Frequently Asked Questions About Retirement Planning

Straightforward answers to the questions pre-retirees ask most.

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Your Retirement Questions, Answered

How much money is enough to retire on?

There is no single magic number that works for everyone. The amount you need depends entirely on what you want your retirement lifestyle to look like and what your fixed expenses are. We help you calculate your specific number by looking at your desired monthly income, factoring in inflation, and stress testing your portfolio against different market conditions. The goal is to give you a clear target based on your life, not a generic benchmark.

Claiming Social Security is one of the most important decisions you will make, and the right answer depends on your health, your marital status, and your other income sources. Claiming at 62 reduces your monthly benefit permanently, while waiting until 70 maximizes it. We help you evaluate the break even math so you can make an informed decision that supports your overall income strategy.
The order in which you withdraw money from your taxable, tax deferred, and tax free accounts can have a massive impact on how long your money lasts. Pulling from the wrong account at the wrong time can trigger unnecessary taxes or push you into a higher Medicare premium bracket. A core part of our planning process involves building a tax efficient withdrawal sequence tailored to your specific situation.
Sequence of returns risk is the danger of experiencing a significant market drop early in your retirement while you are actively withdrawing money. If your portfolio loses value and you are pulling cash out to live on, your account is being drained from both sides, making it incredibly difficult to recover. We build investment strategies designed to manage this specific risk so you are not forced to sell investments at a loss.
Being a fiduciary means we are legally and ethically obligated to put your financial interests ahead of our own. We do not sell proprietary products or earn hidden commissions for pushing you into a specific investment. Our advice is objective, transparent, and focused entirely on helping you reach your retirement goals.
The FIT Meeting is our initial consultation, and it is exactly what it sounds like. It is a free, no obligation conversation where we sit down and talk about your current situation and your goals for retirement. We explain how we work, and together we figure out if our approach is the right fit for your needs. There is no pressure and no sales pitch.
If we determine during the FIT Meeting that our services do not align with your specific needs, we will tell you that honestly. We want you to succeed, even if that means working with someone else. Whenever possible, we will try to point you toward another professional who might be better suited to help you.

Still Have Questions?

The best way to get answers specific to your situation is to sit down and talk.

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