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Built with Claude Code

SafeWithdrawls is built with Anthropic's AI coding assistant:Claude Code. We believe in full transparency about how AI tools are used in our development process.

What Claude Code Does​

Claude Code is an AI-powered development tool that helps write, review, and test code. In the context of SafeWithdrawls, it assists with:

  • Writing calculator implementations — translating published withdrawal formulas into tested TypeScript code
  • Building UI components — creating the React interface for the Scenario Builder and results display
  • Writing and running tests — generating comprehensive test suites for all 23 method calculators
  • Documentation — generating and maintaining technical documentation, including this Learn site
  • Code review — reviewing implementations against published research to verify accuracy

What Claude Code Does NOT Do​

  • It does not make financial decisions. Every withdrawal formula implemented in SafeWithdrawls comes from published academic research or established financial planning practice. Claude Code translates these formulas into code — it does not invent strategies or provide financial advice.
  • It does not run unsupervised. Every line of code is reviewed by a human developer before being committed. The AI assists; the human decides.
  • It does not have access to user data today. The current version of SafeWithdrawls runs entirely in your browser with no server-side processing, no user accounts, and no data sent to any AI service. As the platform evolves, we plan to introduce premium features that may include accounts and AI-powered tools to help you explore strategies more effectively — but everything SafeWithdrawls offers will remain educational in nature, never financial advice.

Why We Are Transparent About This​

Many software products use AI tools in development without disclosing it. We believe you deserve to know:

  1. AI-assisted code can contain errors. While every calculator is tested against known examples, AI-generated code should be verified — which is why we maintain comprehensive test coverage (580+ tests) and document every formula.
  2. Trust requires honesty. If we are asking you to use our tool for retirement planning decisions, you should know exactly how it was built.
  3. AI tools are becoming standard. Using Claude Code is not unusual in modern software development. What is unusual is telling you about it.

Our Quality Assurance Process​

To ensure accuracy despite using AI assistance:

  • Every method calculator has dedicated tests that verify outputs against known examples from the source research
  • Formulas are documented with references to the original papers and publications
  • All code is version-controlled with a complete audit trail on GitHub
  • Bootstrap sampling uses real historical data (1928–2024) — no AI-generated return sequences

The Human Behind SafeWithdrawls​

SafeWithdrawls is built by Travis Giffin, a career SaaS technologist — not a financial analyst or advisor. That distinction matters: the formulas come from published research by actual financial academics and practitioners, and the tool is designed to make that research accessible, not to replace professional advice. Claude Code is a tool in the development process — the product vision, design decisions, and quality standards are human-driven.

Disclaimer

SafeWithdrawls is an educational tool, not a financial advisory service. See our Terms and Disclaimer for full details.