This document provides our terms and conditions of use (“Terms of Use”) and our privacy policy. Updated 10/10/2013.

Terms of Use

In this document, “Site” means this web site including all of its content and downloadable files. “Provider” and/or “we”, “us”, “our” etc. means the owner and operator of the Site. “Services” means any services offered by Provider. Services may include creation of personalized custom reports, consulting services or any other services. “Materials” means materials on the Site (information or software.) “Deliverables” means materials provided to you in connection with Services.

“Professional User” means a person or entity authorized by us to obtain specified Services for the purpose of assisting Professional User’s own clients including Deliverables to be provided to such clients. Professional Users may have additional rights, licenses and obligations, as detailed in the Professional Use section below.

By using the Site or obtaining Services you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use and you further agree to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. “Agreement” herein means the aforesaid agreement. If you do not agree with any of these terms, you are prohibited from using the Site or obtaining any Services.

Use License

1. Permission is granted to temporarily download a copy of the Materials on the Site for personal, non-commercial transitory use only. This is the grant of a license, not a transfer of ownership, and under this license you may not:
2. modify or copy the Materials;
3. use the Materials for any commercial purpose, or for any public display (commercial or non-commercial);
4. attempt to decompile or reverse engineer any software contained on the Site or in the Materials;
5. remove any copyright or other proprietary notations from the Materials;
6. transfer the Materials to another person or entity, or “mirror” the Site or Materials on any other server; or
7. retain any copy of the Materials longer than reasonably necessary for the intended use of the Materials.
8. Permission is granted to use any Deliverables for personal, non-commercial use only. (Commercial use is authorized only in accordance with the Professional Use section below.) This is a grant of a license, not a transfer of ownership, and under this license you may not:
9. modify the Deliverables or make copies beyond those reasonably necessary for your personal use;
10. use the Deliverables for any commercial purpose, or for any public display (commercial or non-commercial);
11. attempt to decompile or reverse engineer any software made available in connection with the Deliverables;
12. remove any copyright or other proprietary notations from the Deliverables; or
13. transfer any Deliverables to another person or entity (except that you may provide a copy of the Deliverables to members of your immediate family and to your personal financial or legal advisors, but only to the extent strictly necessary for your personal financial planning purposes and only if such parties agree to the terms and conditions herein.)
14. All license(s) hereunder shall automatically terminate if you violate any of these restrictions or any other part of this Agreement. Your license to use Materials may be terminated by us at any time. Upon the termination of any license, you must destroy any licensed items in your possession whether in electronic or printed format.
15. Certain areas of the Site, Materials, Services and Deliverables may only be available to those who have paid applicable fees, in which case any applicable licenses hereunder are valid only if the applicable fees have been paid.

Ownership of Materials and Deliverables

Nothing herein transfers any ownership rights to any Materials or Deliverables. All Materials and Deliverables are protected by applicable copyright, trade mark and patent law. Materials or Deliverables may be customized or personalized but nevertheless remain the property of Provider or Provider’s suppliers, and you may only use Materials or Deliverables in accordance with this Agreement.

Email Communications

1. Your email address is considered personal information and will be treated as such according to the Privacy Policy stated below.
2. A valid email address may be required in order for you to obtain Services.
3. We may communicate with you by email in connection with Services or any administrative matter.
4. We may also communicate with you by email from time to time in order to supply information that we believe may be of interest to you, including newsletters, promotional material, and so on. However, any such communication will always include a means by which you may opt out of receiving such communications in future.

Access and Use Limitations

You agree that you will not:

1. attempt to circumvent any Site security measures or gain unauthorized access;
2. access, copy or disclose any private of confidential information of any other person, even if an error or defect in the Site or our other systems makes such information available to you;
3. use the Site, Materials, Services or Deliverables for any fraudulent or illegal purpose;
4. interfere with anyone else’s use of the Site; or
5. use the Site, Materials or Deliverables to provide services to third parties (such as financial or retirement planning) unless we specifically authorizes you to do so in writing.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANY

The Site, Materials, Services and Deliverables are provided “as is”. Provider makes no warranties, expressed or implied, and hereby disclaims and negates all other warranties, including without limitation, implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement of intellectual property or other violation of rights. Further, Provider does not warrant or make any representations concerning the accuracy, likely results, reliability or any other aspect of the Site, Materials, Services or Deliverables, or with respect to any sites linked to this Site.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

In no event shall Provider or its suppliers be liable for any damages (including, without limitation, damages for loss of data or profit, or due to business interruption) arising out of the use or inability to use the Site, Materials, Services or Deliverables, even if Provider or a Provider authorized representative has been notified orally or in writing of the possibility of such damage. Because some jurisdictions do not allow limitations on implied warranties, or limitations of liability for consequential or incidental damages, these limitations may not apply to you.

