Retirement Planning is the vehicle.
Retirement Living
is the destination.
You’ve spent years climbing the mountain and building your retirement savings. But as retirement gets closer, the strategy that got you there begins to change. Once you reach the summit, it’s no longer just about building your way up—it’s about safely navigating the way down.
You've Saved for Retirement.
Now Come the Harder Questions.
Will I have enough income throughout retirement?
Turning the savings you’ve built into the income you need in retirement takes a different strategy than the one you used to build it.
Am I taking more investment risk than I should be?
Your time horizon changes heading into retirement—and the level of investment risk that made sense while building your savings may need to change too.
When should I claim Social Security?
Helping you understand how Social Security fits into your retirement strategy helps you look beyond how much you’ll receive each month.
How will taxes affect my retirement?
Different types of retirement accounts are taxed differently. Where and when you draw your income can affect the taxes you pay throughout retirement.
Will future RMDs affect my retirement?
RMDs can force you to take taxable income in retirement—even when you don’t need it. How you prepare for them matters.
Should I consider Roth conversions?
Roth conversions are a hot topic, but they’re not right for everyone. The question isn’t simply whether to convert—it’s whether, when, and how much.
Build
Protect
Distribute
During your working years, you have time on your side to save, invest, and build the wealth you’ll eventually rely on in retirement. You’re still contributing, with time to recover
from periods of market volatility.
As retirement gets closer, you have less time to recover from market downturns. Protecting part of what you’ve built while keeping
some invested for growth becomes a
different kind of balancing act.
Once you retire, the flow of money changes. You move from contributing to your savings to relying on them for income. Sequence of returns risk becomes part of the conversation, making how—and where—you create income part of a very different strategy.
The Bigger Picture
Retirement decisions don’t happen in isolation. Income, investments, taxes, and the choices you make along the way can all affect one another. That’s why we look at your retirement strategy as a whole.
How We Help
Income Planning
Understanding where retirement income will come from and how the pieces fit together.
Tax-Aware Planning
Looking ahead at how retirement income, RMDs, Roth conversions, and investment income may interact with taxes.
Investment & Risk Planning
Aligning investment strategy with retirement goals, income needs, retirement timeline, and comfort with risk.
Social Security Planning
Helping clients understand how claiming decisions fit into the larger retirement plan.
Cash & Tax Efficiency
Using cash, CDs, money markets, and other savings strategically to help meet income needs while managing taxes throughout retirement.
Legacy Planning
Helping clients think intentionally about protecting a spouse and transferring wealth to the people and causes they care about.
The Process
I
II
III
IV
V
Listen
Identify
Educate
Coordinate
Review
We begin by understanding your current financial landscape and the unique priorities that matter most to you.
We uncover potential gaps, risks, and opportunities that could affect your retirement.
We help you understand your choices and trade-offs so you can make informed decisions for your family and future.
We bring the pieces of your retirement strategy together so they work together as one plan.
We continue adjusting the strategy as life changes to ensure your retirement remains on track for years to come.
Educator-First Planning
Jared Leifert is a Retirement Income Specialist with over a decade of experience in financial services. His approach begins with understanding the person behind the numbers—their goals, concerns, priorities, and what they want retirement to look like. Rather than starting with products, we start with the problems that need to be solved and the outcomes our clients are trying to achieve. From there, we help identify potential pitfalls and opportunities, explain the choices and trade-offs, and bring the pieces together into a retirement strategy you can understand and feel confident about.
Retirement Resources
Access our curated library of educational guides and articles designed to simplify the complex decisions you face as you approach retirement.
