Coastline vs Rich, Broke or Dead?
"Rich, Broke or Dead?" (from Engaging Data) is a beloved free tool that overlays your portfolio’s survival odds with the probability you’re still alive — a genuinely insightful way to see longevity risk in context. Coastline covers the broader plan around that: how the money is built, the taxes on it, Social Security, and withdrawal strategy, with the math shown.
Coastline vs Rich, Broke or Dead?, feature by feature
| Feature | Coastline | Rich, Broke or Dead? |
|---|---|---|
| Free, no signup | Yes | Yes |
| Historical / Monte Carlo drawdown simulation | Yes | Yes |
| Mortality-adjusted survival visualization | Life Risk tools | Yes |
| Accumulation (working years) modeling | Yes | No |
| Federal + state income tax math | Yes | No |
| Social Security modeling | Yes | Basic |
| Roth conversion / withdrawal-order strategy | Yes | No |
| Shows the exact math behind every number | Yes | Partly |
The same plan, run through Coastline
Rich, Broke or Dead? takes a portfolio, a yearly spend and an age and overlays historical survival with mortality. Its spend is pre-tax; the after-tax version of the same draw is below. One retiree, $1,000,000 at 65 split 60% taxable / 30% traditional / 10% Roth, single filer, no-income-tax state, no Social Security, spending $40,000 a year in today’s dollars to 95:
| Figure | Coastline |
|---|---|
| Spending the accounts delivered, 65 to 95 (today’s $): the $40,000 a year plus Medicare premiums from 65 | $1,287,081 |
| Gross withdrawn to deliver it | $1,295,071 |
| Tax on the way out, federal + state (today’s $) | $7,990 (0.6% of withdrawals) |
| Real net worth left at 95, straight-line 6% return | $382,148 funded to 95 |
| Most the plan can spend after tax and still last to 95, retiring at 65 | $47,000 (4.7%) |
| … retiring at 45 instead | $28,000 (2.8%) |
| $40,000/yr across 67 historical cycles (1928–2024), 70/30: runs that lasted to 95 · bad luck / median / good luck ending | 88% · $0 / $1,675,806 / $3,895,172 |
The tax row is what a pre-tax simulator leaves for the reader to guess, and for this particular retiree it is small: a single filer drawing about $12,000 a year from a traditional account and the rest from a taxable account whose gains fall in the 0% capital-gains bracket has little to tax. A larger traditional balance, a pension or Social Security stacking on top, or a state with an income tax moves it — which is the case for running your own plan rather than reading this one. The figures are identical on every comparison page on this site because they are one plan run once; only the tool being compared changes.
When to use Rich, Broke or Dead?
Rich, Broke or Dead? is the tool to reach for when you want an intuitive, memorable picture of longevity risk — the "will I run out before I die?" framing is uniquely clarifying, and it’s a delight to play with.
When to use Coastline
Choose Coastline when you want that longevity lens plus the rest of the plan: tax-aware projections, Social Security timing, strategy comparisons, and accumulation — and Coastline’s own Life Risk tools bring mortality-weighted stress-testing into a full plan.
Both tools are free. This comparison is written by Coastline, so weigh it accordingly — try both and use whichever answers your question. Rich, Broke or Dead? is a well-regarded tool; the differences here are about focus, not quality.
Common questions
What is Rich, Broke or Dead?
A free interactive tool by Engaging Data that shows the probability your portfolio survives alongside the probability you’re still alive, making longevity risk vivid. It’s focused on drawdown, not taxes or accumulation.
Does Coastline show longevity risk too?
Yes — Coastline’s Life Risk tools stress-test a plan against mortality and life events, within a full tax-aware projection that also covers Social Security and strategy.
Are both free?
Yes, both are free to use; Coastline requires no signup.