For households at or near retirement
Turning what you saved into income you can settle into.
The first years of retirement hold more hard-to-reverse decisions than any other stretch of life. A Social Security claim can only be withdrawn within its first 12 months, and required distributions begin at 73 or 75. We hold income, taxes, Social Security, and the portfolio together as one structure.
The situation
The paycheck stops. The decisions don’t.
For thirty or forty years the job was to save. Now the job is to spend, in the right order, from the right accounts, at a pace the portfolio can carry through a bad market and a long life. None of the statements you receive were built to answer that question.
You may have a 401(k), an IRA or two, a brokerage account, and a Social Security estimate on the SSA website. Each one is fine on its own. The trouble is that they interact: a Roth conversion changes a Medicare premium two years later, the claiming age of one spouse sets the survivor benefit of the other, and the account you draw from first changes the tax bill for a decade.
That is the work: not picking investments in isolation, but deciding the sequence.
Why it’s complex
Five decisions that compound
The claiming age is permanent
Claiming at 62 reduces the monthly benefit by 30%; each year of delay past full retirement age adds 8% until 70. For a couple, the higher earner’s choice also sets the survivor benefit.
Read the guideWithdrawal order is a tax decision
Taxable, pre-tax, and Roth dollars are taxed differently, so which account funds a given year changes the bracket, the 0% gains line, and the premium you pay later.
Read the guideThe Roth window closes
The years between the last paycheck and the first required distribution are often the lowest-tax years of a lifetime. Once RMDs begin, the window narrows.
Read the guideMedicare looks back two years
Part B surcharges are set by income from two years earlier. A large conversion or gain this year can show up as a higher premium in the year after next.
Read the guideThe early years carry the most weight
Withdrawals taken while the portfolio is down lock in losses that a later recovery does not fully repair. The first five years set the path.
Read the guideSources: SSA, Retirement Benefits Planner; SECURE 2.0 Act §107; CMS, 2026 Medicare Parts A & B premiums; IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32.
Our approach
One structure, built in the order the decisions arrive
We model the household as a whole: every account, both Social Security records, the tax brackets for the next decade, and the spending you actually expect. Then we set the sequence.
Set the income design
Which accounts fund which years, the size of a cash reserve, and a claiming plan for each spouse, modeled while there is still earned income to work with.
Fill the right brackets
Draw spending in a tax-aware order and size any Roth conversion to a chosen bracket ceiling, with the Medicare line two years out in view.
Re-run the plan, not the rule
Markets, tax law, and life change. Our quarterly rounds revisit cash flow, risk, estate, and tax in turn, so the structure stays current rather than drifting.
The work
What you’ll work through with us
- A retirement income plan: which account, how much, in what order
- Social Security timing for each spouse, including the survivor benefit
- Roth conversion sizing to a bracket ceiling
- Medicare enrollment and IRMAA planning
- A cash reserve and bond structure for the early years
- Required minimum distributions and qualified charitable distributions
- Beneficiary designations and account titling, coordinated with your estate attorney
- Coordination with your CPA so the return and the plan agree
Retirement planning at the firm is led by Theo Halbardier, CFP®, CIMA®, CAIA®, the firm’s founder. We are fee-only: no commissions, no product sales. About Theo
Questions
Common questions from households near retirement
When is the right time to start: before or after the retirement date?
Before, if possible. The claiming decision, the first year of withdrawals, and the size of any Roth conversion all benefit from being modeled while there is still a paycheck. Most of the structure can still be built in the first year of retirement.
We already claimed Social Security. Is planning still useful?
Yes. Claiming is one decision among several. Withdrawal order, the Roth window before required distributions, Medicare premium management, and the reserve that protects against a poor first few years all remain open.
Do you prepare our tax return or make the conversions for us?
We do not prepare returns. We model the conversion amount, the bracket ceiling, and the Medicare premium effect, then coordinate execution with your CPA so the return and the plan agree.
How do you decide the withdrawal order each year?
We look at the year ahead rather than a fixed rule. The bracket you are in, the 0% capital-gains threshold, the IRMAA line two years out, and any required distribution all shape which account funds that year’s spending.
Is the 4% rule still a reasonable starting point?
As a first check, yes. Current research places a sustainable starting withdrawal rate between about 3.9% and 4.7%, depending on assumptions. The structure around the rate, including the reserve, spending guardrails, and account order, matters as much as the number.
How are you paid?
We are fee-only. We are compensated by our clients, not by commissions on products, which keeps the advice separate from any sale.
Reviewed by Theo Halbardier, CFP® · Updated September 2026 · Figures current for 2026
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