Most retirement plans focus on a total number. The smarter question: how much MUST show up every month, regardless of the market? That's your income floor. Run the math below.
Enter your essential monthly expenses + the income you already have guaranteed. We'll calculate the gap and what it would cost to lock in.
I'll send you the Income Floor Worksheet PDF (the same math, laid out for printing) and you can book a free 20-min walkthrough where I run a couple of carrier quotes against your actual numbers. No products being sold on the call.
Two retirees with identical $80,000/year incomes can have very different retirements. The one with $60K guaranteed sleeps through market crashes. The one with $20K guaranteed doesn't.
A 30% market drop in your first year of retirement, without an income floor, can permanently reduce your withdrawal capacity. The floor lets you wait out the recovery without selling at the bottom.
For most retirees, Social Security covers 50-70% of essentials. The "gap" is what guaranteed sources OUTSIDE Social Security need to cover. That's where pensions, annuities, and bond ladders come in.
The right amount of SPIA or MYGA isn't your whole portfolio. It's just enough to cover the gap between guaranteed income and essential expenses. The rest stays invested for growth and discretionary spending.
Your income floor is the monthly amount you absolutely need from guaranteed sources — Social Security, pensions, annuities — to cover essential expenses like rent, food, healthcare, utilities, and insurance. Everything beyond the floor can come from market-exposed assets. The floor is what protects you from market crashes and longevity risk.
Total income covers everything: travel, gifts, gifts to kids, restaurants, entertainment. The income floor is only the bare minimum that must show up every month regardless of market conditions, illness, or how long you live. A market crash can ruin a high-income plan if the floor isn't secured first.
Roughly $170,000 to $200,000 in premium for a single-life Single Premium Immediate Annuity at age 65 in 2026 market conditions. Older ages get higher payout rates — at 75, the same $1,000/month requires only about $130,000 to $150,000. The calculator above runs your specific numbers.
SPIA (Single Premium Immediate Annuity) is for income starting now or within 12 months. MYGA (Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity) is better when you want growth for 3–10 years and start income later. If you need monthly checks within 12 months, SPIA. If you want income to start at 70 or 75, a MYGA today rolled into a SPIA later usually produces more lifetime income.
No. Travel, restaurants, gifts, hobbies — those are above-floor and should come from the market-exposed portion of your portfolio (stocks/bonds/mutual funds). If the market is down, you cut discretionary spending; you don't cut food or rent. That's the point of the floor.
Then you're in great shape. The rest of your savings can stay invested for growth, and you don't need an annuity for income — though you might still consider one for legacy or tax-deferral. If Social Security almost covers the floor (within 10-20%), even a small SPIA or income annuity can give you total peace of mind without taking much off the market.