Retirable review
It's competitively priced but lacks in-person support.
For those on the cusp of retirement, Retirable offers a paid wealth management service to help you budget and plan for the future. But feedback on the platform is scarce and you won’t be able to meet your financial planner in person.
What is Retirable?
Retirable is an online investment service designed to help you prepare for and navigate retirement. The bread and butter of the platform is Retirable Paycheck: a wealth management service that both manages your retirement funds and sends regular paychecks from your account. The service offers a selection of IRAs and comes with a management fee of 0.5%. Retirable investors also gain access to ongoing one-on-one support from a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). All of Retirable’s CFPs are fiduciaries, which means they have a legal obligation to serve the best interests of their clients. Your dedicated CFP can help you improve your cash flow, manage expenses, reduce debt and set retirement goals.
Retirable accounts are available to US citizens of any age, but Retirable states its services are best utilized by those within 10 years of receiving their Social Security benefit.
How does Retirable work?
When you sign up for its service, Retirable asks for information about your financial habits, savings, debts and retirement goals, including:
- What age you plan to retire
- Marital status
- Annual income
- Expected pension or retirement annuity
- 401(k), IRA or cash retirement savings
- Available assets
- Outstanding debts
Retirable uses this information to create a snapshot of your current financial situation with the option to edit your information as your circumstances change.
From here, you’ll receive an invitation to schedule a call with one of Retirable’s advisers. During this call, your adviser will ask you more about your financial accounts and goals to create a comprehensive income plan for your retirement.
Next, you’ll open a Retirable IRA, and your adviser will help you roll over any existing retirement funds into your new account. Then, your funds will be invested in line with your income plan and financial goals.
Once you’ve retired and you’re ready to start receiving retirement income, you’ll receive a monthly paycheck from Retirable based on your income plan. You’re also free to choose how much you’d like to withdraw each paycheck. When you opt to withdraw your own amount, Retirable will provide you with a “safe to spend” number so that you know how to best optimize your savings through your retirement.
Retirable fees are competitive
Retirable primarily markets its services to pre-retirees and says its service is ideal for those less than 10 years from retirement — but anyone is welcome to sign up for an account. You’ll pay an annual management fee of 0.5% to access the service. This fee covers the cost of having your account managed through the Retirable Paycheck program, which also provides regular paychecks come retirement.
- Annual management fee: 0.5% of assets under management
- Minimum deposit to open: $0
Retirable’s 0.5% fee is on par with a number of its competitors. Fidelity, TD Ameritrade and Vanguard all charge between 0.3% to 1.5% for wealth management services — although all of them impose portfolio minimums of at least $25,000. And none of them offer a service quite like Retirable’s: one that manages your investments on your behalf and sends regular paychecks come retirement.
6 steps to sign up for Retirable
The signup process begins on Retirable’s homepage:
- Select Get Started.
- Answer Retirable’s questions about your retirement plans, financial goals, annual income, pension, savings and debts. Select Continue.
- Enter the balances of any accounts you plan to factor into your Retirable plan.
- Enter any contributions that you and your employer make to your retirement account.
- Enter your full name, email address and mobile number. Select See plan.
- Schedule a call with one of Retirable’s advisers to get started with a Retirable Paycheck account.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Access financial advisers. Retirable investors gain one-on-one access to a Certified Financial Planner who can help them create a personalized retirement plan.
- No minimum account balance. Those interested in Retirable’s service can get started with any amount.
Cons
- Limited feedback. We found little feedback for the platform on the Better Business Bureau, Trustpilot and Reddit.
- No in-person support. Retirable is an online service, which means members don’t have in-person access to their financial planners.
Retirable feedback is limited but positive
As of October 2021, Retirable is an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) with an A rating. While Retirable has no BBB complaints, it also has no customer reviews. In fact, we found very little customer feedback for Retirable. Its Trustpilot page only has two reviews — both of them awarding the company 5 out of 5 stars for its personable and informative financial planning service.
It has no complaints on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and we couldn’t find any Reddit threads that mention the platform.
While a lack of complaints is definitely a plus, limited feedback makes it difficult to gauge the quality of Retirable’s service. Before you sign up, read the accountholder fine print to familiarize yourself with Retirable’s policies and procedures.
Compare retirement accounts
If you’re not set on Retirable, don’t fret. There are numerous platforms equipped to help you prepare for retirement. Compare your options by fees, tools and investor feedback to find a retirement account that fits your needs.