Retirement Readiness Checklist
Retirement planning is about more than reaching a certain age or savings goal. It is about making sure your income, taxes, investments, healthcare planning, and long-term goals are working together to support the life you want.
Use this checklist to review the key areas of retirement readiness. If there is an item you cannot confidently check off, it may be worth taking a closer look.
Why Choose Us
Retirement income optimization and tax-efficient withdrawal strategies
Social Security maximization and healthcare planning
Income Planning
If this is unclear, it can be difficult to know whether your savings and income sources are enough. Start by estimating essential expenses, lifestyle spending, healthcare costs, and any goals such as travel or family support.
Your income may come from several places, including Social Security, pensions, retirement accounts, taxable investments, or part-time work. Reviewing these sources together can help you understand how reliable and sustainable your income may be.
Many retirees may need their assets to support them for decades. If you have not planned for longevity, inflation, or changing spending needs over time, your current strategy may not reflect the full picture.
Social Security and Pension Decisions
The age at which you claim benefits can affect your monthly income for the rest of your life. If you have not reviewed timing strategies, there may be opportunities to improve lifetime income or coordinate benefits with a spouse.
Some pension decisions are permanent, so it is important to understand lump sum versus income options, survivor benefits, and how each choice fits into your broader plan.
Benefit elections can impact survivor income, estate considerations, and household cash flow. If you have not reviewed the family impact, this is an important area to revisit.
Investment Strategy
A portfolio that worked during your accumulation years may not be ideal once you begin taking income. Reviewing your time horizon and withdrawal needs can help ensure your strategy fits this next stage.
If your portfolio is exposed to more risk than you are comfortable with, market volatility may affect both your finances and peace of mind. A review can help confirm whether your current allocation still makes sense.
Diversification and ongoing monitoring help reduce concentration risk and keep your portfolio aligned with your goals. If this has not been reviewed recently, it may be time for an update.
Tax Planning
We help clients develop a retirement withdrawal strategy tailored to their goals, income needs, tax considerations, and overall financial picture. As a fee-only fiduciary, we provide advice designed to serve our clients’ best interests and do not receive commissions for product sales.
We work with clients to evaluate how required minimum distributions may affect retirement income, taxes, and long-term planning. As a fee-only fiduciary, our advice is based on your financial circumstances, and we do not receive commissions for recommending products.
We help clients identify planning opportunities that may improve tax efficiency in retirement, taking into account investment accounts, withdrawal timing, and income sources. As a fee-only fiduciary, we provide objective advice and do not earn commissions on investment or insurance products.