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Apps Especially Useful for Retirees

The EyeReader app will magnify text on a hard-to-read menu.Credit...NetSoft Engineering

Many smartphone applications can be particularly useful to retirees with time to manage their lives and pursuits. The apps listed below can help keep track of finances, plan trips and generally make life in retirement a little easier.

TRAVEL Perhaps the most appealing thing about retirement is the freedom to travel. The best travel apps simplify the logistics and planning that go into any major trip. Free to download and use, Skyscanner easily searches for and books flights. The app is so intuitive that you should beware if you have a quick trigger finger: It’s tempting to reserve a cheap flight to Tokyo without thinking twice about it. Skyscanner’s customizable searches are also useful. If you’re simply not up for a long layover or flying after midnight, the app can take those conditions into consideration when picking the best flights.

If you are traveling domestically, check out Localeur once you arrive at your destination. Available in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, Austin, Tex., and other United States cities, Localeur provides recommendations from locals about where to go and what to do while in their city. Multiple suggestions are often compiled by a single user (“the tastiest fried chicken in Atlanta,” etc.) so once you have determined that you like someone’s taste, you can continue to return to that person’s favorite places.

FILM For frequent moviegoers, Moviepass is worth considering. The service charges $30 a month ($35 in some places) but a subscription covers one film every 24 hours, from among major films in major theaters. If you live in New York City and plan to see at least three films a month, it pays for itself.

SIGHT AIDS Hyperopia, or farsightedness, is not a major concern at the movies, but it can be a killer when you’re trying to get a bite to eat afterward. To magnify the text on a hard-to-read menu, try EyeReader. It’s a one-trick service that can substitute for bifocals in a pinch. And holding your smartphone over a menu doesn’t make you look like a fogy; you will look as if you are about to Snapchat your grandchildren the menu items at their favorite restaurant. (It’s a great way to make table companions jealous.)

Another similar useful service comes in the self-explanatory Big Keyboard. The app makes it easier to see which letters you have just typed on the iOS touch screen.

FINANCE One of the main concerns of retirement is managing your finances. Betterment offers customizable plans for investing in index and exchange-traded funds. The app does not aggressively push customers to take risks, instead providing responsive advice and guidance. While some may consider apps an unsafe way to deal with financial planning and savings, Betterment’s professionalism and ease of use go a long way toward soothing those fears. There is a fee, however. Betterment charges 0.15 to 0.35 percent of the money it manages annually.

BRAIN TRAINING Some doubts have been cast on the efficacy of brain-training services like Lumosity, which offer entertaining little games under the premise that they keep the mind sharp. But some apps are meant to teach you something specific. Brainscape is a platform for digital flashcards that can help you learn subjects as diverse as Spanish, basic physics and bartending. It’s easy to use, whether you have a moment to relax during a commute or you’re settling down for a longer period of study.

Duolingo does not have Brainscape’s wide range of subjects, but it, too, is a good way to study on a foreign language. Though neither app will grant you fluency, either should at least give you the confidence to greet your hosts in Italian on your next trip to Rome (which, of course, you will have booked through Skyscanner.)

AARP AARP provides a suite of apps to retirees or those approaching retirement, many of them quite useful. The flagship app (which is listed in the app store simply as AARP) is full of news, tips and ephemera that will be of interest to baby boomers — last week, the app featured an article on Bob Dylan’s career, along with others on caregivers and Americans who refuse to retire.

The Member Discounts app alerts you to deals available based on your AARP membership status. You might be shocked by how much money you can save just by living to a certain age — in which case, the Member Discounts app is a good wake-up call.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section F, Page 7 of the New York edition with the headline: Apps Especially Useful for Retirees. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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