Our mission
The Retirement Literacy Foundation provides free, unbiased education on Social Security claiming, Medicare/IRMAA brackets, Roth conversion strategy, and retirement income planning to Southern California adults approaching or already in retirement.
We teach the math. We publish the case studies. We do not sell financial products, accept commissions, or take referral fees from any financial-services company. Every workshop is free. Every calculator is free. Every case study is free.
Our programs
Three program areas, all delivered at no cost to participants:
- Free public workshops: 60 to 90 minute educational sessions hosted at public libraries and community centers across Orange County, Los Angeles County, and Riverside County. Topics include Social Security claiming strategy, IRMAA Medicare planning, Roth conversion windows, the SECURE Act inherited-IRA changes, and the Widow's Penalty. Classes also run live on Zoom. The next ones: Big sales and taxes on Thursday, October 22, 2026, and What changes for you in 2027 on October 28, November 17 and December 2, 2026. See the class schedule.
- Free online calculators & educational tools: 22+ interactive calculators covering Social Security claiming, RMDs, IRMAA brackets, Roth conversion impact, Sequence-of-Returns risk, Monte Carlo retirement projections, the Widow's Penalty, and more. Free to use, nothing sold.
- Free case-study library: Long-form, anonymized case studies showing real retirement decisions, the math behind them, and the outcomes. Six published cases, more in production; see /stories/.
Detailed program descriptions and 2026 program goals are on our Programs page.
Who we serve & what we've delivered
Our audience is Southern California adults age 55 to 75 who are approaching, transitioning into, or already in retirement, and want to understand the math behind their decisions before signing anything.
Since launching public operations in 2024 and receiving IRS 501(c)(3) determination in April 2026:
- 22+ free calculators published, covering Social Security, IRMAA, Roth conversion, RMDs, inherited IRAs, Widow's Penalty, sequence-of-returns risk, and Monte Carlo retirement projection
- Illustrative case studies published: common retirement situations worked through with the full math
- Free public workshops in person across Southern California and live on Zoom; see the class schedule for the next dates
- Educational topic library: ongoing publication of articles on retirement planning topics most retirees never get walked through
Governance
The Retirement Literacy Foundation is governed by its founding Board of Directors. Per our bylaws, the Board sets strategic direction, approves the annual budget, and oversees program quality.
Transparency & finances
RLF publishes its governing documents and financial information for full public review.
About the founder
Founder & Executive Director
Admitted to practice before the IRS
Hans Goldstein founded the Retirement Literacy Foundation in 2024 after watching too many retirees make irreversible Social Security, Medicare, and withdrawal-sequencing decisions without anyone walking them through the math first.
Before RLF, Hans's background was in software engineering. He became interested in retirement planning after seeing the gap between what retirees needed to know and what most ever got explained, and started building free calculators and writing case studies to close it.
Hans serves as the Foundation's unpaid Executive Director and draws no salary from RLF. The Foundation's work is independent of any outside professional activity. If you give us your phone number, we may call you about your request; those calls are educational, and nothing is offered or sold. RLF does not sell financial products, accept commissions, or refer attendees to any commercial product or service.
How we write and check our guides
Every guide, calculator and research page on this site follows the same rules:
- Primary sources first. Tax figures come from the IRS (revenue procedures, forms and instructions), Social Security figures from the Social Security Administration, and Medicare and IRMAA figures from CMS. We link the source next to the figure.
- Every number is dated. Limits, brackets and rates change every year. Each figure says which tax or plan year it applies to, and pages are re-checked when the IRS, SSA or CMS publishes new numbers.
- Worked examples, plainly labeled. Examples and case stories are illustrative. They show how the math works for a sample household, not what any one reader should do.
- No product recommendations. RLF does not sell financial products, take commissions or accept money from financial-services companies, so nothing on this site is written to steer you toward a purchase. We explain how products and rules work, including their costs and drawbacks.
- Who prepares the content. Guides are prepared under the direction of founder Hans Goldstein, EA, an Enrolled Agent admitted to practice before the IRS.
- Corrections. If you find an error or an out-of-date figure, tell us through the contact page or at hans@retirementliteracyfoundation.org. We fix confirmed errors promptly and update the page.
Everything here is general education, not individual tax, legal or investment advice.
Get involved
Three ways to support free retirement education in Southern California:
