.
• New reference on CSV reports: their layout, how each column maps to the plan file, and what to watch for (investment returns shown per period, percents shown rounded, balances shown after that day's transfers).
• Lower usage with repeat CSV reports. When you send a new report, Claude compares it with the previous one and tells you only what changed, instead of reading the whole file again. It also checks a newly imported plan against the file it built.
• RMDs that replace a withdrawal. If your 401(k) already sends a regular withdrawal to savings, Claude can replace it with RMDs from the first RMD year, at the same priority, so nothing is taken twice, then check with a CSV report that the RMDs are the larger amount.
• Tax on RMDs. If you ask, Claude estimates an average tax rate for your RMDs and explains its assumptions.

Version 1.2.2 — October 2, 2026 · RetirementEstimatorSkill-1.2.2.zip

• Updating the skill: Claude now tells you to use Replace in Claude's Settings ▸ Skills (⋯ ▸ Replace) to install a newer version, instead of uploading it again.

Version 1.2.1 — October 1, 2026 · RetirementEstimatorSkill-1.2.1.zip

• Example scenarios added to the 1.0.0 notes, to show what Claude does for you.

Version 1.2.0 — October 1, 2026 · RetirementEstimatorSkill-1.2.0.zip

Video: Claude Explains RMDs and Adds Them to Your Retirement Plan | Retirement Estimator Skill 1.2

• Required minimum distributions (RMDs). If you have a traditional 401(k) or IRA, Claude explains what an RMD is and asks whether you'd like your plan to include an estimate. If the account isn't paying your bills, Claude adds each year's RMD to the plan. If it is, Claude checks after the import that your planned withdrawals reach each year's RMD.
• Pay left over after bills is moved into your savings account.
• Accounts you keep out of the drawdown order. Claude points out what happens if the accounts that pay your bills run out, and offers a what-if.
• New suggested starting values for a bond-heavy account and for tax on savings interest.

Version 1.1.0 — October 1, 2026 · RetirementEstimatorSkill-1.1.0.zip

Video: Claude Models Growing 401(k) Withdrawals Between Your Accounts | Retirement Estimator Skill 1.1.0

• Moving money between accounts that grows each year, such as an inflation-adjusted withdrawal from a 401(k), Roth conversions over a set of years, shifting gradually into bonds, or contributing up to a limit that rises each year.

Version 1.0.0 — September 26, 2026 · RetirementEstimatorSkill-1.0.0.zip

Video: AI Creates Your Financial Plan and Drives the Retirement Estimator App For You | Claude Opus 5.5

• First release. Claude interviews you one question at a time, builds your plan as a file that Retirement Estimator imports, and helps you read the results and try what-ifs.
• Example: planning retirement. "I'm 62 and want to retire at 65." Claude asks about your Social Security, accounts and spending, one question at a time, builds the plan, and after you import it shows you how long your money lasts.
• Example: a monthly budget. "Does my pay cover my bills, and can I save $300 a month?" Claude sets up your pay, bills and savings goal so you can see each month where your money goes.
• Example: what-ifs. "What if I retire at 67 instead?" Claude makes a second version of your plan with only that change, and you see both on one graph.
• Example: which account to spend first. Social Security first, then savings, then the 401(k): Claude sets up the order you choose, and you see when each account is drawn down.
• Example: a couple. Claude sets up each person's income and accounts, so the plan covers both of you.
• Example: a big one-time cost. A new car in 2028 or a roof repair: Claude adds it on its date and shows the effect on your savings.
• Example: reading your results. Send Claude a screenshot of your graph and it explains what it shows: whether the money lasts, and the few numbers that matter most.

Add-on: Social Security Claiming

A separate skill that works alongside the Retirement Estimator skill, with its own version number. Download the latest: SocialSecurityClaimingSkill.zip. To update, under Customize ▸ Skills tap social-security-claiming ▸ ⋯ ▸ Replace, and choose the new zip.

Version 1.0.2 — October 3, 2026 · SocialSecurityClaimingSkill-1.0.2.zip

• Included in the retirement-estimator plugin in Claude's plugin directory. Added from the directory, updates arrive on their own.

Version 1.0.1 — October 3, 2026 · SocialSecurityClaimingSkill-1.0.1.zip

• Social Security claiming ages. Give Claude the monthly benefit at full retirement age from your Social Security statement and your birth date. Claude works out your benefit at any claiming age from 62 to 70 with SSA's official rules, and adds each age you want to compare to your plan as its own scenario, so you can see them side by side with Compare Graphs.
• Claiming months follow SSA's rules exactly. Full retirement age and later claiming ages start in the month you reach them, and the earliest claim at 62 needs the whole month. For most people the earliest claim is 62 and 1 month (70.42% of the full amount with a full retirement age of 67).