Getting ready for retirement. What are you using for help navigating taxes, Roth, pulling cash from various accounts and so on? I'm familiar wih Fisher, SmithAnglin, Foundry, Johnson Financial Group, Allworth, Leading Edge, LRC Aviation Advisors and Aviation Retirement Strategies. Any of those to avoid or consider? Thanks!

 

I found a local guy that I like. They do holistic finance planning, taxes, estate planning, etc. One stop shopping.

Benefit is they know local tax rules and I can walk in and talk to them in person. Previous guy didn't work out after he moved to another town.

I did talk top some airline-oriented outfits, but they were all remote in other states.

I suspect I'm better off with a local who knows the tax rules in and out... guess I'll know for sure in 20 years lol.

Only thing really special about airlines is the pension (if you even have one) and high income... pleny of folks out there who work with high-ish net worth clients, and they all know how to plan around a pension.

 

The very special thing about airlines is the mandatory cutoff age. Can't easily work an extra year or two if you retire to a down market. So planning around sequence of returns risks is completely different with airline guys.

 

I would recommend looking for a Certified Financial Planner that works for an Independent RIA. You can always look for a CFP using their search tool at letsmakeaplan.org

I would recommend working with someone who is a CFP, is fee only, and works for an independent RIA Firm. Fee only meaning they aren't compensated for putting you into certain investment products. I would avoid big box names for the most part as they are often more expensive and aren't able to get as deep into the various planning areas (tax and estate commonly).

 

Thanks everyone.

 

Which direction did you end up going?

 

A few years from punching out and signed on with Fisher. Happy with them so far, but have not used the planning services.
They use a 35 year time horizon invested in almost all equities in the US and world markets. They tend to be more aggressive based on profiting more than losing over the long term.g Good return at this point.
A bit pricey. Their picks have been doing well certainly better than mine.

 

We (wife and I) recently interviewed several firms who are local to my area and finally settled on one. Lots of learning along the way as you don't know...what you don't know! Of course, they are placing us into much more conservative investments than I have been in the past. Their firm has a "team" approach to services, of course there is 1 person in charge of the team and several on the investment side. They ran Monte Carlo sims on our scenarios with several markers along life's path for replacement autos, extra money for life events, anything we added (a wedding one day), long term health care, and of course vacations! Additionally, their service includes a 3rd party vendor to assist in healthcare (Medicare) and another party for insurance review and recommendation. There is an in-house legal counsel to speak with about family planning documents (will, living, medical, trust, etc.) as a review; additional fee if you require creation or execution of services...at least the review and recommendation is included. None of their 3rd parties sell anything or are aligned with anyone; they provide the computing power and knowledge in assisting with any selections should you choose those routes. The fees are fixed based on X 1st MM, Y 1-2MM, Z 2-5MM. Generally, they use Schwab and Fidelity but are not associated with either as they are independent. RIA and several other disciplines.

These are just some of the ideas you may consider in whomever you choose.

 

I agree, there can be a lot of things to set up in the way of wills, trusts, & similar. A relative is nearing the tail end as an executor for a guy that passed fairly suddenly. This individual was 72, never married, no kids with properties & investments at 4+ million. He had one notarize will, a few unsigned copies and a brother he hated.

As to the financial planner after retirement, yeah, to each their own. There are certain pots of $$ that makes sense to draw from 1st, then you have the usual health care options. I just wonder if one didn’t have much of a relationship with a financial advisor along the way, any need to have one after retirement? I know, varies with individuals.

To me a biggie can be to have beneficiaries for assets to transfer, best you can. Not that you really have to leave anything to anyone, seen to many just fighting over $$ after one passes.

 

I wouldn't say completely different, you just have to plan for it. Downturns are only a problem if you're all in on aggressive investments that track the markets.

Pilots might want less aggressive investments once inside the marker than might be typical. This is actually getting more common anyway because so many 50+ white collars get laid off with no prospects to return to their previous professional status. Current conventional wisdom is evolving to do not assume that *you* get to pick your retirement age.

Or shoot to be done at age 60-62, with the safety valve option to go longer if needed.

If I didn't have significant pension income I'd definitely want five years of bond ladders, etc to safeguard against downturns after say age 59.

The fundamental principle to address sequence of return risk is avoid having to sell equities while they're way down. Variety of ways to skin that cat, you're not just along for the ride, unless you're willfully ignorant.