diff --git a/docs/benchmark/issue-302.md b/docs/benchmark/issue-302.md
index 9159870..b1f877c 100644
--- a/docs/benchmark/issue-302.md
+++ b/docs/benchmark/issue-302.md
@@ -35,3 +35,27 @@ the placements in the same order with the same yields.
 | loaded year                 |      58.26 |     57.75 |
 | two years                   |       2.27 |      1.82 |
 | three years                 |       7.45 |      5.52 |
+
+### Retain the best valid plan more cheaply
+
+Retaining a better valid plan for cancellation reconciled its optimization
+provenance. For every placement credited by an optimization rule, that
+evaluated all active objectives with the placement released. Only the credited
+objectives are compared, so the released plan now evaluates just those, and
+the calendar observations of the other objectives are no longer computed.
+Retention also no longer computes quality metrics that nothing read. An
+instrumented three-year run spent 1.16 of its 1.22 retention seconds in that
+reconciliation; afterwards retention took 0.26 seconds.
+
+| Scenario                    | Before (s) | After (s) |
+| --------------------------- | ---------: | --------: |
+| representative year         |       0.45 |      0.37 |
+| typed obligations           |       4.76 |      5.03 |
+| chained earned entitlements |       0.02 |      0.02 |
+| deliberate conflict         |       0.01 |      0.01 |
+| loaded year                 |      55.59 |     53.58 |
+| two years                   |       1.68 |      1.22 |
+| three years                 |       5.29 |      3.85 |
+
+The typed-obligations difference is run-to-run noise; its retention cost was
+22 milliseconds.
diff --git a/src/app/services/leave-planner.core.ts b/src/app/services/leave-planner.core.ts
index 04036f0..4337ffb 100644
--- a/src/app/services/leave-planner.core.ts
+++ b/src/app/services/leave-planner.core.ts
@@ -544,12 +544,8 @@ interface SearchContext {
 	observerTime: number;
 	completedPreferenceStates: Map<number, string>;
 	completedGenericState?: string;
-	/** Supplied metrics were evaluated after reconciling earned entitlement dates. */
-	retain?: (
-		state: State,
-		finalizedMetrics?: PlanningMetrics,
-		vector?: PlanningObjectiveVector,
-	) => void;
+	/** A supplied vector was evaluated after reconciling earned entitlement dates. */
+	retain?: (state: State, vector?: PlanningObjectiveVector) => void;
 }
 
 type PlanningCalendar = Pick<
@@ -1869,7 +1865,15 @@ function reconcileOptimizationProvenance(
 		);
 		if (!credits.length) continue;
 		const withoutState = releasePlacement(state, placement.date);
-		const withoutPlacement = activeObjectiveVector(withoutState, context);
+		// Only credited objectives are compared, so skip observing the others.
+		const withoutPlacement = [
+			...activeObjectives(
+				withoutState,
+				context,
+				Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY,
+				new Set(credits.map(({ id }) => id)),
+			),
+		];
 		const ruleIds = new Set(
 			[...placement.ruleIds].filter(
 				(id) => !credits.some((objective) => objective.id === `optimization:${id}`),
@@ -2468,7 +2472,7 @@ function evaluateRuleCandidate(
 	const vector = objectiveVector(state, context, active);
 	// Preserve the best valid candidate even if the active prefix rejects it.
 	if (compareObjectiveLists(vector.objectives, incumbentVector.objectives) < 0)
-		context.retain?.(state, undefined, vector);
+		context.retain?.(state, vector);
 	// shortcut: single additions cannot cross equal-value plateaus; add coordinated balance bundles when a measured configuration needs them.
 	if (addition && comparison === 0) return undefined;
 	return { state, vector };
@@ -2676,7 +2680,7 @@ function* optimizeRulePlacements(
 		const active = activeObjectiveVector(result, context);
 		const baseline = active.slice(0, throughIndex + 1);
 		const beforeVector = objectiveVector(result, context, active);
-		context.retain?.(result, undefined, beforeVector);
+		context.retain?.(result, beforeVector);
 		if (
 			allowAdd &&
 			prefixBounds.length > 0 &&
@@ -3395,6 +3399,7 @@ function* activeObjectives(
 	state: State,
 	context: SearchContext,
 	throughIndex = Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY,
+	only?: ReadonlySet<PlanningObjectiveId>,
 ): Generator<PlanningObjective> {
 	let preferences: PreferenceResult[] | undefined;
 	let balances: OptimizationObservations | undefined;
@@ -3403,6 +3408,11 @@ function* activeObjectives(
 	for (const rule of context.rules) {
 		if (!rule.enabled || rule.force !== 'preference') continue;
 		if (index++ > throughIndex) return;
+		if (
+			only &&
+			!only.has(`${rule.type === 'optimization' ? 'optimization' : 'preference'}:${rule.id}`)
+		)
+			continue;
 		if (rule.type === 'optimization') {
 			const observations =
 				rule.configuration.elements === 'leave-balances'
@@ -4257,19 +4267,18 @@ function* calculatePlanningSteps(
 	let checkpoint: PlanOutcome | undefined;
 	let checkpointState: State | undefined;
 	let retained:
-		| (Pick<ObligationPreview, 'state' | 'preferences' | 'metrics'> & {
+		| (Pick<ObligationPreview, 'state' | 'preferences'> & {
 				vector: PlanningObjectiveVector;
 		  })
 		| undefined;
 	if (retainIncumbents)
-		context.retain = (candidate, finalizedMetrics, candidateVector) => {
+		context.retain = (candidate, candidateVector) => {
 			const check = context.check;
 			context.check = () => undefined;
 			try {
-				const finalized =
-					finalizedMetrics || candidateVector
-						? candidate
-						: finalizeEarnedState(candidate, context);
+				const finalized = candidateVector
+					? candidate
+					: finalizeEarnedState(candidate, context);
 				if (!finalized) return;
 				if (unsatisfiedObligationCount(finalized, context)) return;
 				if (
@@ -4314,14 +4323,6 @@ function* calculatePlanningSteps(
 						),
 						vector,
 						preferences: candidatePreferences,
-						metrics: finalizedMetrics
-							? {
-									...finalizedMetrics,
-									preferenceSatisfaction: candidatePreferences.map(
-										({ satisfied }) => satisfied,
-									),
-								}
-							: qualityMetrics(finalized, context, candidatePreferences),
 					};
 					if (firstValidCandidate && checkpointCallback)
 						observeCallback(context, () =>