If you or your spouse will get a pension, add it on the Retirement page and the projection counts it as monthly income from its start age. You can add more than one, give each a yearly cost-of-living raise, and include a one-time lump-sum payout such as a DROP check.
Before you start
- Retirement planning is a Pro feature.
- You need permission to update retirement settings.
- Have your plan's estimated monthly benefit and start age handy.
Steps
- Go to Retirement (opens in a new tab) and open the Pensions settings card.
- Turn on I have a pension. (If you have a spouse, a second toggle, My spouse has a pension, appears below it.)
- Optionally enter a Name (optional), like "State Teacher".
- Enter the Monthly payment and Age payments start (50 to 80).
- To add raises or a payout, open Advanced Options (COLA, Survivor, Lump
Sum):
- Turn on Gets a yearly raise and set the Rate (%).
- Enter Keeps paying your spouse after death (%) if your plan has one.
- Turn on One-time payout instead of monthly, then enter the Payout amount and Age you take the payout. Choose whether to Move it into a retirement account.
- Click Add Another Pension for each extra pension.
How the projection handles it
- Income starts at the start age. Each pension pays its monthly amount once its owner reaches the start age, then keeps paying for the rest of the projection.
- Yearly raises compound. With the raise on, the payment grows by your rate once for each full year since the start age (no partial-year raises). With it off, the amount stays flat.
- Lump sums happen once. The payout lands at the payout age. With Move it into a retirement account on, it goes into a tax-deferred account and is taxed later as you withdraw it. With it off, it's paid as cash and taxed as income that year.
- Pensions are shown as milestones on the projection when payments and any lump sum begin.
Good to know
- The survivor percentage continues for your spouse. After the pension owner reaches their planned age, the surviving spouse keeps that percentage of the payment. Leave it at 0 if nothing continues.
- Enter your plan's estimate. Beyond Payday doesn't calculate your pension benefit. Use the number from your plan's statement.
- Guided setup covers this too. The setup wizard's Pensions step asks the same question. See Set up your retirement plan with guided setup.
FAQ
Can I add more than one pension?
Yes. Use Add Another Pension for each one. Each has its own amount, start age, and options.
How does the yearly raise work?
With Gets a yearly raise on, the payment rises by your rate once a year, on each anniversary of its start age — the first raise comes one full year after payments begin. The Retirement page, Dashboard and Beth all compound it the same way.
Is the survivor percentage used in the projection?
Yes. After the pension owner reaches their planned age, the surviving spouse keeps receiving that percentage of the payment.