MAXIMUM LIABILITY

In the event Provider is found to be liable in any way to you in connection with the Site, Materials, Services or Deliverables, you agree that Provider’s maximum liability will not exceed any amounts paid by you to Provider.

Your Obligation of Due Diligence and Care

The Site, Materials, Services and Deliverables are intended to educate about and facilitate understanding of certain financial decisions. While we have made efforts to supply useful and reliable information, you hereby acknowledge and agree that there is always a possibility of error, and there can be no assurance that results apply to your unique situation. Before making any important personal financial decision you must exercise due diligence and care to independently confirm the validity of your decisions, including educating yourself using other available content and tools, performing more detailed calculations, consulting with accounting, legal or tax professionals, and so on. You must continually monitor the outcome of any such decisions to ensure the results are consistent with your expectations.

You hereby acknowledge that:

1. while the Site, Materials, Services and Deliverables may make specific calculations and may make specific recommendations, such calculations and recommendations should be viewed as simply tools for helping you think through your economic future and as informative inputs into your own decision-making;
2. although we may make recommendations or present information leading to certain conclusions, the best strategy for you also depends on your own desired tradeoff between various outcomes and your own assessment of various risks;
3. certain decisions may be irrevocable, including deciding when to quit a job or when to begin Social Security benefits, and you should consider not only the information we provide but also other available content, tools or advisors to learn about and develop a personalized strategy that is right for your own situation;
4. we may employ simplified models that are not valid in every possible case;
5. current laws, government benefit programs, taxation rates & rules, or other rules & regulations could change in the future, and such changes could invalidate current projections, analyses, calculations or recommendations;
6. future investment returns, inflation, taxes, income, costs and other factors cannot be predicted or assured;
7. if you provide us with inaccurate information, then the Site, Materials, Services or Deliverables will be inaccurate whenever depending upon such information;
8. we cannot assure that government authorities will interpret rules and regulations consistent with the information we provide;
9. for editorial clarity and readability, statements and recommendations in the Site, Materials, Services or Deliverables may be simplified and lack disclaimers or cautions regarding all possible situations;
10. the Site, Materials and Deliverables may contain additional information about other important limitations and assumptions;
11. there may be limitations and assumptions which we have not described;
12. any calculations or statements of future Social Security benefits we provide are estimates which may differ from the correct amounts due to mistakes in our model or systems, because of legislated changes in Social Security provisions of which we are unaware or because of delays in updating our systems to reflect changes in Social Security provisions;
13. only the Social Security Administration can tell you precisely the benefits to which you are or will be eligible and the amounts you will receive;
14. you should consult with the Social Security Administration (for example, by visiting your local office) to validate your plans before finalizing any decision about claiming Social Security benefits; and
15. we have no affiliation with the Social Security Administration or any other government agency, and we make no claim to be certified or registered financial planners; and
16. we do not provide investment advice.

Errors, Revisions and Support

1. The Site, Materials or Deliverables could include factual, technical, typographical, or photographic errors or omissions.
2. We may make changes or updates to the Site or Materials at any time without notice, and we may change or update Services and associated Deliverables.
3. We do not, however, make any commitment that such updates or changes will occur.
4. Unless specifically stated as part of the definition of a particular Service, no support is provided. We are however interested to learn of problems users may have, and we desire to solve user problems if resources and priorities allow. For these reasons, areas of the Site may offer a way to contact us for support (for example, via a support email). In such cases, our response is optional, if and when able.
5. If support is explicitly offered as a particular Service or part of a Service (for example via a statement such as “monthly fee includes email support”) then unless otherwise specified, our support service commitment is as follows:
6. Support is specific to the item in question, and limited to addressing errors, omissions, inconsistencies, and clarifications.
7. Support does not include general consulting or education services.
8. Unless otherwise stated, support is by email. We will make reasonable efforts to respond to emails within one business day.
9. We will make efforts to understand and resolve support issue, but cannot guarantee to resolve every reported issue. Support when offered as or included with a Service is subject to all of the limitations and disclaimers applicable to Services.
10. If the availability of telephone support is stated in respect of a particular Service, then unless otherwise specified, this means telephone consultation at a pre-arranged agreed time, generally on the next business day.
11. We are not equipped for and we do not offer continuously staffed email monitoring or phone answering. We do not generally monitor support requests outside our normal business hours.

Undeliverable Orders

If you place an order and make payment for Services which we subsequently determine we cannot satisfy, for example because we discover that our systems could not create a correct Deliverable for your specific situation, because of circumstances beyond our control, or for any other business reason in our sole discretion, then in such cases we will notify you and we will promptly make a full refund of your payment. We also reserve the right to refuse orders at any time for any business reason.

