Use Plan Editor

Plan Editor is where the financial story behind the results lives

Plan Editor holds the people, dates, income, benefits, accounts, property, debt, spending, healthcare, goals, assumptions, and planning policy used by the reports. The purpose of the screen is not to reward complete data entry. It is to make the retirement being analyzed explicit enough that a surprising result can be traced to a real assumption.

You do not need to review every category every time you visit. Open the section connected to the fact or decision that changed. If you are only testing a possibility, make the edit in a named What-if rather than replacing the main plan.

Start with the assumptions that could change a decision

Review by chapter shows one short status for each chapter. Needs information identifies a missing amount, timing, or context, or a Social Security amount that needs confirmation. Select the card to review the relevant saved details. When more than one check applies, missing information takes priority over estimates; another status may appear after you resolve it.

Includes estimates identifies estimated retirement timing, Social Security amounts, or broad starting account balances. Estimates are normal planning inputs. Refine them against source records when they could change the decision. Recorded describes the checked saved inputs or policy settings; it does not establish that every input is complete, verified, current, or financially appropriate.

A confirmed zero Social Security amount means no own-worker benefit is expected and is not flagged as a missing amount. Review claiming timing separately when a spouse benefit applies. Optional property, debts, trusts, and goals can stay empty when they do not apply. A disabled cash reserve is a policy choice, not missing information. Review by chapter is a starting point, not a complete input audit.

Household dates, retirement timing, dependable income, realistic spending, account ownership and balances, housing, and major debts usually matter first. Add finer detail when it changes timing, taxes, access, risk, or the comparison you are trying to make.

Use current statements and agreements for ownership, gross amounts, tax treatment, start and end dates, and benefit rules. An amount should not be entered merely because a field exists. An unsupported guess can give the plan more apparent certainty while making the result less trustworthy.

A material life change—job loss, inheritance, home sale, divorce, retirement, or a new care need—usually affects more than one category. Review the connected facts together so the plan does not contain half of the event.

Move through the editor by financial question

If a save fails, your draft stays available for correction. If the plan changed in another tab, review the latest saved plan before applying the draft again. A lost connection can leave the outcome uncertain; check the saved plan before repeating the action.

For a changed retirement date, begin in Personal Details, then review work income, contributions, benefits, and healthcare tied to that date. For a spending change, begin in Annual Spending or the relevant goal. For an account change, review Accounts & Holdings and use Update Balances for a later valuation.

Keep disability income, survivor income, and temporary payments separate when their owner, timing, or tax treatment differs. Pair a housing decision with its debt and ongoing costs. Reviewing the connected inputs together prevents the plan from containing only half of a life change.

Planning Assumptions describes the economic path used for a deterministic projection. Planning Policy describes how the household intends to fund spending, maintain reserves, respond to stress, and treat legacy goals. Those settings should express a real planning choice rather than being adjusted until a preferred result appears.

Confirm the plan switcher before editing. Use gross annual amounts unless the field explicitly requests a monthly value, percentage, balance, quantity, or date. Save the category and then reopen it when the change is consequential.

Trace every important edit into its first affected year

Open Projection after a material save. Find the income, expense, contribution, withdrawal, property event, debt payment, tax effect, or ending balance connected to the edit. Begin with the first affected year; later differences often flow from that one transition.

The Analysis snapshot below the plan inputs belongs to the last saved Test Market Uncertainty for the matching plan. Rerun it after a material change rather than assuming an older probability incorporated the new input.

For a major choice, compare the change in a named What-if with unchanged the main plan. Review the input differences before the outcomes so an accidental second change is not credited to the decision.

Saving a value does not validate the assumption

Unsaved edits do not affect existing reports, and a successfully saved edit is not proof that its amount, tax treatment, legal ownership, or timing is correct. YARCalc applies the information supplied; it cannot inspect the source document or know what was omitted.

Use the editor to build a transparent planning model. Keep authoritative records behind consequential inputs and seek current professional guidance where legal, tax, benefit, insurance, or investment rules could reverse the conclusion.