Who operates the project
Rest of the Road is operated by Thomas George. It serves people exploring U.S. retirement timing, cash flow and the years between work and later benefits. The library is published under the Rest of the Road Editorial Team organization byline.
No professional credentials or independent financial review are claimed. You can find Thomas's public profile on the contact page.
What we make
The planner turns the assumptions you enter into a long-range scenario. It is designed to help you see timing, tradeoffs, and pressure points rather than hand you a single answer about what to do.
The retirement library explains concepts and modeling choices in plain language. Road Guide is an optional AI voice and text feature that can help you navigate and discuss the plan when you activate it.
Your plan starts local
Plan records are saved in your browser with IndexedDB, and the modeling runs client-side. Rest of the Road does not provide user accounts or operate a server-side plan database.
You can also export a plan backup to a file you control. Because there is no account copy, the project cannot recover a plan that has been deleted from your browser or lost with your local files.
Road Guide connects only when you activate voice. Microphone audio goes directly from your browser to OpenAI; questions needing interpretation send conversation text and selected plan context through our server to OpenAI. The separate experimental avatar lab uses LiveKit and Anam when enabled. The privacy page explains that boundary.
What the model covers
The planner models annual income, spending, account withdrawals, estimated federal taxes, required distributions, entered Roth conversions and QCDs, a Medicare income lookback, and sampled return and inflation paths. Saved plans stay in the browser.
It uses simplified assumptions: one household Social Security input and claim age, a healthcare transition tied to the primary person's age 65, an approximate state tax rate, and independent market draws. It does not calculate ACA subsidies, verify account eligibility, select tax lots, optimize claiming or conversions, or prepare a tax return.
Education, not an advisory relationship
Rest of the Road is not a financial adviser, investment adviser, tax professional, lawyer, broker, or fiduciary. Using the planner, library, or Road Guide does not create an adviser-client or other professional relationship.
Model results depend on estimates and assumptions. They are not forecasts, guarantees, recommendations, or a substitute for advice from qualified professionals who understand your full circumstances.
How we try to earn trust
We aim to show assumptions, explain limitations, use primary sources for factual material, and update material when the underlying facts or the product change. AI-assisted drafting is disclosed rather than presented as independent authority.
Read the full editorial method, then use the contact page to report an error or unclear explanation.