Income Protection Gap Calculator
How much income protection does a client need?
Income protection is the natural companion to the life insurance conversation: the client who needs a death benefit also needs their paycheck protected if illness or injury stops it. This calculator sizes that gap, the monthly essential expenses a household must keep paying minus the disability income from employer and individual coverage, so a life insurance producer can open it with a concrete number. Enter the numbers below for an instant estimate.
Educational estimate only, not financial or insurance advice. It does not model taxes on benefits, elimination periods, or benefit caps. Kadence does not provide financial advice.
How the estimate works
Start with essential expenses
The calculator anchors on the monthly expenses a household cannot pause: housing, food, utilities, insurance, debt, and childcare. Sizing coverage to essentials protects the household without over-insuring, and it is a cleaner number than gross income for the disability conversation.
Subtract the income that keeps coming
From essential expenses it subtracts every dollar that would still arrive during a disability: employer group benefit, any individual policy, and other household income such as a spouse's pay. What remains is the true monthly gap a new policy or savings would need to fill.
Check the savings runway
If the client has emergency savings, the calculator shows how many months those savings would cover the gap before running out. A short runway against a long potential disability is the clearest reason to close the gap with coverage rather than cash.
Related terms and guides
Frequently asked questions
What is an income protection gap?
An income protection gap is the monthly shortfall between the expenses a household must keep paying and the disability income it would actually receive if the earner could not work. Employer coverage rarely replaces full pay, so the gap is what a client would need to cover from an individual disability policy or savings.
How much of my income does disability insurance replace?
Group disability coverage through an employer commonly replaces around 60 percent of base income, and that benefit is often taxable when the employer pays the premium. Individual policies can layer on top. This calculator lets you enter your actual expected benefits so the gap reflects your real numbers, not an assumption.
Should I use gross income or essential expenses?
Use essential monthly expenses for the most defensible number: housing, food, utilities, insurance, debt, and childcare are what must be paid regardless of income. Sizing coverage to essential expenses protects the household without over-insuring, and it is the figure most agents anchor the disability conversation to.
Is this calculator financial advice?
No. This tool produces an educational estimate to frame a conversation with a licensed agent. It does not account for taxes on benefits, elimination periods, benefit caps, or your full financial picture. Kadence does not provide financial advice. Confirm any coverage decision with a licensed professional.