This is an income calculator and doesn’t include assets. Some METARs who are heavily invested in low-yielding stocks may inaccurately compute as low-income.
The calculator also allows comparisons of different demographic groups. For example, I compared married vs. unmarried people who are white, over age 65 and bachelor’s degree and over. The married group had the same middle class as the unmarried (about 50%) but the married group had more upper income while the unmarried had more lower income.
It’s helpful to reference savings based on 6% of value for annual income. 4% for MSWR and an additional 2% grossed up for taxes of all types on income.
This is, of course, synthetic. It does help to account for the assets.
In this way, for every $1,000,000 you have saved, you would add $60,000 to the amount you receive from annuity, pension and SS.
This works for employed individuals as well as incremental equivalent “income” would be on top of earned income from other sources.
*** It’s not perfect, but it’s close enough for a casual calculator.
The Pew report that accompanies the article has some interesting insights. When you look at which professions have the most upper income people, the “skim” collecting jobs in finance, insurance and real estate lead the way. Conversely, if you “Minimize the Skim” in your personal financial life, you greatly improve your odds of joining them at the top of the pyramid.
The wealthy are very adverse to any discussion of assets, except for the case of impoverishing middle class people who end up on Medicaid after nursing home expenses.