What do On track, Slightly behind, At risk and Red flag mean?
They are Sufficiency’s status: whether what the rung holds today is on pace to reach the top of the ladder by the age you set, given what you keep adding.
They are the status of the Sufficiency rung: a judgement of whether what it holds today is on pace to reach the top of the ladder by the age you set for independence. It looks forward, using what you keep adding and what your mix is expected to earn, so it asks a different question from the funding word beside it.
| Band | What the card adds |
|---|---|
| On track | That is where a plan like yours should be. |
| Slightly behind | Slightly behind pace — worth a check next quarter rather than a change today. |
| At risk | Far enough behind that closing it needs either a higher contribution or a longer timeline. |
| Red flag | Far enough behind that the plan as it stands is unlikely to reach its own target. |
How it is judged
- Work out what the rung needs to hold today so that, with what you keep adding and what your mix is expected to earn, it reaches the top of the ladder by your target age.
- Compare what Sufficiency holds now with that figure. The card states both: what it holds, against what it needs today to reach your target on time.
- Place the ratio against band edges set from how much your mix is expected to swing in your market, and the years you still have to run.
What you keep adding is your plan’s own arithmetic: income, less spending, less loan payments. The edges widen the further you are from your target age and in markets that swing more, because somebody thirty years from their target has far more legitimate room around the path than somebody two years out. The judgement never depends on how long ago you created your plan.
When your saving already gets you there
If what you are putting away reaches the target on its own, there is no figure the rung has to hold today. The status reads On track, and the sentence says your saving reaches the target on its own.
The Red flag banner
A Red flag also appears as a banner at the top of the page, with I have seen this to dismiss it. If your figures change afterwards and the reading is still red, it comes back; if it has improved, it clears itself.
See this in your own plan.
Open Freedom LadderLast reviewed 1 October 2026.