diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/WhatIf.tsx b/frontend/src/pages/WhatIf.tsx
index d8a4bef..5fd5df5 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/WhatIf.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/WhatIf.tsx
@@ -14,6 +14,37 @@ const JURISDICTIONS = ['uk', 'cyprus', 'bulgaria', 'malaysia', 'thailand', 'uae'
 const STRATEGIES = ['trinity', 'guyton_klinger', 'vpw', 'vpw_floor'];
 const GLIDES = ['rising', 'static_60_40'];
 
+// Plain-English notes shown next to each dropdown so the user knows
+// what each option does without leaving the page. Same content gets
+// reused in the "About the model" panel at the bottom.
+const STRATEGY_NOTES: Record<string, string> = {
+  trinity:
+    'Withdraw 4% of the starting portfolio in year 1, then keep that real-£ amount fixed. Simple and famous, but rigid — never adapts to market crashes.',
+  guyton_klinger:
+    'Start higher (~5.5%) and follow guardrail rules: cut spending if the portfolio drops too far, raise it if it grows enough. Adapts to markets, sustainable on long horizons.',
+  vpw:
+    'Variable Percentage Withdrawal — each year, withdraw a percentage based on years left and expected real return (annuity-style). Mathematically can\'t fail, but income swings can be wide.',
+  vpw_floor:
+    'VPW with a hard real-£ floor: never withdraw less than the floor, even if VPW says you should. Trades guaranteed lifestyle against ruin risk in bad sequences.',
+};
+
+const GLIDE_NOTES: Record<string, string> = {
+  rising:
+    'Rising-equity glide path (Pfau/Kitces 2014): start ~30% stocks, ramp to ~70% over 15 years. Reduces sequence-of-returns risk in early retirement.',
+  static_60_40:
+    'Constant 60/40 stocks/bonds for the whole horizon. The classic baseline.',
+};
+
+const JURISDICTION_NOTES: Record<string, string> = {
+  uk: 'UK 2026/27 PAYE + NI + CGT + dividend rules. Personal allowance tapers above £100k; pension withdrawals 25% tax-free.',
+  cyprus: 'Cyprus 60-day non-dom: 17-year exemption on foreign dividends + interest. 2.65% GeSY healthcare levy capped at €180k.',
+  bulgaria: 'Flat 10% on worldwide income. EU/EEA capital gains exempt (we apply 10% conservatively).',
+  malaysia: 'Foreign-sourced income exempt through 2036. Effective 0% on a typical retiree withdrawal.',
+  thailand: 'Foreign-sourced income exempt (v1; the 2024 remittance rule is deferred in this model).',
+  uae: 'No personal income tax, no levy. Effective 0%.',
+  nomad: 'Tax-free baseline + a 1% regulatory-risk premium to hedge against OECD/CRS rules tightening.',
+};
+
 const DEFAULTS: SimulateRequest = {
   jurisdiction: 'cyprus',
   strategy: 'guyton_klinger',
@@ -103,21 +134,21 @@ export function WhatIf() {
           onSubmit={onSubmit}
           className="rounded-lg border border-slate-200 bg-white p-5 space-y-4 sticky top-4"
         >
-          <Field label="Jurisdiction">
+          <Field label="Jurisdiction" hint={JURISDICTION_NOTES[form.jurisdiction]}>
             <Select
               value={form.jurisdiction}
               onChange={(v) => update('jurisdiction', v)}
               options={JURISDICTIONS}
             />
           </Field>
-          <Field label="Strategy">
+          <Field label="Strategy" hint={STRATEGY_NOTES[form.strategy]}>
             <Select
               value={form.strategy}
               onChange={(v) => update('strategy', v)}
               options={STRATEGIES}
             />
           </Field>
-          <Field label="Glide path">
+          <Field label="Glide path" hint={GLIDE_NOTES[form.glide_path]}>
             <Select
               value={form.glide_path}
               onChange={(v) => update('glide_path', v)}
@@ -225,12 +256,88 @@ export function WhatIf() {
               </div>
             </>
           )}
+
+          <AboutTheModel />
         </div>
       </div>
     </section>
   );
 }
 
