Most of our clients first reach out to us during this stretch. The questions sound familiar:
- Can I actually afford to retire?
- When should I file for Social Security?
- What about Medicare, what does it cover, and when do I sign up?
- What happens if the market drops right after I retire?
- How do I stop accumulating money and start spending it without running out?
- What about taxes once I'm pulling from retirement accounts?
How we help
- Estate planning: creating a coordinated handoff so your spouse and children know what happens.
- Social Security, when to file based on your situation and your spouse's.
- Tax planning, Roth conversions, RMDs, charitable giving, bracket management.
- Investment allocation, designed around the income you'll need.
- Healthcare: Medicare timing and IRMAA coordination.
Retirement planning for couples
A household plan is fundamentally different from two individual plans stapled together. Filing decisions interact (Social Security survivor benefits, the tax-bracket effect when one spouse passes), spending plans involve trade-offs, and longevity assumptions need to handle the surviving spouse on the conservative side. We build retirement plans for the household, including the conversation about what each partner actually wants the next 30 years to look like.
Retirement planning at 55, 60, or 65
- At 55: 10+ year runway. Roth conversion ladders, "Rule of 55" 401(k) access, peak earning + saving years.
- At 60: 5–7 year runway. Healthcare bridge planning before Medicare, Social Security claiming strategy, catch-up contributions.
- At 65: 0–2 year runway. Medicare enrollment, IRMAA management, withdrawal-sequence finalization, paycheck construction.