Additional Terms and Conditions

Certain portions of the Site and certain Services may be subject to additional terms and conditions. If so, you will be informed of those additional terms and conditions at the point of use. By using such portions of Site or such Services, you agree to abide by the stated additional terms and conditions as well as these Terms of Use.

External and Third Party Content

We have not reviewed all of the external sites linked to on the Site and we are not responsible for the contents of any such linked site. The inclusion of any link does not imply our endorsement of such external site. Use of any such linked web site is at your own risk. We may allow third parties to post commentary or other content in certain areas of the Site (for example, user blog submissions.) We are not responsible for the content of such postings. Materials or Deliverables may contain references to information from third parties and we cannot assure that such information is correct.

Third Party Services

We may authorize certain individuals and business entities as Professional Users to use our information, software and services in the course of carrying out such Professional Users’ business, which may include consulting or advisory services to members of the general public. The Site, Materials, Deliverables and/or our other marketing materials may from time to time identify one or more such Professional Users. While we may add or remove such Professional Advisors according to certain quality criteria, Provider is under no obligation to assess or review the quality of Professional Users’ personnel, products or services. Provider has no responsibility for and makes no warranty whatsoever with respect to Professional Users’ personnel, products or services. Professional Users are solely responsible for anything they deliver to you.

Revisions to this Agreement

We may revise these Terms of Use at any time without notice. By continuing to use the Site or obtain Services, you are agreeing to be bound by the then current version of these Terms of Use. We will make a copy of the most current Terms of Use available as a link from the Site home page and from other places on the Site.

Governing Law and Severability

Any claim relating to this Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of laws principles. If any part of this Agreement is found to be unenforceable, the rest of the Agreement shall remain in force to the maximum possible extent.

Professional Use

A Professional User may be an unincorporated individual sole proprietor or a business entity such as a corporation or partnership. A business entity cannot be a Professional User unless an authorized person (e.g. owner, partner, officer or other authorized person) has accepted this Agreement. A request from an authorized person to have the entity become a Professional User constitutes such acceptance.

In the case of a Professional User, words in these Terms of Use like “you” and “your” refer to the Professional User business entity.

Registration as a Professional User, participation in any specific program for Professional Users, and ordering of Services and Deliverables as a Professional User are all subject to our acceptance. Our acceptance is not guaranteed, and we may choose to refuse participation after receiving and evaluating your initial registration and/or initial order, or we may later terminate your participation and Professional User status, for example because of a your failure to abide by the conditions of an order or this Agreement, or if you do not offer advisory services of a quality or type that we believe are a suitable match for our products and services, or for any other business reason in our sole discretion. Your program participation and continued Professional User status are contingent upon your timely payment of all applicable fees. If you request to become a Professional User and we take your payment after offering you the ability to purchase Services or Deliverables thereby, this constitutes our acceptance, subject always to our later review and right to terminate. If we refuse initial acceptance, any initial payment will be promptly refunded. If we terminate for any reason we will refund pro-rata the unused portion of any monthly, annual or pre-paid item fees.

Everything herein applies to Professional Users with the following exceptions and additions:

