Methodology & Sourcing

"Every number sourced" is our promise. Here's exactly what it means and how we keep it.

What "sourced" means

Every figure that appears in our articles and tools carries a citation to a primary source. That means:

• Fund data — from the fund provider's own prospectus or fact sheet (e.g., Vanguard's published expense ratio).
• Tax and retirement figures — from IRS publications and official notices (e.g., the 2026 elective deferral limit of $24,500, IRS Notice 2025-67).
• Market history — from exchange/index data (e.g., S&P 500 annual returns, total return, dividends reinvested).

We do not use "studies show," recycled infographics, or figures pulled from memory.

Current-date research

Figures that change over time — contribution limits, tax brackets, expense ratios, interest rates — are always researched with the current date and the latest available data, never stale figures. Every research output is date-stamped with its retrieval date, and time-sensitive figures are re-verified at publish time. If a source is more than ~12 months old for a time-sensitive figure, we treat it as a hypothesis, not a fact.

The fact-check gate

Nothing publishes without passing our verification pipeline:

1. Research — primary sources pulled, every claim gets a citation at draft time.
2. Draft — plain-English, structure-first, every number shown.
3. Fact-check — every number re-derived or matched to its primary source; every calculation re-run independently.
4. Independent review — a verification pass recomputes the math and checks the advice/education boundary.
5. Live check — after publish, links resolve, numbers render, disclosures display.

Hypotheticals are labeled

Any example, backtest, or projection is explicitly labeled hypothetical, with its assumptions disclosed (rate, period, compounding). A projected figure is a calculation, not a promise. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Corrections

If a factual error is reported, we treat it as an incident: correct it immediately, correct all syndicated copies, log what happened, and adjust the gate so it cannot recur. Report errors at enquiry.states@gmail.com.