Is the CALM Method free and private?

Yes. It is completely free, requires no account, and every calculation happens in your own browser. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.

What is a Floor Number in retirement planning?

Your Floor Number is the total of guaranteed monthly income you will receive in retirement — Social Security, pensions, and annuities — excluding anything that depends on market performance. It is step C of the CALM Method™.

The CALM Method™ — Find Your Retirement Window in 4 Steps

Q: What is the CALM Method?

The CALM Method™ is RetireCalm's original 4-step retirement readiness framework: Count your floor, Assess your gap, Lock your window, and Monitor yearly. It turns a vague retirement worry into three concrete numbers — your Floor Number, your Gap Number, and your Window.

Turn "Can I retire?" into three real numbers

Most retirement worry is fog. The CALM Method™ burns it off by walking you from guaranteed income to a tested retirement window — one letter at a time. Tap a step to begin.

Count Your Floor

"What's guaranteed to hit my bank account every month — forever?"

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List only income that arrives no matter what the market does: Social Security, pensions, and annuity payments. Leave out IRA withdrawals, dividends, and rental income for now — those depend on balances and conditions. If you're planning as a couple, combine both of your amounts.

Social Security ($/month)

Pension ($/month)

Annuity / other guaranteed ($/month — don't include IRA/401k withdrawals here; those come in step L)

Your Floor Number — This is the bedrock of your plan. Not sure of your Social Security amount? See our Social Security guide or try the claiming-age calculator.

Assess Your Gap

"How much must my savings cover each month?"

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Enter your realistic monthly expenses — housing, food, insurance, healthcare, taxes, and some fun. Be honest, not hopeful. We subtract your Floor Number automatically.

Total monthly expenses ($/month)

Your Gap Number — Expenses minus Floor. This is the monthly load your savings carry.

Lock Your Window

"When can I retire — and will the money last?"

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Now the big question. Add your savings below, then send everything to our free Monte Carlo calculator — it runs 5,000 market scenarios against your numbers and returns your success probability, an Excellent / Strong / Moderate / At-Risk rating, and a full breakdown. That result is your Window.

Retirement savings (IRA, 401k, investments — $)

Planned monthly withdrawal ($/mo from savings — leave blank to use your Gap Number)

Your Floor, Gap, and savings carry over automatically — no retyping.

Monitor Yearly

"Is my plan still on track?"

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A retirement plan isn't a document — it's a habit. Commit to the three rules below and you've completed the Method.

Annual checkpoint. Re-run CALM every 12 months — pick a memorable date like your birthday or New Year's week.
Life-event re-check. Re-run after any big change: health event, home sale, market shock, loss of a spouse, new grandchild moving plans.
The one-lever rule. If your Window slips, adjust one lever at a time — spending, retirement date, or withdrawal rate — then re-test. Never panic-change everything at once.

The CALM vocabulary

Floor Number: Guaranteed monthly income — Social Security, pension, annuities. The money that shows up no matter what.
Gap Number: Monthly expenses minus your Floor. The load your savings must carry every month.
Your Window: The retirement date and confidence score your numbers support, tested against 5,000 market scenarios.

Common questions

What is the CALM Method™?

It's RetireCalm's original 4-step retirement readiness framework — Count your floor, Assess your gap, Lock your window, Monitor yearly. You won't find it anywhere else, because we built it here.

Is my information saved?

No. Every calculation happens right in your browser. Nothing is stored, transmitted, or tied to you — close the tab and it's gone.

What if my Gap Number is zero or negative?

Congratulations — your guaranteed income covers your expenses, which is the strongest position a retiree can be in. Run step L anyway to see how much cushion your savings add for surprises and extras.