Disclosures

Downshift provides educational information and planning estimates, not individualized investment, tax, accounting, insurance, or legal advice. Calculations are based on the assumptions and information shown and may not include every rule or circumstance. Consult qualified professionals before making financial decisions.

Educational content, not advice

Downshift publishes educational tools and content. Nothing on this site constitutes individualized investment, tax, accounting, insurance, or legal advice; a recommendation of any security, product, or strategy; or an attorney-client, adviser-client, or accountant- client relationship. Using a calculator or downloading a guide does not make you a client of anyone.

About the estimates

Calculators apply standard formulas to the inputs and assumptions displayed. They deliberately simplify: credits, phase-outs, local taxes, market volatility, sequence-of-returns risk, and many special rules are not modeled, and each tool's methodology section says so specifically. Figures marked with a tax or survey year come from that year's official publications (IRS, SSA, CMS, CareScout) and will change in future years. Projections are illustrations, not predictions — actual investment results, tax bills, and benefit amounts will differ, possibly substantially.

Social Security and Medicare

Benefit and premium estimates here are educational and are not produced or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Confirm your actual benefits at ssa.gov and Medicare details at medicare.gov.

No compensation disclosure surprises

Downshift does not accept payment to feature financial products, does not run advertising, and does not sell visitor information. If you request a planning conversation, that conversation is free and carries no obligation. If any compensated relationship ever applies to specific content, it will be disclosed plainly on that page.

Regulatory status

This website is an educational publisher. It does not claim registration as an investment adviser, broker-dealer, insurance producer, or tax preparer. Any professional registrations held by the site's operator, if and when applicable, will be disclosed on the About page along with the capacity in which services are offered.

Questions

If any of this is unclear, ask via the contact form — clarity is the product, including here.