Income streams

Where to find it

In the app, go to My Numbers → Income and use + Add income for each source of money coming in. Add as many as you like — one per stream. Each row is one income source that turns on at a start month and (optionally) turns off later.

Types of income

Pick the Type that best fits each stream:

• Social Security — your monthly benefit. Taxed under special rules when the tax model is on (see below).
• Pension — an employer or government pension.
• 401(k) distribution and IRA distribution — a fixed monthly amount you plan to draw *by hand* from a retirement account. (This is different from the automatic drawdowns the forecast makes from your accounts to cover shortfalls.)
• Wages / work — a salary or part-time earnings.
• Rental — net rental income.
• Annuity — an annuity payment.
• Cash — money you're simply spending from hand, not treated as taxable income.
• Other — anything that doesn't fit above.

The type also tells the tax model how to treat the money. See Taxes & RMDs.

The fields

• Monthly amount — how much this stream pays *per month*, in today's dollars at its start month. If a benefit will be $2,400 a month when it begins, enter 2400 — don't try to inflate it yourself; the COLA field does that.
• COLA / growth % — the annual cost-of-living raise, entered as a percentage. Social Security and many pensions rise a little each year; enter something like 2.5%. Leave it at 0 for a stream that never gets a raise (many private pensions are flat). See COLA in the glossary.
• Starts — the month this income begins, like 2029-08.
• Ends (optional) — the last month it pays. Leave it blank for income that continues to the end of the plan (like Social Security). Set it for things that stop — for example, part-time wages that end when you fully retire.

The taxable fraction

Some income types let you set a taxable fraction — the share of the stream that counts as taxable income (from 0 to 1, where 1 means fully taxable). This only matters when the tax model is turned on. If you leave it blank, the app makes a sensible default: most income is treated as fully taxable, cash is treated as not taxable, and Social Security is handled by its own special rules.

Example: Social Security starting at 67

Say you'll claim Social Security at age 67 and your birth month is 1962-05. Age 67 falls in 2029-05, and the SSA estimate says you'll get $2,600 a month.

1. Click + Add income.
2. Name: Social Security (me). Type: Social Security.
3. Monthly amount: 2600.
4. COLA / growth %: 2.5 — so the benefit keeps up with inflation.
5. Starts: 2029-05. Leave Ends blank.

The forecast now switches this income on in May 2029 and grows it 2.5% a year for the rest of the plan.

Not sure *when* to claim? The Forecast tab has a Social Security helper that compares claiming at 62, 65, 67, and 70 — see understanding your numbers. It's an educational estimate, not advice.

What to do next

Add your expenses & debts and your accounts, then read the projection.