How Compare works

Last updated November 3, 2026

Each tool runs your own plan once for every option and ranks the results. It shows what each choice produces. It never tells you which to pick.

The options come from a fixed list of named strategies, the same for everyone. That's why two tools can be compared, and why a ranking comes out the same every time for the same plan.

The option on top is the one that produced the best figure for what that tool measures, given everything you've entered. It's a ranking, not a recommendation. Change one input and the order can change.

Nothing in your plan changes unless you change it. Some tools have a Use this button, which puts an option into your plan when you press it. We never move your money.

The estimate, the full calculator, and every section of your plan are free and stay free. So are your verdict, your chance of success, the wellness badge, the retirement path chart, a note when something in your life or the rules changes your plan, and the Social Security claiming age tool. Plus is the rest: the detailed charts, the year-by-year table, the other Compare tools, the full list of moves on the Compare page, ranked by what each is worth in dollars, a Partner/Spouse seat with its own login to your plan, and the same notes with your dollar figures in them.