If you own a business, its future is part of your retirement picture. On the Business Retirement card in your retirement settings, you tell the projection what happens to each business when you retire — sell it, keep the income, scale back, or close it. This is a Pro feature, and each business is set on its own.
Before you start
- You need Pro with both retirement planning and business tracking, and at least one business added under Businesses. See Track a side business.
- The Business Retirement card only appears once you have a business — if you don't see it, add a business first.
- You need permission to update retirement settings (the account owner always has it).
Steps
- Go to Retirement (opens in a new tab) and open the Business Retirement settings card.
- Find the business you want to plan for — each one has its own section.
- Set its Retirement Strategy:
- Sell at Retirement — a one-time payout when you retire.
- Continue Passively — keep the income without active work.
- Continue Actively (Partial Retirement) — keep the income while still working part of the time.
- Close / Give Away / No Payout — the business ends and adds no value.
- For Sell at Retirement, enter the Expected Sale Price (Today's Dollars) — what you'd expect to receive after taxes and fees if you sold today.
- For Continue Passively or Continue Actively, set the Income Inflation Rate and drag Scale of Operation in Retirement to the share of today's income you plan to keep.
- Review the projection to see your choice reflected — a sale shows up as a one-time amount at your retirement age.
How the projection handles it
- Sell at Retirement: you enter the sale price in today's dollars. The projection grows it to your retirement age using your general inflation rate and adds it to your retirement savings as a one-time boost the year you retire.
- Continue Passively / Continue Actively: you tell the projection the business keeps producing income. The Scale of Operation percentage sets how much of today's income continues (100% keeps it the same, 50% halves it), and the Income Inflation Rate grows that amount each year until you retire.
- Close / Give Away / No Payout: the business stops and contributes no sale proceeds or income to the projection.
- You provide the numbers. The projection uses the values you enter for the business. It doesn't value your business or estimate taxes on a sale for you — enter a sale price that already reflects taxes and selling costs.
Good to know
- One strategy per business. If you run more than one business, each gets its own strategy — you can sell one, keep another, and close a third in the same plan.
- Switching to Sell can pre-fill a price. If the business has a valuation set, choosing Sell at Retirement suggests a starting sale price from it. Check it and adjust to what you'd realistically receive.
- Changes save as you go and update the projection. Adjust a strategy or a number and the projection recalculates — these are planning inputs, not commitments.
- Estimates are only as good as your inputs. PiggySize models the numbers you enter — it doesn't value your business for you. A CPA or business broker can help you set a realistic sale price.
FAQ
Where do I set a business exit strategy?
In the retirement settings, on the Business Retirement card. Each business you've added gets its own Retirement Strategy selector.
What strategies can I choose?
Sell at Retirement, Continue Passively, Continue Actively (Partial Retirement), or Close / Give Away / No Payout. Each business is set on its own.
How is a sale handled in the projection?
You enter an expected sale price in today's dollars. The projection grows that amount to your retirement age and shows it as a one-time amount at retirement.
What does "Scale of Operation in Retirement" do?
For a business you keep, it sets how much of today's income continues — 100% keeps the same income, 50% cuts it in half. An income inflation rate grows that amount until you retire.
Do I need to add the business first?
Yes. The Business Retirement card only appears once you have at least one business, and business tracking and retirement planning are both Pro features.