At retirement, the pieces of your financial life have to start working together in a different way. Work income stops, and income has to come from somewhere, in some order, with tax consequences and healthcare decisions attached to each choice. A plan, to us, means all of that in one place: the complete retirement picture, not a portfolio exercise with planning language around it. The portfolio is managed as one part of the plan, at a risk you can live with, in service of everything else.
Four steps, in plain language.
The first conversation is about your situation, your timing and what you are unsure about. Not about your accounts.
Every account, benefit, policy and obligation, in one view, so you can see how the eight areas below interact.
The decisions are yours. Our job is to show what each one changes elsewhere in the picture, and to build the portfolio that serves the plan you choose.
A plan is a living document. We revisit it on a regular cadence and whenever something material moves.
Each area below is a question a client is really asking. We answer them together, in one plan, because a decision in one area moves the others.
Is the risk I am carrying the risk I would choose today?
What we do
We look at every account in one view, measure the total risk it holds, and manage the portfolio as one part of the plan, at a risk you can live with.
What we do not do
We do not lead with the portfolio, and we do not treat it as the whole conversation.
If the best case does not happen, what protects the people who depend on me?
What we do
We size life insurance and long-term care coverage to what the plan actually needs, no more and no less.
What we do not do
We do not recommend coverage in isolation from the rest of the picture.
Do all these accounts fit together, or did they just accumulate?
What we do
We map how every account fits together as one set, including the ones from former employers, and simplify where simplifying helps.
What we do not do
We do not consolidate for its own sake.
What will I actually live on, and in what order will it arrive?
What we do
We build the income picture for the years after work income stops: what you live on, from where, and in what order.
What we do not do
We do not project outcomes we cannot support.
Which accounts should I draw from first, and what does that do to my taxes?
What we do
We plan the withdrawal order and its tax effect year by year, in coordination with your tax professional.
What we do not do
We do not prepare tax returns or give tax advice in place of your tax professional.
When should each of us claim, and what does that mean for the other?
What we do
We treat the claiming decision as a household decision, alongside income, taxes and the survivor picture.
What we do not do
We do not recommend a claiming age as a single, standalone answer.
How do I cover healthcare before Medicare, and what choices do I face after?
What we do
We plan for healthcare costs between leaving work and Medicare, and for the income decisions in the years before enrollment that can affect what you pay after.
What we do not do
We do not sell or place Medicare plans.
What actually transfers, to whom, and does the paperwork say what I intend?
What we do
We plan the legacy side of the picture and coordinate with your attorney so that what you intend is what happens.
What we do not do
Planning, not legal drafting. We do not draft wills, trusts or other legal documents.
Whatever you have. Statements if they are handy, a rough sense of your timing, and the questions you have not been able to answer. Nothing needs to be organized first.
Where you are in the transition, what has already been decided, and which of the eight areas you have actually written down. Most people have thought hard about two or three.
A clear read on what fits, what does not, and whether a next step makes sense. No product recommendations, no projections, no commitment.
The picture is built with professional planning and risk-analysis software, not opinion. The tools let us see every account in one view, measure the risk the whole portfolio actually holds, and test the plan against the things that can go wrong, not only the things that go right. The judgment about what to do with what the tools show stays with you and with us, together.
Many of the people we talk with already work with an adviser, and that is fine. A second read is exactly that: we look at the complete retirement picture with you and tell you plainly what we see. We do not criticize the work someone else has done, and we do not ask you to change anything. If everything fits, you will hear that. If something does not, you will know what it is and can decide what to do about it, with no pressure from us.
A first conversation is about you, not your accounts. Bring what you have, or nothing at all. You leave with a clear read and no obligation.
Call David directly: 205-917-0788
Hearthwell Financial coordinates with, and does not replace, your tax and legal professionals.