Account, privacy, and operation
Ask YARCalc about a retirement scenario
Ask a retirement question in ordinary language. Reviewed questions lead to the YARCalc screen that can answer them, while current results are explained only from evidence already on the page.
What Ask YARCalc is good for
Ask YARCalc accepts ordinary questions such as “When can I retire?” and “What can I leave my heirs?” A recognized question returns the complete reviewed explanation and a safe button to the analysis that can answer it. Those reviewed answers remain available without AI credit.
When wording needs interpretation, AI can choose among a few relevant reviewed question workflows. It cannot choose an unregistered destination, add execution instructions, or turn the question into an automatic plan change.
The saved YARCalc analyses remain the source of calculated results. A result is stated only from the specific current-page facts needed for that question; missing or stale evidence leads back to the analysis instead.
When an answer can help
Use the assistant when a label is unfamiliar, two results appear inconsistent, a change has an unexpected effect, or you want help turning an idea into a controlled What-if. You do not need to ask it about every page or accept every suggested experiment.
An answer deserves follow-up when it identifies a missing fact, a questionable assumption, or a tradeoff that could change the decision. If it merely restates a result you already understand, continue with the plan rather than creating unnecessary work.
Ask a clear planning question
Open the plan and, when relevant, the result you want to understand. Asking from the relevant page gives the question useful context.
Ask one clear question in ordinary language. For example: “Why does delaying Social Security help this plan?” or “What should I compare before I pay off the mortgage?” Each question stands on its own, so include the fact or decision that matters.
When the question needs a different retirement date, spending level, claiming age, return assumption, or other new input, ask what experiment would answer it. Then use the normal planning screen to calculate that experiment.
If the assistant service cannot complete a request, the drawer asks you to try again later and shows a safe reference when available. The failure is recorded in Admin Request Errors and the application log for diagnosis.
How to read the answer
Separate facts already displayed by YARCalc from general planning ideas and assumptions in the explanation. Confirm that the answer is discussing the same household, scenario, time period, dollar basis, and result you had in mind.
The answer identifies whether it used reviewed YARCalc guidance or AI credit. A button opens the registered analysis, editor section, or What-if review with the current scenario context. Opening it does not run a job, save an assumption, create a scenario, or change Home.
The assistant can explain why two measures answer different questions—for example, deterministic ending balance and stochastic success probability. A direct calculated answer must cite current screen facts; it cannot use an old result, another scenario, or an unsupported summary as evidence.
For consequential tax, legal, investment, insurance, healthcare, or benefit decisions, confirm the conclusion with authoritative documents or an appropriate professional.
Turn a suggestion into a controlled What-if
A suggested What-if is a draft proposal, not a change to Home. Read every proposed change, give the scenario a meaningful name, and confirm that it isolates the question you actually want to test before creating it.
Compare the What-if with Home using the same time horizon, dollar basis, and analysis settings. Keep unrelated inputs unchanged, then look at cash flow, tax, downside outcomes, and practical tradeoffs rather than selecting the alternative with one favorable number.
Adopt a result into Home only through the separate adoption review, after it shows the exact changes you intend to keep.
What Ask YARCalc cannot do
AI can misunderstand a paraphrase or an unusual planning question. If the selected workflow does not match what you meant, do not use its action; restate the decision and the person, date, or result involved.
The assistant does not directly edit Home, place trades, file forms, choose securities, or create a new calculated result. Those actions remain in the planning screens and their review steps.
Questions that depend on facts outside the saved plan may require you to supply the missing facts or consult an authoritative source.