Survivor Income Shortfall Calculator

Estimate the monthly shortfall a surviving household may face and project the total income needed over time.

Total Household Monthly Income (Today)

Income Lost at Death (Monthly)

Ongoing Survivor Income After Death (Monthly)

Survivor Monthly Expenses

Years Income Is Needed

Expense Growth / Inflation (%)

If Funded as a Lump Sum: Net Return (%)

Important: “Ongoing Survivor Income After Death” should be the survivor’s expected income after the death (their wages, survivor benefits, pensions, etc.). The calculator uses that number for the budget math so it doesn’t double-count income.

Shortfall Summary

Income Change Snapshot

Year-by-Year Projection

Expenses can optionally increase by your “Expense Growth / Inflation” rate. Survivor income is held constant (simple model).

Year	Monthly Expenses	Monthly Survivor Income	Monthly Shortfall	Annual Shortfall

How this calculator works (plain English)

This tool is built around one simple question: After a death, will the survivor’s income cover the survivor’s monthly expenses? If income is lower than expenses, the difference is the income shortfall.

Here’s the math the calculator uses: Monthly Shortfall = Survivor Monthly Expenses − Ongoing Survivor Income After Death. If that result is negative, the shortfall is treated as $0 (no gap).

The “Total Income Needed Over Time” projects that monthly gap over the number of years you enter. If you add an inflation rate, expenses grow each year, which can widen the gap over time. The “lump sum” line (optional) is a simple estimate of what it might take today if that gap had to be funded from a pool of money.

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Survivor Income Shortfall Calculator

Survivor Income Gap Breakdown

Shortfall Summary

Income Change Snapshot

Year-by-Year Projection

How this calculator works (plain English)