Retirement planning advisors

The highest-value moments are the five to ten years before retirement and the first few years after: that's when withdrawal strategy, Social Security timing, Roth conversions, and healthcare costs get locked in. Earlier is still useful, but the stakes concentrate around the transition.

A projection of spending against income sources, a sustainable withdrawal rate, a Social Security and pension claiming strategy, tax planning across account types (traditional, Roth, taxable), Medicare and healthcare cost estimates, and a plan for the order you draw accounts down.

The 4% rule is a starting point from 1990s research, not a guarantee. Your sustainable rate depends on your asset allocation, flexibility to adjust spending, other income sources, and the returns sequence you actually experience. An advisor stress-tests your specific plan rather than quoting a single number.

A Roth conversion moves money from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA: you pay income tax on the converted amount now, and qualified withdrawals later are tax-free. Conversions can make sense in low-income years, especially between retirement and required minimum distributions, but the right amount depends on your tax bracket each year.

A 401(k) is an account, not a plan. It doesn't decide when you can retire, how much you can spend, when to claim Social Security, or how to turn savings into income. An advisor coordinates those decisions, of which the 401(k) is just one input.