You're a few years from retiring

This is where the numbers start to matter for real, and it's worth taking the extra few minutes to get them right. Pull your actual Social Security statement from ssa.gov and use the benefit that matches the claiming age you're actually considering — not a generic estimate. If you're weighing claiming at 62 versus 67 versus 70, run the calculator once for each. Watching the Keep move is the clearest way to see what delaying is actually worth to you.

Your annual living costs deserve a real look too, not last year's number out of habit. Retirement spending often shifts — some costs drop (commuting, work clothes), others rise (healthcare, travel). And this is the point to actually decide on a landing goal, rather than defaulting to zero: a legacy, a late-life cushion, or intentionally spending it all are all valid choices, but they change the number meaningfully.

If your balance comes in below the Keep at this stage, that's useful information now, while you still have room to adjust — a delayed retirement date, a few more years of saving, or a different Social Security timing all have more room to work with before the decision is final.

You're retired and doing your annual check

This is the calculator's core use case — the once-a-year review the whole method is built around. Pull your actual current balance from your latest statement, your actual living costs from how you've really been spending, and run it.

If your balance sits above the Keep, the scenario is funded, and the surplus is yours to decide what to do with — spend more, hold it as cushion, or use the annual-surplus figure to see what a permanent increase in spending would look like. If it's below, it isn't a verdict on a past decision — it's information. Try the spending-change section to see exactly what closing the gap would take, whether that's a temporary trim or a different landing goal.

Check it at the same time each year, ideally in January before that year's spending comes out. The Keep is built to be rechecked, not set once and forgotten.

You're revisiting after a life change

A market drop, a spending change, a windfall, a health event, the loss of a spouse — any of these is worth an off-schedule check, not just the annual one. Update whichever fields actually changed and leave the rest alone; the calculator will show you exactly how much the Keep moved and why.

After a market drop, it's worth remembering that the Keep itself doesn't change — it's built on your future spending, not on today's balance. What changes is the gap between your balance and the Keep. After a spending shock or windfall, the spending-change section shows the impact in both directions, so you can see whether it's a one-year ripple or something that needs a permanent adjustment.