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NewRetirement—renamed Boldin in September 2024—takes a do-it-yourself approach to retirement planning that goes beyond account balances. Its planner lets users model how Social Security, Medicare, health-care costs, taxes, home equity, savings and investments may interact, with paid features and optional human support. Those projections can help explore choices, but Boldin says its tools are educational and are not a complete financial plan.
What “holistic” means in Boldin’s retirement planner
In a March 2024 profile, TechCrunch described NewRetirement’s approach as bringing more of a household’s financial picture into one planning model. Founder Stephen Chen said the goal grew out of helping his mother evaluate expenses, when to claim Social Security and whether to downsize after she struggled to find an adviser willing to work with her. Chen and his brother started with spreadsheets; he later founded the company. TechCrunch’s account attributes that origin story to Chen.
Rather than treating retirement readiness as a single savings target, the platform describes inputs that can include retirement savings and investments, home equity, taxes, health-care costs, Medicare and Social Security. A user can change assumptions and compare how a decision—such as claiming benefits at a different age or selling a home—affects a projected plan. Chen told TechCrunch that changes prompted users to run thousands of simulations. That is a description of the product and its use, not independent evidence that forecasts predict actual outcomes.
“Holistic” is therefore best understood as breadth of inputs and scenario modeling, not a guarantee that every relevant financial, legal or personal consideration is covered. Results depend on the information and assumptions entered, and a model cannot remove uncertainty about future spending, markets, health or policy.
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What changed when NewRetirement became Boldin
On September 4, 2024, the company announced that it was changing its name to Boldin because NewRetirement no longer conveyed its wider financial-planning ambitions. It said it would continue to offer and improve retirement-planning capabilities. The announcement framed Boldin as serving both consumers and enterprise partners, with self-directed tools, calculators, education and options for financial institutions or employers to integrate or white-label services. It named Nationwide and RTX as organizations offering employees access to the planner, calculators and educational classes. These partner details were company-reported in the rebrand announcement.
The distinction matters: Boldin is the current company and product name, while NewRetirement refers to the platform as it appeared in the 2024 profile. Consumer planning software, workplace or adviser distribution, and paid professional advice are related but not interchangeable offerings.
Current pricing and support options
Boldin’s pricing page, accessed October 8, 2026, displayed the following U.S. prices and options. The page also warned that the PlannerPlus annual price would increase on October 15, 2026; prices and included features can change, so check the current pricing page before subscribing.
| Option | Price shown October 8, 2026 | What the page described |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Free | Free planning tier; the page’s feature details may change. |
| PlannerPlus | $144 per year after a 14-day free trial; page notice said $168 per year starting October 15, 2026 | Tax projections, multiple scenarios and side-by-side comparisons, Monte Carlo analysis, budgeting and income planning, and digital coaching suggestions. |
| Boldin Advisors | $3,200 flat fee | A comprehensive retirement plan checkup. |
These are separate levels of service: free access, a paid self-directed planning product, and a higher-cost advisory checkup. The pricing page does not make PlannerPlus’s digital coaching suggestions equivalent to CFP advice. The 2024 TechCrunch profile cited earlier prices—$120 per year for a software bundle and about $1,500 per year for CFP check-ins—which are historical, not current prices.
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What the figures say—and what they do not
Boldin’s scale and success figures are snapshots reported by the company or by publications at different dates. They should not be read as independently verified current results or as evidence that using the software causes better retirement outcomes.
- In March 2024, Chen told TechCrunch that 70,000 direct-to-consumer users had plans managing close to $100 billion, and that 20,000 people were individual subscribers. TechCrunch also reported a $20 million funding tranche and $20.8 million raised in total after that tranche.
- In its September 2024 rebrand release, Boldin said 350,000 people had built plans and users managed more than $300 billion in assets. The release also cited a 94% higher retirement-savings figure than the national average, based on an internal survey conducted in June 2023, and said 74% of PlannerPlus users had at least a 90% chance of retirement success on their baseline plan. Those are company-reported figures; the release does not establish that Boldin caused the savings difference or that modeled success rates translated into real-world results.
- A 2026 Kiplinger comparison later reported more than 450,000 people had built plans and users managed more than $300 billion in assets. That is a separate, later report, not a figure to merge with the 2024 snapshots.
Who may find the approach useful
Boldin’s scenario-first model may appeal to people who want to enter detailed financial information themselves and test how multiple choices fit together. Its breadth can be useful when a question involves more than investment balances—for example, how home equity, health-care spending, taxes and Social Security might affect a retirement budget. It may be less suitable for someone who does not want to maintain assumptions, needs a professional to interpret a complicated situation, or expects a forecast to make decisions on their behalf.
Kiplinger characterizes Boldin as a fit for people who prefer detailed, data-rich do-it-yourself planning, and also discusses alternatives such as MaxiFi and Empower. Those products differ in features and approach; the relevant comparison is whether you need richer scenario modeling, direct professional support, or a simpler view of your finances—not which platform is universally best.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Can the software replace a financial adviser?
No. Boldin’s own disclaimer says its tools are informational and educational, use hypothetical projections based on user-provided information, and should not be treated as a complete financial plan. The company recommends consulting a fiduciary professional before making investment or significant financial decisions. A planner can help organize questions and stress-test assumptions, but a forecast is not a personalized fiduciary judgment, a guarantee, or a substitute for professional review when the stakes or complexity warrant it. See the company’s disclosures.
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