How the Success Score works
One number: how ready you are to be approved for the mobility asset you picked. It starts low and rises with every answer and every document.
What the score means
- Exploratory0 to 39
- Contingent40 to 59
- Probable60 to 79
- Strong80 or more
15 or less is Blocked: your own answers rule the mobility asset out.
- Half your score is your situation and half is your proof: the documents you have in PassVault.
- Your goal picks the factors, and each factor is scored from your own answers.
- A factor we have no data for is left out, never counted as zero.
- Base, Stress and Optimistic each move your savings, the dollar and living costs for a year.
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The rules
Success means being approved
Your score is how ready you are to be approved for the mobility asset you picked. It is earned in two halves of 50 points.
Your situation is 50 points: how your answers fit this asset. Your proof is 50: the share of your shared document set in PassVault.
Eligibility comes first
If your own Mobility Match answers rule a mobility asset out, its plan is Blocked and shows at most 15%.
If it opens only once you reach an income or savings floor, it shows at most 59% until you do.
Your goal picks the factors
Retiring, Plan B and working abroad are each scored on their own set of factors.
Working adds one deciding factor for your situation: remote job, own business or local job.
Weighted by your goal
Each goal has default weights. You can try your own, and reset them in one click.
Weights never hide a blocker: eligibility is applied first.
Unanswered counts low
A factor waiting on an answer from you counts at the low end of its range, so your score starts low.
Each answer moves it to what your answer earns, and an answer never takes points off.
Only what we have
A factor we have no data for is left out, and the others are re-weighted.
Missing data never blocks a plan. Your proof is your one shared document set, the same for every mobility asset you own.
Three cases for the year ahead
Base, Stress and Optimistic each move your savings, the dollar and living costs, then score the plan by the same rules.
Base takes your own values. None of the three changes your eligibility.
Points move on real changes
Answering a Sharpen question or putting a required document in PassVault moves the score.
Reading a page doesn't.
The factors
| Factor | What it measures | How it scores |
|---|---|---|
| Purchasing power | Your money each month against your monthly budget there. |
|
| Runway | How long your savings would carry your budget if your income stopped. |
|
| Remote viability | Whether your job can come with you. |
|
| Clients and cash flow | Whether your clients and revenue come with you. |
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| Business environment | Whether you can run a business there. |
|
| Local job market | Whether you can get hired and stay hired. |
|
| Healthcare | Care quality, cost protection and public-system access on your mobility asset. |
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| Housing | Whether you can secure a home you keep. |
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| Net tax burden | The tax on your income there. |
|
| Currency | How much the exchange rate can move your budget. |
|
| Timeline | Months to your date against the earliest realistic arrival, plus the room your flexibility gives. |
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| Lifestyle fit | Your Mobility Match fit with the country: regions, climate and priorities. |
|
Which factors count for your goal
Default weights, in percent. n/a: the factor doesn't apply to that goal.
| Factor | Retire | Plan B | Work: remote employee | Work: own business | Work: local job |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purchasing power | 25 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 15 |
| Runway | n/a | n/a | 10 | 15 | 10 |
| Remote viability | n/a | n/a | 20 | n/a | n/a |
| Clients and cash flow | n/a | n/a | n/a | 15 | n/a |
| Business environment | n/a | n/a | n/a | 15 | n/a |
| Local job market | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 30 |
| Healthcare | 20 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| Housing | 15 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Net tax burden | 10 | 10 | 15 | 15 | 10 |
| Currency | 10 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| Timeline | 10 | 25 | 10 | 10 | 15 |
| Lifestyle fit | 10 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
What counts as your money
| Goal | Your money each month |
|---|---|
| Retire | Income that continues, plus savings spread to age 90 |
| Plan B | Income, plus savings spread over 10 years |
| Work | Your income only; a new business counts none in its first year |
Your budget is your own number, never below the city's basic costs for your household.
Tax on retirement income
| When | Score |
|---|---|
| Foreign income not taxed there | 100 |
| A special regime for foreign pensions | 85 |
| Taxed, with a US treaty | 50 + 0.4 × tax burden score |
| Taxed, with no US treaty | 30 + 0.3 × tax burden score |
The three cases
| Case | Savings | The dollar | Living costs | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Your value | Your value | Your value | Starts at today's plan |
| Stress | −27.1% | Its worst year for you | +8% | 2007 to 2009 markets; US prices in 2022 |
| Optimistic | +21.8% | Its best year for you | 0% | 2019 markets |
Our published method applied to your answers; it isn't legal or tax advice.