+function AboutTheModel() {
+  return (
+    <details className="rounded-lg border border-slate-200 bg-white p-5 group">
+      <summary className="cursor-pointer text-base font-semibold flex items-center justify-between">
+        <span>About the model</span>
+        <span className="text-xs text-slate-500 group-open:hidden">Click to expand</span>
+      </summary>
+      <div className="mt-4 space-y-5 text-sm text-slate-700">
+        <Section title="Withdrawal strategies">
+          <Term name="Trinity 4%">{STRATEGY_NOTES.trinity}</Term>
+          <Term name="Guyton-Klinger guardrails">{STRATEGY_NOTES.guyton_klinger}</Term>
+          <Term name="VPW">{STRATEGY_NOTES.vpw}</Term>
+          <Term name="VPW + floor">{STRATEGY_NOTES.vpw_floor}</Term>
+        </Section>
+        <Section title="Glide paths (stock/bond mix over time)">
+          <Term name="Rising equity">{GLIDE_NOTES.rising}</Term>
+          <Term name="Static 60/40">{GLIDE_NOTES.static_60_40}</Term>
+        </Section>
+        <Section title="Tax jurisdictions">
+          <Term name="UK">{JURISDICTION_NOTES.uk}</Term>
+          <Term name="Cyprus">{JURISDICTION_NOTES.cyprus}</Term>
+          <Term name="Bulgaria">{JURISDICTION_NOTES.bulgaria}</Term>
+          <Term name="Malaysia">{JURISDICTION_NOTES.malaysia}</Term>
+          <Term name="Thailand">{JURISDICTION_NOTES.thailand}</Term>
+          <Term name="UAE">{JURISDICTION_NOTES.uae}</Term>
+          <Term name="Nomad (no fixed residency)">{JURISDICTION_NOTES.nomad}</Term>
+        </Section>
+        <Section title="How the engine treats tax">
+          <p>
+            Each year the strategy proposes a real-£ withdrawal <code>w</code>; the chosen
+            jurisdiction's tax engine computes <code>tax(w)</code>; the portfolio drops by
+            <code> w + tax(w)</code>. Higher-tax jurisdictions therefore drain the portfolio
+            faster and lower the success rate — switching jurisdiction visibly moves the fan,
+            not just the lifetime-tax cell.
+          </p>
+        </Section>
+        <Section title="Returns">
+          <p>
+            Real returns are sampled by 5-year block bootstrap from the Shiller 1871+ series
+            (or a synthetic Shiller-calibrated stream). 60/40 long-run real ≈ 4.6%; equities
+            are ~9.5% nominal / 17% volatility, bonds ~5%/8%. Each path resamples blocks
+            independently so sequence-of-returns risk is preserved.
+          </p>
+        </Section>
+        <Section title="Success rate">
+          <p>
+            A path counts as a success if the portfolio stays positive through every interim
+            year. The very last year-end is excluded because VPW deliberately drains to ~0
+            at the horizon by construction.
+          </p>
+        </Section>
+      </div>
+    </details>
+  );
+}
+
+function Section({ title, children }: { title: string; children: React.ReactNode }) {
+  return (
+    <div>
+      <h3 className="text-sm font-semibold text-slate-900 mb-2">{title}</h3>
+      <div className="space-y-2">{children}</div>
+    </div>
+  );
+}
+
+function Term({ name, children }: { name: string; children: React.ReactNode }) {
+  return (
+    <div>
+      <span className="font-medium">{name}.</span>{' '}
+      <span className="text-slate-600">{children}</span>
+    </div>
+  );
+}
+
 function Results({ result, horizon }: { result: SimulateResult; horizon: number }) {
   return (
     <>
@@ -278,11 +385,20 @@ function Stat({
   );
 }
 
-function Field({ label, children }: { label: string; children: React.ReactNode }) {
+function Field({
+  label,
+  hint,
+  children,
+}: {
+  label: string;
+  hint?: string;
+  children: React.ReactNode;
+}) {
   return (
     <label className="block">
       <span className="text-xs uppercase tracking-wide text-slate-500">{label}</span>
       <div className="mt-1">{children}</div>
+      {hint && <p className="mt-1 text-xs text-slate-500 leading-snug">{hint}</p>}
     </label>
   );
 }