Are you building toward the life you actually want?
Retirement planning is often treated as a distant goal. It’s something to sort out later. But the decisions you make today about how you save, where you save, and how much you save has a compounding effect on what becomes possible down the road. And for self-employed professionals and small business owners, the planning is especially consequential since you have to build the structure yourself.
The good news is that the tools available to you, whether you might use a SEP-IRA, Solo 401(k), defined benefit plan or another option. The challenge? Knowing which ones to use and how to use them without creating a tax problem in retirement.
Retirement Planning Is Also Tax Planning
This is where many plans go wrong. A 401(k) that’s been maximized for decades becomes a tax liability when withdrawals begin if the account mix isn’t thoughtfully managed. Roth contributions may not make sense for you today. A pension may well be well within your grasp.
Every retirement recommendation I make considers the tax picture, both now and later. That provides the framework for where and how we save, invest and build wealth for retirement.
What Retirement Planning Covers
- Reviewing current retirement accounts and savings pace – We will figure out whether you’re on track and what “on track” actually means for your goals
- Identifying additional or alternative retirement accounts – If needed, we will look for other areas to save and/or build savings for the first time
- Aligning savings strategy with your actual goals – Some people save far too much. Others far too little. We’re not using a generic calculator, but building a plan built around your timeline, lifestyle and personality
- Building a financial independence timeline – If you want to understand when work becomes optional, not mandatory, this will give you a framework
- Creating a tax-smart drawdown strategy – It’s hard going from save, save, save to spend. That’s why you need someone by your side, ensuring you can do so, while we also account for and/or minimize lifetime taxes.
- Reviewing withdrawal implications – We will look at and plan for Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), Social Security timing, and other income sources to determine how each affects your tax bracket
Want To Go Deeper?
- Tax Planning vs Tax Filing: How They Differ Matters More Than You Know
- Should You Hold Crypto, Private Equity in a 401k?
- How to Recalibrate Your Financial Plan When Markets Feel Unsteady
Whether You’re Years Out or Getting Close
Retirement planning looks different depending on where you are. If you’re decades away, we focus on building efficiently. If you’re within ten years, we focus on positioning. If you’re at the threshold, we focus on sequencing. And if you’re in retirement, we focus on spending.
Wherever you are, there’s work worth doing now to ensure your future is secure.
