Understanding your cinder score
The cinder score is a 0–100 composite rating of your retirement readiness. It appears on the Retirement tab’s Summary. It updates as you change your plan.
How the Score Is Calculated
Six weighted components combine into your total score:
| Component | Weight | What It Measures |
|---|---|---|
| Survival | 25 points | Can your portfolio last through life expectancy? |
| Budget Adherence | 25 points | How close is your actual spending to your plan? |
| Coverage | 20 points | Does your projected income cover your spending? |
| Tax Efficiency | 10 points | How low is your effective tax rate? |
| Buffer | 10 points | How large is your estate as a % of peak portfolio? |
| Savings Rate | 10 points | How much of your pre-retirement income are you saving? |
Score Tiers
| Score | Tier |
|---|---|
| 0–14 | Cold Ash |
| 15–29 | Cooling |
| 30–44 | Smoldering |
| 45–59 | Flickering |
| 60–74 | Kindling |
| 75–89 | Blazing |
| 90–100 | Roaring |
What Each Component Means
Survival (25 points)
Tests whether your portfolio lasts to the end of your plan under deterministic assumptions: your life expectancy, or for a couple, the younger partner’s. Full points if your money never runs out. Otherwise the points follow how much of retirement it lasts: running out halfway through scores about half. Zero if it runs out before you retire.
Budget Adherence (25 points)
Compares your actual spending (from imported transactions) against your planned spending target. Full points when actual matches or is below planned. Points decrease as actual spending exceeds the plan. This needs transaction data. With no transactions imported, the component uses a default middle score.
Coverage (20 points)
Measures whether your projected retirement income (withdrawals + benefits + other income) covers your spending target each year. Full points if coverage is adequate throughout. Reduced if there are years where income falls short of spending.
Tax Efficiency (10 points)
Compares your lifetime effective tax rate against a 45% ceiling. Lower effective rates score higher. Good withdrawal sequencing, meltdown strategies, and pension splitting all lower it.
Buffer (10 points)
Measures your projected estate value as a percentage of peak portfolio. A larger buffer leaves more room for unexpected expenses, market crashes, or living longer than planned.
Savings Rate (10 points)
For pre-retirement users, measures what percentage of income is being saved. Higher savings rates earn more points.
How to Improve Your Score
The insights on the Retirement tab point to the weakest components first. Common suggestions:
- Low Survival: Reduce spending, delay retirement, or increase savings
- Low Budget Adherence: Align your spending with your plan, or adjust the plan to match reality
- Low Coverage: Increase income sources, delay government benefits for higher payouts, or reduce spending target
- Low Tax Efficiency: Enable RRSP meltdown or Roth conversion, optimize withdrawal order
- Low Buffer: Increase savings or reduce spending to grow the estate margin
- Low Savings Rate: Increase contributions to registered accounts
Score History
If you’re signed in, cinder.fi tracks your daily score on the Progress tab. You can see how it moves as you change your plan, markets shift, or you import new spending data.
Testing a One-Time Event
To see how a one-time purchase or windfall changes your score, add it as a life event on the Retirement tab’s Inputs, or try it in a scenario so your base plan stays unchanged. The score, estate value, and retirement date update as soon as you add it.