How to Use the Bridge Planner
Step-by-step walkthrough of the free Bridge Planner spreadsheet. How to enter your numbers, what each sheet shows, how to read the RISK FLAGS, and what to do when one fires.
Download Free Bridge Planner →The Bridge Planner answers one question: can your taxable, 401(k), and Roth accounts carry you from retirement to age 59½ — and beyond to life expectancy?
It models the withdrawal sequence year by year — taxable first, then Roth, then 401(k) — and shows the exact year each account runs dry, what the portfolio looks like at 59½, and whether the plan survives to your life expectancy.
The 8 Sheets at a Glance
KPI cards, risk flags, and the full year-by-year projection table. Start here after entering your numbers — it gives you the instant health check.
Lists every sheet, what it does, and the order to use them. Open this first when you download the file.
Enter your ages, balances, spending, return, and inflation here. Blue cells are inputs. Everything else is a formula — do not edit black cells.
The main bridge sheet. Shows each year from retirement to age 59½ with starting and ending balances for all three accounts. Taxable is drawn first, 401(k) grows untouched, Roth used only if taxable is exhausted.
401(k) access is now unlocked. This sheet draws from the 401(k) first, preserves Roth as long as possible, and projects balances to life expectancy.
Combines both phases into one continuous table from retirement to life expectancy. Shows total portfolio, annual withdrawal, and which phase each year falls into — Bridge, Post-59½, or Post-SS.
Five automated checks that update instantly when you change INPUTS. Green means OK, yellow means review, red means the plan has a structural problem.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
Open the file and read the sheet guide
Go to the START HERE tab first. It lists every sheet, what it does, and the recommended order. The planner has 8 tabs total — two of those (BRIDGE YEARS and BRIDGE CLEAN) show the same bridge period in different formats. BRIDGE CLEAN is the one to read.
Enter your numbers — blue cells only
INPUTS is the only sheet you edit. Change any blue cell and every other sheet updates automatically. Enter these in order: Timeline: current age, retirement age, life expectancy (default 90), Social Security claiming age. Account balances: Taxable Brokerage, Traditional 401(k), Roth IRA. Spending and assumptions: annual spending, expected return (default 5%), inflation (default 2.5%). The default scenario ships with Age 48 retiring at 52, $120K taxable, $650K 401(k), $90K Roth, $40K spending. Change these to your numbers before reading any other sheet.
Check the DASHBOARD for your instant health check
After entering your numbers, go to DASHBOARD. Four KPI cards show your total portfolio, bridge years, annual spending, and target retire year. Below the KPIs, five RISK FLAGS update automatically. With the default inputs, two flags fire immediately — a bridge gap warning and a portfolio depletion flag. That's intentional: the default scenario is designed to show you what a stressed plan looks like. Enter your actual numbers and watch the flags change. The DASHBOARD also shows the full year-by-year projection table — every year from retirement to life expectancy with account balances and the withdrawal phase label.
Read BRIDGE CLEAN year by year
BRIDGE CLEAN shows the hardest years to fund: from your retirement date to age 59½. Each row is one year with: — Taxable Start, 401(k) Start, Roth Start — Annual Withdrawal (inflation-adjusted) — Taxable End, 401(k) End, Roth End, Total End The withdrawal order is Taxable → Roth → 401(k). Find the year your taxable account hits zero. If that happens before 59½ and the Roth is also thin, you have a bridge gap — which the RISK FLAGS sheet will flag automatically. The 401(k) column should be growing throughout the bridge years in a well-funded plan. If it's being drawn down before 59½, that signals a problem with the taxable bridge.
Check POST-59.5 for the second phase
Once past 59½, all retirement accounts are accessible without penalty. POST-59.5 draws from the 401(k) first, preserving Roth for as long as possible. Look at two things: first, whether the total portfolio column stays positive through your life expectancy. Second, the year Social Security income starts — in the projection, this reduces the annual withdrawal needed from the portfolio. With the default inputs, the portfolio depletes around age 85-86. Reducing spending, increasing the return assumption, or building more taxable before retiring will push that depletion date out or eliminate it entirely.
Use PROJECTION for the full lifetime picture
PROJECTION combines BRIDGE CLEAN and POST-59.5 into one continuous table from retirement to life expectancy. Three phases are labeled: Bridge (Taxable), Post-59½ (401k), and Post-SS (401k+). If the total portfolio column goes to zero before your life expectancy, the plan needs adjustment. Go back to INPUTS and adjust one variable at a time — lower spending, change the return rate, or shift your retirement age — and watch the PROJECTION table update.
Act on the RISK FLAGS
RISK FLAGS runs five automatic checks. Read each one, understand what it means, then go back to INPUTS and try changing one variable at a time to clear the flags. Each flag is either passing or flagged — there's no middle ground.
Understanding the 5 RISK FLAGS
Each flag either passes or fires. Here's what each one means and exactly what to change in INPUTS to clear it.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Only blue cells are inputs. If you accidentally overwrite a formula, close without saving and reopen the file.
The default scenario (Age 48, $860K total, $40K spending) is designed to show a stressed plan with flags firing. Always enter your actual numbers before reading results.
The default 5% nominal return is already moderate. Avoid 8-10% assumptions — they make the plan look better than it is. For stress testing, try 3-4%.
A bridge gap warning is a structural problem, not a rounding issue. The plan needs more taxable savings, additional income, or a different strategy before retiring.
Healthcare before Medicare at 65 can cost $12,000-$36,000/year. Add this to Annual Spending in INPUTS for an accurate picture.
SS starts at 62 at the earliest. If you retire at 50, SS is 12 years away and does not help the bridge at all. The planner models them separately for this reason.
What the Pro Version Adds
The free planner covers bridge years, post-59½ projection, full lifetime projection, and 5 RISK FLAGS. Pro adds deeper planning layers.
Federal tax estimate for every bridge year using 2026 MFJ brackets. Shows taxable income and estimated tax after standard deduction so you can see the real after-tax cost of each withdrawal year.
5-year Roth conversion pipeline. Shows remaining 12% bracket space each year, optimal conversion amounts, tax cost per conversion, and when each converted rung unlocks penalty-free.
Annual allocation tracker. Enter target percentages by asset class and see current drift with buy/sell signals — keeps your portfolio allocation on track across bridge years.
Additional automated checks including SS delay opportunity with exact dollar impact, IRMAA Medicare threshold warning, and Roth conversion opportunity detection.
Download the Free Bridge Planner
Enter your balances, spending, and retirement age — and see your bridge years, RISK FLAGS, and full projection update instantly.