Retirement income planning
You spent decades building this. Now the job is different: draw it down with a plan instead of a guess, and think clearly about what you spend and what you leave behind.
Book a 15 to 30 minute call
"I saved my whole life for this. How do I know if I have enough? How do I know if it's going to last?"
If that sounds like your own voice on a bad night, you're not doing anything wrong, and you're not alone in it. Almost every retiree I talk with is asking some version of this, even the ones who look like they have plenty. The question doesn't disappear once you retire. It just changes shape, from "will I have enough" to "is this going to last."
There's no app or formula that settles it for you. It depends on what you actually spend, what income you can count on, how markets behave along the way, and what you want the money to do, for you and for whoever comes after you. Getting a straight answer you can trust is most of what our early conversations are for.
I write more about what "enough" actually means on the Money & Happiness page.
You spent decades saving on purpose, riding out the years the market fell, and putting off some things now for a better version of later. That part is done, or close to it.
What comes next is a different skill. Instead of adding to the pile, you draw it down on purpose, in the right order, at the right time, without wondering every month whether you're making a mistake. Done well, it lets you enjoy what you built and think clearly about what you leave behind.
Six areas come up in almost every retirement conversation I have. Most retirees need help with more than one of them at the same time.
Whether you're carrying more risk than feels comfortable, or so little your money won't keep up.
Which accounts to draw from, and in what order, so you pay less in unnecessary tax.
Filing at the age that fits your situation, weighing your health, other income, and whether you're still earning.
Converting to Roth while the window is open, and planning required distributions before they become a surprise.
Covering the stretch between retiring and turning 65, when Medicare begins.
A plan for what you leave and to whom, built around what you actually care about.
A quick, useful starting point
A quick self-check. Retirees tend to assume the worst about their own situation more often than the numbers actually support. This helps you see where you actually stand.
A short, low-key call. We start with your accounts and your Social Security options, and go from there.
There's no universal number. It depends on your actual spending, what guaranteed income you have coming in from Social Security or a pension, how your investments are positioned, and how long your money needs to last. Getting an answer you can trust means running your specific numbers, not leaning on a rule of thumb written for someone else's life.
The right age depends on your health, other income, and whether you're still working, not a single default. Waiting longer, up to age 70, substantially raises your monthly benefit, and that increase is built into the rules themselves rather than depending on the market. We work through your specific numbers before you file.
If you're married, you may be able to claim a benefit based on your spouse's work record instead of your own, worth up to 50 percent of what they'd get at their full retirement age, reduced if you claim before your own full retirement age. Your spouse generally needs to already be claiming their own benefit first. Divorced spouses may qualify under separate rules. We work out which record makes sense for your specific situation.
Often, yes, partially. Depending on your combined income, which counts half your Social Security plus your other income, up to 85 percent of your benefit can be federally taxable. Those thresholds were set in statute in 1983 and 1993 and are not indexed for inflation (Social Security Administration, Income Taxes on Social Security Benefits), so more retirees are affected over time. We factor this into your withdrawal order and any Roth conversion planning.
There's a common default order (taxable accounts first, then tax-deferred, then Roth), but the right sequence depends on your tax bracket, Roth conversion opportunities, and Medicare income thresholds. Getting it wrong can mean paying more tax than necessary, or triggering a higher Medicare premium. We map this out account by account.
It depends on your income and tax picture. The window after you stop earning and before required distributions begin is often when the math is most favorable, because your bracket may be lower then than it will be later, and converting moves money into tax-free growth while that window is open. What would make it not fit: a year when your income is already high, or a conversion large enough to push you into a higher bracket. We run the numbers before landing on an amount.
Required minimum distributions currently start at age 73 if you were born between 1951 and 1959, or age 75 if you were born in 1960 or later, under the SECURE 2.0 Act. You don't have to track this yourself. I monitor your specific start age and required amount every year as part of ongoing planning, and coordinate withdrawals so the distribution fits your broader tax picture instead of becoming a last-minute scramble.
It can. Roth conversions count as income in the year you convert, and Medicare premium surcharges (IRMAA) are based on your income from two years earlier, so a large conversion can trigger a temporary increase. We weigh that cost against the long-term tax benefit before recommending a conversion amount.
There's no fixed percentage that works safely for everyone. I use a floor and ceiling approach instead of a static rate: your spending has an upper and lower bound, and moves within that range depending on how your portfolio is actually doing, rather than following a single number that ignores what's happening in the market. This doesn't guarantee protection from a bad sequence of returns. It's designed to manage that risk, not eliminate it.
This is the risk a bucket approach is built for. We keep a few years of typical spending in bonds and cash, so a downturn doesn't force you to sell stocks at a low point, and your stock investments get time to recover before you need them. This lowers sequence-of-returns risk. It doesn't remove it.
If you retire before 65, covering the gap usually means COBRA, a marketplace plan, or a spouse's employer coverage, each with different costs and trade-offs. This is worth mapping out before you set a retirement date, not after. We walk through the options that fit your timeline.
Almost always. Everything is handled virtually, so where you live is rarely a barrier. The only exception is a handful of states where I'm not registered yet, and if that's you, I'll tell you on our first call.