Retirement Planning
When to stop, what to live on, and how to keep taxes from eating the plan
Retirement planning is not a number. It is a set of decisions, most of them made in the ten years before you stop working, about when to stop, what to live on, which accounts to draw from first and how to keep taxes and healthcare costs from eating the plan.
We build that plan with you, test it against the things that could go wrong, and then run it year after year as life changes. Our clients are mostly tech employees, executives and business owners in Orange County and the Bay Area, so the plan usually starts with stock compensation and a large 401(k) and works outward from there.
The questions a real plan answers
When can I stop, and at what standard of living?
We model your spending, the assets you have, and the income that will show up on its own (Social Security, pensions, rental income), and show how the answer moves if you work one more year, take a sabbatical, or step down to part-time.
Which accounts do I draw from first?
Taxable, tax-deferred and Roth money should be spent in a deliberate order. The right sequence keeps you in low brackets, fills them with Roth conversions in the gap years, and avoids the Medicare premium cliffs.
When should each of us claim?
For a couple, the difference between the best and worst claiming strategy is often six figures over a lifetime. We run the cases and coordinate the answer with your conversion plan.
What breaks the plan, and what do we do then?
A bad market in the first three years, a long-term care event, a spouse’s early death, inflation that runs hot. We stress-test each and build in the buffer or insurance that actually addresses it.
Roth Conversion Bracket Filler
The gap years between retiring and required distributions are the best conversion window most people ever get. See how much you can convert this year without jumping a bracket or a Medicare tier.
What working with us looks like
Goals, timeline, spending, every account and every source of income, plus the things that keep you up at night. Two meetings, one set of documents.
A retirement date range, a spending target, a drawdown order, a Social Security strategy, a conversion schedule and a portfolio built for each account’s job. Delivered in plain language, with the first moves spelled out.
We open and fund accounts at Schwab, consolidate old 401(k)s where it helps, set up the paycheck from the portfolio, and coordinate the tax side with your CPA.
An annual review, plus a check-in whenever something changes: a vest, a job offer, a market shock, a new grandchild. Withdrawals and conversions are recalculated every December.
Still working with a large 401(k)?
The years before retirement are also when the 401(k) can hold the most. Beyond the limit everyone knows, many plans allow after-tax contributions that can be converted to Roth, adding tens of thousands a year of tax-free growth. If your plan is one of them, it belongs in the plan. Our mega backdoor Roth calculator shows the room you have.
Within ten years of retirement?
That is when most of the levers get pulled. A first conversation is free, and you will leave it knowing which decisions are worth making this year.
Schedule a Call