In accordance with embodiments of the invention, a method is provided for performing a storage operation in a pipeline storage system in which one or more data streams containing data to be stored are written into data chunks. A network architecture of the invention is structured to provide highly effective and flexible security features while greatly simplifying the user experience. Clients may use the systems for educational and planning purposes andor may authorize automated triggering of contributions with scheduled increases andor decreases as specified by the selected plan.