You've spent decades building options. Now you get to use them.
Retirement isn't about slowing down. It's about choosing what you do with your time, and knowing you can afford to. We help you see what your next chapter costs, where the income will come from, and how much room you have to say yes.
Choose the one on your mind. We'll show you where it's answered.
Elena and Mark are 60. They plan to step away from full-time work at 62, not to stop, but to start the things they've put off for thirty years. Follow their plan in seven chapters.
An illustrative couple. Names, figures, and projections are hypothetical and do not represent an actual client or predict future results.
Hypothetical illustration. Monte Carlo results are not guarantees and do not reflect actual investment results.
Elena and Mark had saved diligently for thirty years, but neither could say what their life actually cost. So we started there: the home, the help they give their kids, healthcare before Medicare, the life they have now. Everything else builds on that number.
Then we asked what they'd been putting off. Mark wanted a cabin near the grandkids. Elena wanted to walk the Camino, and spend every spring in Portugal while they're both eager to go. We gave each one a cost and a year, so “someday” became a date on the calendar.
Claiming at 62 felt safer to Elena. The numbers told a different story. Because their savings could carry the early years, Mark claimed at 67 and Elena waited until 70, securing a larger benefit for life, and for whichever of them outlives the other.
Their savings sat in brokerage accounts, 401(k)s, IRAs, and Roth accounts, each taxed differently. We set an order: brokerage accounts first, with IRA withdrawals filling lower tax brackets along the way, a plan for required minimum distributions at 75, and Roth dollars saved for later years.
With every piece in place, we projected their income, taxes, and estate taxes thirty-five years out. The question Elena had carried for a decade, “Will we be okay?”, finally had an answer she could see.
One projection assumes one future. So we ran many. A Monte Carlo analysis tested their plan against high inflation, a poor market early in retirement, and a wide range of investment returns, to see how it holds up when things don't go as expected.
Elena and Mark were ahead, which opened better questions. Could Elena leave at 60? Could they keep traveling longer? Could more go to the grandchildren? We modeled each one so they could choose with the numbers in front of them.
Try their options
Every scenario in this story lives in a planning model we build with you and keep current. You can see your full financial picture in one place, link your outside accounts, and ask “what if” whenever a new idea comes up.
Life after full-time work rarely follows a straight line. When something changes, we revisit the plan with you before it becomes a problem.
His guidance has helped us grow not only our financial understanding, but also our savings and investments into an early retirement.
Benjamin, client
This client was not compensated for this statement. Testimonials may not be representative of the experience of other clients and are not a guarantee of future performance or success.
Whether your next chapter is ten years away or next spring, the earlier we start planning, the more options you keep.