1. You will ensure that your employees, contractors and agents abide by this Agreement if they are involved in obtaining or using Materials, Services or Deliverables.
2. You may use Services or Deliverables specified as part of particular program (for which you have registered and been accepted and have made any required payments) in connection with providing your services to individuals who are your clients. This does not permit you to provide Services or Deliverables to or on behalf of any other party or for any other commercial purpose. (Examples: providing services to other practitioners or companies.)
3. Your right to use Services or Deliverables in connection with your own client services extends only to Services or Deliverables that are part of the particular Professional User program(s) in which you participate.
4. You will not alter or remove any copyright notices, any other intellectual property notices, any warranty material or warranty disclaimers, or any other warnings, caveats or disclaimers in any Materials or Deliverables.
5. Certain Deliverables are specifically intended to be produced for and delivered to your clients, customized to the situation of each client. (Such Deliverables are referred to herein as “Client Deliverables”.) You are permitted to provide copies of Client Deliverables to such clients under the following conditions:
6. Each Client Deliverable is authorized for the use of the specific individual client (or client and spouse) for whom it was prepared. No copies are authorized other than as are necessary for such client’s use. Clients are authorized to make copies as are strictly necessary to consult with clients’ immediate families and to obtain advice from clients’ legal counsel, tax advisors and financial advisors.
7. You will pay the applicable fees for each client who receives a Client Deliverable.
8. You will not supply one client’s Client Deliverable to another client nor will you create generic Client Deliverables for the purpose of servicing multiple clients with one Deliverable.
9. Client Deliverables will be delivered in conjunction with some aspect of your professional advisory services.
10. Prior to giving Client Deliverable to your clients, you will review each Client Deliverable to determine if it appropriately reflects your client’s situation.
11. In connection with your own client services that are enabled or facilitated by any of our Services or Deliverables:
12. You will not make false, exaggerated or misleading statements, or take any action likely to bring our name into disrepute.
13. In your conduct with your clients, you will always bear in mind the disclaimers and limitations stated herein, as well as any disclaimers or limitations stated in any Deliverable.
14. You will counsel your clients so they are aware of their own obligations of due diligence and care such as stated elsewhere herein.
15. Certain Deliverables (referred to herein as “Collateral Items”) may be provided as general information items use for your clients or prospective clients. A Deliverable is a Collateral Item only if specifically designated as such by us. You are permitted to make reasonable copies of Collateral Items as needed, under the following conditions:
16. Collateral Items can only be provided to individuals who are your clients or to individuals you reasonably believe are prospective clients.
17. Collateral Items may not be modified except in ways we have designated. (For example, we may provide a way to strip in your business name, logo and contact information.)
18. Collateral Items may not be published (in print, on a web site, broadcast or any other means) without our specific permission.
19. Certain Deliverables (referred to herein as “Marketing Templates”) may be provided intended for your use as templates for marketing your services utilizing our Services or Deliverables. You are permitted to make excerpts from or prepare derivative works from the Marketing Templates, and use such excerpts or derivative works in your own marketing materials solely for the purpose of marketing products or services which utilize our Services or Deliverables.
20. Certain Deliverables (referred to herein as “Presentation Materials”) may be provided to enable you to give informative presentations to your clients or prospective clients. You are permitted to use the Presentation Materials to give presentations or your clients or prospective clients under the following conditions:
21. The presentation may only be given personally by a specified individual (the “Authorized Presenter”) for whom an appropriate fee has been paid and only during a specified term.
22. Presentations my be given only to clients or prospective clients in connection with your business.
23. Any online or webinar-type presentation is limited to a maximum of 20 attendees. In person presentations are limited to a maximum of 100 attendees.
24. No license or permission is granted to make, broadcast or disseminate recordings, films or videos based on the Presentation Materials. No license or permission is granted to make or distribute copies or derivative works of any of Presentation Materials.
25. In addition to any other termination rights we may have, any rights granted herein with respect to Collateral Materials, Marketing Materials or Presentation Materials terminate without further notice on the earliest of:
26. Our termination of your status as a Financial Professional,
27. The expiration of any specified license term (for example, a term-limited license to use certain Presentation Materials.)
28. Twelve (12) months after your last payment to us in connection with the particular Professional User program(s) in which you participate.
29. Your status as a Professional User does not obligate us to publicize you or endorse you in any way. You will not make any statement to the public or to your clients that in any way implies we guarantee, certify or endorse you or your services.
30. The commercial use rights granted to you as a Professional User are not transferable, and no such rights are granted hereby to any other person or entity.

Privacy Policy

Your privacy is very important to us. Accordingly, we have developed this Privacy Policy in order for you to understand how we collect, use, communicate and disclose and make use of personal information. The following outlines our privacy policy.

• Before or at the time of collecting personal information, we will identify the purposes for which information is being collected.
• We will collect and use personal information solely with the objective of fulfilling those purposes specified by us and for other compatible purposes, unless we obtain the consent of the individual concerned or as required by law.
• We will only retain personal information as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes.
• We will collect personal information by lawful and fair means and, where appropriate, with the knowledge or consent of the individual concerned.
• We will protect personal information by reasonable security safeguards against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification.
• We make no warranty that our safeguards or security will not be breached. However if such a breach occurs, we will make reasonable good faith efforts to inform you if we believe your information has been compromised.
• The Site may utilize certain standard techniques such as “cookies” in order to personalize usage of the Site for you or to allow you to resume certain activities where you left off. A record of your visit to the Site may persist in your browser cache. If you are using the Site on a device that could be accessed by someone other than you (for example, a public shared computer or an unsecured portable device) then you should take steps to clear your sensitive personal information from the device when you are done using the Site.
• In connection with Services, we may obtain information from you or provide reports or other information to you using email. Email messages may therefore contain some of your personal information. You should be aware that we do not currently use methods to encrypt such email. We will only send such email to addresses that we reasonably believe belong to you.
• We may monitor usage of the Site for purposes of performance, site maintenance or security. Such monitoring will be consistent with this Privacy Policy and information collected will be only what is reasonably required.
• The Site may incorporate advertising from third parties. Advertisers may use certain tracking techniques in an attempt to customize advertising for you. However we will never provide your personal identifying information or your personal financial information to such third parties without your permission.

We are committed to conducting our business in accordance with these principles in order to ensure that the confidentiality of personal information is protected and maintained.