Meridian
Support & FAQ
Answers to common questions about Meridian. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, write to us — we read every email.
What is Meridian?+
Meridian is a retirement planner for iPhone and Android. It answers one question — how long will my money last? — and then checks the answer against real history: it replays your plan as if you’d retired in each year since 1928, through the crashes, the booms and the inflation that followed, and tells you how often your money lasted.
Do I need an account?+
No. There’s no sign-up and no login, and Meridian never connects to a bank or brokerage. You type in your savings yourself.
Where is my plan kept? Is it private?+
Your plan is kept on your phone, with a copy in your own iCloud (on iPhone) or your Google backup (on Android) so it isn’t lost if you change phones. Nothing from your plan is sent to us.
The privacy policy has the details.
I’m getting a new phone. Will my plan come with me?+
iPhone: sign in with the same Apple ID and install Meridian. Your plan comes back, even on a phone set up as new. To check beforehand, open Your details → Your data — it should say “Backed up to your iCloud”.
Android: restore from your Google backup while you set up the new phone, then install Meridian. Your plan comes back if backup was turned on on your old phone.
How accurate is it?+
Meridian’s numbers are estimates. It first works out your plan in today’s dollars at a steady return, then tests it against real US stock, bond and bill returns and inflation from 1928 to 2025.
Taxes are estimated with this year’s federal brackets and a state rate. Tax on gains in a brokerage account isn’t included yet.
The estimates are only as good as the details you enter, and past markets don’t promise future ones. Meridian isn’t financial advice; for big decisions, talk to a financial advisor or tax professional.
What do sturdy, shaky and fragile mean?+
They describe how your plan did when it was replayed through every stretch of market history since 1928. A sturdy plan lasted through almost every market, including most of the worst. A shaky one ran out in a fair number of them. A fragile one ran out more often than it lasted.
How do I update my savings?+
On Home, tap Savings → Update. Do it as often as you like — your plan and its history keep up.
How do I share my plan as a PDF?+
Open Your plan → Share as a PDF. Meridian makes a four-page PDF on your phone — for a financial advisor, a spouse, or your own records — and you choose where to send it from the share sheet. Sharing as a PDF is part of Meridian Plus.
What is the retirement paycheck?+
Part of Meridian Plus, the paycheck turns your plan into a monthly amount you can live on: what to take from each account every month, how much tax to withhold, and an order that keeps tax low — generally from your 401(k) up to a tax bracket, the rest from taxable savings, and your Roth last. It can pay you through a cash reserve if you’d like one.
Each January it helps you check last year against your 1099-R forms, and shows how much you could move to a Roth in the room the standard deduction leaves.
The withholding is an estimate. Please check with a tax professional before big decisions such as Roth conversions.
How do I start over?+
Go to Your details → Clear my details and start over. This deletes your plan, its history and your saved questions, on your phone and in your iCloud copy. It doesn’t affect Meridian Plus — you can restore your purchase afterwards.
What’s in Meridian Plus, and what does it cost?+
Meridian is free to use for how long your money lasts, the past-markets verdict, savings by account, how much you can spend, when to retire, and Can I afford this? Plus adds:
- Your retirement paycheck — what to take from each account every month, the tax to withhold, and an order that keeps tax low.
- Your plan, as a PDF — four pages for a financial advisor, a spouse, or your own records.
- Past markets in full — every starting year since 1928, the hardest times to have retired, and the most you could spend or buy and stay sturdy.
- Compare plans, when to claim Social Security, and, for couples, if one of you is on your own.
Plus costs $4.99 a month, $39.99 a year (with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers), or $99 once, for life. Prices vary by country; the App Store or Google Play shows yours before you buy.
How does the free trial work?+
New subscribers get 7 days free on the yearly plan. If you cancel at least a day before the trial ends, you won’t be charged.
How do I cancel?+
Subscriptions are managed by Apple or Google:
- iPhone: Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions → Meridian.
- Android: Play Store → your profile → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions.
Plus stays on until the end of the period you’ve paid for.
How do I restore Plus on a new phone?+
Tap Restore purchases on the Plus screen, or go to Your details → Meridian Plus → Restore purchases. Use the same Apple ID or Google account you bought Plus with. This also works after reinstalling the app.
Can I get a refund?+
Refunds are handled by Apple or Google — we can’t issue them directly.
- iPhone: request one at reportaproblem.apple.com.
- Android: use Google Play’s refund process at support.google.com/googleplay.
Something isn’t working, or a number looks wrong+
Email us at admin (at) wallyapps (dot) com with your phone model, its iOS or Android version, and what you were doing. Please don’t send your balances or other personal details — a description of the problem is enough. We usually reply within 1–2 business days.