RetireCalcs vs Fidelity Retirement Score: Standalone vs Account-Linked
Fidelity Retirement Score is account-linked — it pulls your actual 401(k), IRA, and brokerage balances and projects against your goals. RetireCalcs is anonymous — you enter the numbers manually and run scenarios without an account. Each fits a different stage.
Fidelity Retirement Score pros
- Uses your actual account balances, contributions, and asset allocation — no manual entry needed
- Updates daily as markets move and you contribute
- Strong "what if" toolset: change retirement age, change contribution, change Social Security claiming age
- Built-in connection to Fidelity advisors if you want a human review
- Free for Fidelity customers (which most 401(k) participants effectively are if their plan is on Fidelity)
Fidelity Retirement Score cons
- Only works if you have Fidelity accounts — does not aggregate other brokerages without manual entry
- Recommendation engine implicitly favors Fidelity products and managed services
- Requires login each session — quick "what if I retire 2 years earlier" comparisons take longer than they should
- Some advanced scenarios (Roth conversion ladder, FIRE math, custom withdrawal strategies) require their advisor product, not the free tool
- Defaults to conservative return assumptions (3–5% real) which can make people overestimate their needed savings
Where RetireCalcs is better
- No account, no Fidelity relationship required
- Faster for one-off scenarios — no login, no account context to load
- Wider scenario coverage: 25× rule, FIRE math, withdrawal-rate stress test (3.0/3.3/3.5/4.0%), Roth conversion timing, RMD projection
- Carrier-neutral — no implicit push toward any brokerage or product
- Calculator-first UI, mobile-friendly, instantly shareable
Use Fidelity Retirement Score when
When most of your retirement savings are at Fidelity and you want continuous tracking against your actual portfolio. Their tool is genuinely good at what it does for Fidelity customers.
Use RetireCalcs when
For anonymous scenario planning, FIRE math, multi-account projections (when your savings span Fidelity + Vanguard + Schwab + employer plan), or just to sanity-check what Fidelity's default assumptions are saying. Run RetireCalcs first, then verify against Fidelity's account-linked view.