ELCI · Expected Lifetime Comfort Index

Plan for a life, not a life expectancy.

Traditional retirement projections ask whether your assets last to a chosen age. ELCI models markets, health, longevity, and spending across a thousand possible lives, then scores how comfortably your plan supports you as each one unfolds.

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What does “success” mean for me?
A plan that runs short of money at 85 isn't a failure in a future where you don't make it that far. ELCI scores every simulated life on the years you actually live and how well you are able to enjoy them.
Which market will I retire into?
Historical averages are easy to calculate but no one retires into the average market. ELCI projects returns from today's actual prices and valuations, even when the answer is sobering.
What will my health cost me, and when?
Care needs are the biggest unknown in any plan. Life by life, ELCI simulates health, mobility, and memory, so you see your real exposure without fear or guesswork.
How does my life look when my spending adapts?
A retirement plan isn't a set of handcuffs. ELCI models a planner who adjusts, protects essentials, and spends when it's safe, showing you the lives you can afford.

A brief introduction to ELCI by its creator, Steve Burkett · @RetireWithSteve on YouTube

How ELCI works

MarketPath
Creates the realistic sequences of booms, busts and long grinding middles that financial markets move through. Instead of replaying history, MarketPath starts from today's market conditions, testing your retirement plan against the futures you're likely to face.
LifePath
Simulates health as a path, not just an end date. Calibrated against the best national studies of American aging, LifePath models changing care needs, cognition and independence so your health care spending isn't an afterthought, and your longevity isn't a guess.
Spending Engine
You decide what's flexible and what's non-negotiable; the Spending Engine adjusts automatically as your simulated lives play out. From taxes to Social Security, health insurance to care costs, it tracks the fine print of retirement, so you don't have to.
ELCI
Every simulated life gets its own market and health path, with spending modeled according to your plan. Across a thousand lives, ELCI scores how comfortably you live, not just whether your portfolio holds up.