A modelling tool for regulated advisers. It recommends no product; the advice remains yours.
Ages and lifespans
Ages come from each person's month and year of birth; the rules that test an age at any time in a year are kept apart from those that test it on a birthday. Each person's lifespan is drawn from Irish mortality (the CSO's life tables, improving year by year at the CSO's rates), by sex, and loaded by their health.
Health and care
Health moves between healthy, an acute illness, a chronic one and long-term care, entry to care rising with age. An illness cuts the ill person's own pay. Care brings its costs, and Fair Deal where it applies.
Work, and losing it
Each person's working life moves between states tied to CSO and Eurostat data, the chance of losing a job scaled by occupation. Statutory redundancy is paid on a job lost; a planned redundancy with an ex-gratia payment can be entered.
An example
Maeve and Ruairí each get statutory redundancy on their own pay and years of service, and it stays their own money whichever of them dies first.
Children
Each child's costs by age band until independence, childcare and third level among them; a child in third level counts as a qualifying child for the credits.
Spending
Spending rises with income above an essential floor that is never cut. When the plan is going badly the household cuts back, as nearly every household does; spending that falls with age is its option. Planned costs and gifts, a relative's health costs, work after retiring and an inheritance can each be entered.
