Retirement Planning

An enormous part of investing is having the emotional fortitude to not make a drastic enough mistake that you can’t recover from. Can you sleep at night knowing the upsides and, more importantly, the possible downsides of the portfolio you’re invested in? Our questionnaire will test you using real dollars specific to your situation, so you won’t have to worry about the slightest chance of derailing your plan.

Find out if you’re invested in the most optimum allocation for your given scenario. We’ll run alongside with your plan and be able to show you in real time, how being more conservative or more aggressive can effect your plan over the long run.

Investment performance tailored to your specific situation. Know exactly how all of the funds within your accounts are performing.

In-house investment advisory board review, analysis and discussion of all current and potential investments.

fi360 is the center for fiduciary excellence. Their mutual fund and ETF analysis software is second to none in gauging a funds current ranking amongst it’s peer group.

Rebalancing is the process of selling funds that have done well and on the same note, buying funds that have been out of favor. This forces you to buy low and sell high. We look for rebalancing opportunities on a weekly basis, not some arbitrary date where it may not be prudent. Not only does rebalancing keep your risk tolerance in check, but also adds some points of return over the long run!

DFA is the 6th biggest mutual fund company out there that nobody has heard of. You can only gain access to their funds through an approved registered investment advisor.

Quarterly phone calls to make sure everything is status quo. Touching base and making sure that no major changes have occurred with your financial situation, and if they have, to make sure we get you into the office to update everything ASAP.

Financial plan review, soup to nuts. Review all of your assets and income as well as your expenses and liabilities to make sure that your plan is still the course.

Brief yet detailed video reviews detailed to your specific situation. You’ll receive quarterly performance and billing reviews on each of your specific accounts and funds managed.

Periodic educational workshops and seminars.

A thorough recap of global market and economic events

Your source for everything financial relating to retirement. Our goal is to help you maximize what should be the best part of your life – the golden years!

Electronic platforms of all of our software is available online and accessible at any time, day, night, weekends, and holidays.

There could be money out there for you, and we’ll scour the internet on your behalf for every last penny.

We have a notary on staff for legal documents that require that level of verification.

Is your house homesteaded? If not, the equity in our home might not be safe against creditors or against lawsuit. We make the process as simple as signing a form to make sure this doesn’t become an issue down the road.

Are your beneficiaries drawn up on your accounts correctly? Should you choose an individual, or list a trust as a beneficiary, and in what order. Make sure that your wealth is distributed properly and according to your wishes once you’re gone.

We make sure that accounts are and remain correctly titled. Have you recently gotten married, adopted a trust, etc? This may not effect you, but can be a major headache for your heirs in certain circumstances if not done properly.

What happens if I die before implementing my retirement plan. Are my loved ones cared for? Do they have enough to continue their current lifestyle and live comfortably? Even though we don’t sell insurance or make any commissions off of any products, we’ll run some death scenarios for you and nail down exactly what insurance products, if any, make the most sense for your scenario.

Do you have equity in your home? Would you like the ability to tap into that equity to accomplish your goals in retirement? A reverse mortgage line of credit may give you that ability, while still allowing you to maintain your lifestyle in that home until the day you die.

When it comes to your taxes, we’re the ace up your sleeve! Not only do we help you avoid and reduce your tax liability as much as possible, we help you prep and complete your taxes wherever possible. In doing this, we work with you, your CPA and or tax professional. Tax time is hard enough, we work diligently to make this stressful time of year easier.

Your retirement accounts can only stay tax protected for so long. We help you calculate and execute your Required Minimum Distributions (RMD’s). More importantly, through a series of Roth conversions we can help you reduce your RMD’s and minimize the “Widow Tax”.

You worked, and earned, and saved. Now it’s time to spend. But spending wisely is different from spending randomly. We help you construct the most tax-efficient decumulation plan possible. Will you spend more in taxes than you need too? We’ll help ensure your tax liability is reduced to the absolute minimum.

Should you fund a Roth IRA for tax free distributions? Or is the pre-tax IRA more appropriate? What if your income is too high, and you need to fund a backdoor Roth IRA? We tackle every aspect of your retirement account funding on a regular basis to help ensure you’re minimizing your lifetime taxes and maximizing your retirement dreams!

We incorporate every aspect of your financial life into your financial plan. This includes things we cannot directly manage such as your 401k or other workplace retirement plan(s). Once we analyze your workplace retirement plan options, we can create the ultimate cohesive asset allocation program custom tailored to your financial needs, goals, and options available.

When used properly, Health Savings Accounts (HSA’s) are by far the best retirement planning vehicle available today! We analyze each client’s ability to fund and enjoy the benefits of an HSA program.

The Roth IRA is perhaps the single most powerful retirement planning vehicle available. 99% of people don’t use it properly. We prepare our clients a detailed Roth conversion and execution strategy including the multi-bucket Roth conversion, backdoor Roth funding and conversions, and 401k Roth rollover planning.

Investments aren’t linear. They don’t always go up, or down! For those nasty little bear markets (which no one can predict), we seek to lock in losses for tax purposes. This helps reduce your future taxes when we lock in financial gains from your portfolio.

Everyone’s lifetime dream is an increasing net worth. More financial strength equates to higher lifetime goal achievement, and retirement enjoyment! We help you track your net worth to ensure it’s consistent with your financial plan over time.

Financial goals without a plan to reach them are merely “wishes”. Why waste your time? You need an actionable set of steps and “to-do’s” to make your financial goals and dreams a reality! We create an action item checklist along with an executive summary of our meetings. This helps keep us – and you – accountable to your ultimate financial success!

The single biggest area retiree’s miscalculate is their budgeting and cash flows. Where will your retirement income come from? How much do you need anyway? We help our clients work through a highly complex world of income and expenses, to ultimately assist them in reaching their retirement dreams without dying broke.

There are things in life which take both money – and planning – to achieve. Our process measures your financial goals against your current and expected financial resources. Can you buy that vacation home? Leave that bequest to your favorite charity? We’ll assess and analyze your ability to enjoy every financial matter in life you feel is important to both a memorable – and purposeful – retirement.

Social Security options seem simple on the surface. Nothing could be further from the truth. Should you claim your Social Security at 62? Full Retirement Age? Age 70? Do you get a spousal or survivors benefit? How does claiming Social Security affect your taxes (and Roth conversions)? We create an in-depth Social Security maximization analysis to help you make the most of what the government owes you during retirement.

Life isn’t a direct route to a golden sunset. There are twists and turns, ups and downs, options and choices. We show you side by side how each of your options and choices play out within the context of your entire retirement plan.

The absolute worst possible scenario for every retiree is a nasty bear market early on in retirement. This is because retirees typically generate at least part of their income from selling securities in their portfolio. If they’re liquidating securities in a bad market, they’re selling depressed shares at lower prices. Once you’re retired, you can’t earn it again. Locking in lower prices early in retirement can be financially devastating. The Lifeboat Market Crash Drill illustrates this exact scenario to show if your plan can weather a financial storm or not!

Each time we meet to review your financial and investment plan, we take a “snapshot” of your progress. This helps you – and us – make sure we’re on track to meeting your ultimate planning needs and goals. We refer to this “snapshot” as your “Star Track”.