A pension is regular retirement income, usually from an employer. The Boldin Planner lets you enter two kinds:
A monthly pension — an ongoing income stream. The Planner uses it, alongside your other income (work income, Social Security, and so on), to fund your expenses before drawing from your savings.
A lump-sum pension — a one-time payment deposited into an account you choose, where it becomes part of your savings.
You can add a pension for yourself or, if you have a spouse or partner in your plan, for either person.
Where to enter it: My Plan > Income > Add a Pension +
Add a monthly pension
Go to My Plan > Income and select Add a Pension +
Choose who will receive the pension
Select Monthly
Tell us whether you're already receiving it
Enter a descriptive name, so you can spot it in charts and menus
Enter the monthly pre-tax income
Select the start and end ages (as applicable)
Select the COLA, if your pension has one
Select the tax treatment
Select the survivor benefit, if applicable
Save
Add a lump-sum pension
Go to My Plan > Income and select Add a Pension +
Choose who will receive the pension
Select Lump Sum
Enter a descriptive name
Enter the payment amount in future dollars — the amount you'll actually receive at the payment date, not today's value
Select the payment age
Select the account where you expect to deposit the pension
Select the tax treatment
Save
Understanding the key settings
COLA (cost-of-living adjustment)
A COLA is an annual increase to your pension that helps offset inflation. On a monthly pension, enter the annual COLA rate.
If your pension is fixed — no COLA, as with many private-sector pensions — set the COLA to 0% so the payment stays flat, which is how it will actually be paid. Government and public-sector pensions more often include a COLA; check with your plan administrator if you're not sure.
Your pension's COLA is separate from the Social Security COLA in your Assumptions. The Social Security COLA (My Plan > Assumptions) applies only to Social Security. Each pension has its own COLA setting, and changing one does not affect the other.
Please note: There are known limitations in how a COLA is currently reflected in your projections. If you've entered a pension with a COLA, we recommend reviewing your projected pension income in your plan to confirm it matches your expectations.
Lump-sum pensions are a single payment, so they don't have a COLA.
Tax treatment
Choose how the pension is taxed in your plan — fully taxable, taxed at the federal level only, or not taxed — to match your specific pension. Some pensions are exempt at the state level, and a few are exempt federally.
Survivor benefit
If your pension would continue to a surviving spouse or partner after your death, set the survivor benefit to reflect the portion that continues. This lets the plan model income accurately for the surviving person.
Start and end ages
Most pensions pay for life, so you'll usually set only a start age. Enter an end age only if your pension stops at a certain point — for example, a bridge or term-certain pension that pays for a fixed number of years.
Using a pension to model other fixed income
Because a monthly pension is simply recurring income, you can also use it to model other fixed income — an annuity, or interest from bonds or Treasuries you don't reinvest. Several of our tax-exempt interest workarounds use this approach.
When you do, set the COLA to 0% unless the income truly rises each year. Interest on a fixed bond or Treasury holding is flat in nominal terms, so leaving a COLA on it would overstate that income over time.
FAQs
Can I enter a pension for my spouse or partner? Yes. When you add a pension, choose who receives it.
Does my pension have a COLA? It depends on your specific pension — check with your plan administrator. Many private-sector pensions are fixed with no COLA; government and public pensions often include one.
What's the difference between my pension's COLA and the Social Security COLA in Assumptions? The pension COLA applies only to that pension. The Social Security COLA applies only to Social Security. They're separate settings.
What happens to a lump-sum pension after I receive it? It's deposited into the account you choose and grows with that account's rate of return, like the rest of your savings.
Can I model an annuity as a pension? Yes. A pension can represent any recurring income — set the amount, ages, tax treatment, and COLA to match.