A fixed formula, run in your browser. No AI decides your score and nothing is hidden: if two people enter the same answers they get the same number. Everything below is the actual code’s thresholds, printed from it.
In four steps
01
You answer about 14 questions
Age, county, work, pay, housing, spending, savings, debt and pension. Sliders with typical defaults; questions that do not apply are skipped.
02
We work out your take-home pay
Using Revenue’s income tax, USC and PRSI rules for 2026 — the same engine as our Selfish take-home calculator.
03
Each measure gets 0–100
Your figure is placed on a published curve (below). Between the points the score moves in a straight line.
04
Measures roll up into four areas, then one score
Financial Reality 30% · Career Reality 30% · Lifestyle Reality 20% · Future Outlook 20%.
What does a score of 70 mean?
It is not a percentile — we do not claim you beat 70% of Ireland. It is a position against fixed benchmarks. Someone on the national median, paying typical rent with a few months of savings and a small pension, lands around 50–60.
80–100
Ahead
Comfortably ahead of Irish benchmarks on most measures, with no major pressure point.
65–79
Solid
Better than the typical position, with one or two areas that could slip.
50–64
Mixed
Roughly where a median earner with typical rent and modest savings lands. Some real strengths, some real gaps.
35–49
Under pressure
Several measures are below benchmark. Fixable, but the gaps compound if left alone.
0–34
Exposed
Most measures are well below benchmark. One shock — a job loss, a rent rise — would hurt. Start with the first escape route.
The four areas
Financial Reality
30% of the score
Could you absorb a shock?
Housing cost35% of this area
Measures: Housing cost ÷ take-home pay
Benchmark: BlackMirror model: 30% of take-home is the comfortable line.
Benchmark: Official where CSO publishes an annual median; derived (weekly × 52) otherwise. Skipped for health, education and “other”, where no sector median is published in this series.
Same curve as above
Pay vs your county20% of this area
Measures: Gross pay ÷ CSO county median
Benchmark: Official, for the eight counties whose 2024 median we have confirmed. Skipped elsewhere.
Same curve as above
Not scored for students or retired people. Their other three areas are re-weighted to make up 100%.
Measures: Tenure, and for would-be buyers the years to a 10% deposit
Benchmark: Own outright 100 · mortgage 85 · deposit ≤3 yrs 70, ≤6 yrs 55, ≤10 yrs 40, further 15 · renting, no plan 30 · with family, no plan 40. Deposit uses the official PPR county median price.
Pension assumptions
A modelled estimate, not a guarantee. You can change every one of these on your result; the score itself always uses these defaults so scores stay comparable.
Investment return: 5% a year
Inflation: 2.5% a year
Retirement age: 66
Target income: 67% of today’s pay
Drawdown: 4% of the pot a year
State Pension: €15,564 a year (full PRSI record)
Contributions rise with inflation; all figures in today’s money
Auto-enrolment counted at 3.5% total (2026 rate)
Fact, estimate, model, example
Every significant number on BlackMirror carries one of these tags.
Official data
Published by a public body (CSO, Revenue, RTB, gov.ie) and quoted as published.
Derived calculation
Simple arithmetic on official figures — for example rent as a share of median earnings.
BlackMirror model
A BlackMirror threshold or assumption. Stated openly so you can disagree with it.
Example
A demonstration number. Not real data about anyone.
Your input
A figure you entered. We do not check it and we do not keep it.
Where AI is used
Nowhere in your result. The score, the explanations, the gaps and the escape routes are produced by the formula above from your answers. Nothing is generated, guessed or sent to an AI service.
Limits we know about
CSO medians include part-time jobs, so full-time earners compare favourably.
Take-home pay assumes a single person with standard credits; couples and extra reliefs will take home more.
The model looks at you, not your household. A partner’s income or savings are not included.
Thresholds marked “BlackMirror model” are judgement calls. They are printed here so you can disagree with them.