Retirement and Financial Planning

Most people who come to us aren’t looking for a sales pitch. They’re looking for an answer to one question: am I going to be okay? Can I retire? What does that even look like?

Most people have never sat down and run the numbers. They know what their bills are. They have a rough idea of what’s in the 401(k). But nobody’s ever done the calculations, tested different scenarios, or asked the questions they don’t yet know to ask. That’s what we’re here for.

Whether you’re 28 and just getting started or 58 and five years out, the process is the same. The focus is what changes.

What the first meeting actually looks like

The first meeting is a discovery session. No cost, no obligation, no product pitch. We’re looking at what you’ve done up to this point and where the gaps are — the things being missed or overlooked. You leave with a clearer picture whether or not you ever become a client.

If it’s a fit for both of us, we move into the orientation meeting. This is the one people remember, because most of the questions aren’t ones you think about on a Monday after work:

• What does retirement actually mean to you — stopping completely, or just slowing down?
• What’s important about your money? What are you trying to protect, and who for?
• Is leaving an inheritance important? Do you want the taxes handled so your kids don’t inherit a tax bill along with the money?

Most people have never been asked. Watching a client work through it — and realize what they actually want — is the best part of the job.

The GLB Way

We run a defined, four-step process. It doesn’t change based on your age or your account balance. Only the focus does.

1. Snapshot (discovery). We capture where you are today — family, assets, debts, income sources, insurance, beneficiaries, and your top concerns. What interest rate is your house at? What will Social Security pay you at different ages? (Most people have never logged into ssa.gov and pulled the report.) We build a full family makeup too — kids, marriages, grandchildren, and the relationships behind them.
2. Orientation (goals). Where do you want to go, and what do you value. This is where the deeper questions live.
3. Action Plan. We present the plan, identify what to address, and suggest the order to do it in. This is usually where those early questions pay off — now you see why we asked whether you served on foreign soil (VA long-term care benefits) or whether you have collectibles that never made it onto your homeowner’s policy.
4. Implementation. We work through the plan together, one item at a time.

The end state is simple to say and harder to reach on your own: your financial house is in order.

The expense sheet

We don’t call it a budget. We call it an expense sheet, and it’s the key to the whole thing.

Where did your money actually go last year? Most people have an idea. Almost nobody has the real number. Your fixed bills are easy — it’s the variable spending that gets away from you. Gifting to the kids. Spoiling the grandbabies. The $9,000 at restaurants and bars you didn’t realize you spent until you saw it in one column.

That reaction is normal, at every age. And it’s the point. Because when someone asks “can I retire,” we refuse to guess at your retirement income. We need a real number for the life you actually want to live — then we adjust it up or down as your lifestyle changes.

Here’s why the real number matters beyond the shock value. A lot of planners just take the figure a client throws out — “I want $6,000 a month” — and run with it. That can work. But if you’re pulling extra from an IRA and it’s piling up unspent in savings, you’re paying tax on money you didn’t need to withdraw. A real expense number lets us be strategic: which account the income comes from, whether there’s room for Roth conversions, how to keep the whole thing tax-efficient. Retirement planning isn’t one thing. It’s income planning, tax strategy, and estate planning working together.

What we usually find

When someone in their 50s comes in after managing their own money for decades, the story is remarkably consistent. There’s a 401(k), maybe a pension. The 401(k) has been sitting in the same target-date fund since day one. That’s not necessarily wrong — but it’s not what we’d call diversified, and usually nobody’s asked the basic questions. How much risk are you taking? What’s a reasonable benchmark to measure against? Is this actually performing? Most people are living their lives with this on the back burner. They know the account exists and know it’s grown. They don’t know the details.

That’s not a failing. It’s what happens when you’re busy. It’s also exactly the blind spot a second set of eyes is built to catch.

Planning that works across generations

Retirement planning rarely stops with one person. Say your kids are successful and sitting in a higher tax bracket than you are. If leaving an inheritance matters to you, it can make sense to handle some of the tax now — because money passing from a 12% bracket to an heir in the 37% bracket loses a painful chunk on the way. There’s real value in a plan the whole family understands.

So we ask the questions a product-focused broker usually won’t. Are your estate documents current? Do you have concerns about an heir managing what you leave them? Is there a pending lawsuit, a divorce, or a special-needs situation that changes how assets should be structured to stay protected — and in the family? These aren’t things most advisors raise unless someone takes the time to actually talk with you.

It’s also why we started a program for our clients’ kids. The ones who begin early have an enormous advantage over everyone waiting, and the feedback has been terrific. The children and grandchildren of our clients deserve the same fiduciary advice their parents get — tailored to where they actually are in life.

Why the CFP® designation matters

Both Wayne and Andrew hold the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation. In plain terms, here’s what that means for you across the table.

The curriculum is extensive and the exam is genuinely hard to pass — a real barrier to entry. Earning the mark requires thousands of hours working under a seasoned CFP® professional, so you learn the craft from people who’ve done it for years. And critically, a CFP® answers to the CFP Board’s code of ethics. Do something ethically or morally wrong, and the designation can be taken away.

That last part is the one that matters most. You’ll see plenty of people online calling themselves fiduciaries. But if no one is reviewing the work — if there’s no body that can take the credential away — then what does the label actually guarantee? Pairing “fiduciary” with the CFP® mark is how you can feel confident you’re actually sitting with one.

Fiduciary vs. broker

A broker often earns an upfront commission on the sale of a fund or a basket of funds. Once that’s paid, there’s little built-in reason to keep monitoring the portfolio, make ongoing changes, or build a lasting relationship — the transaction’s already done. That’s usually why the deeper work never happens: the estate documents, the family questions, the “what happens to your spouse if you go first.”

A fiduciary is held to a higher standard — a legal duty to act in your best interest. Coupled with the CFP® mark and a real enforcement body behind it, that’s the difference worth caring about when you choose who to trust.

We’ll be straight with you on one more thing, because a lot of firms won’t. How an advisor gets paid matters less than whether the recommendation is appropriate. Plenty of firms wave “fee-only” like a badge of superiority. We don’t think the compensation structure is the limiting factor — the core values and the people across the table are. The right question isn’t “how are you paid,” it’s “is this recommendation right for me, and do I actually want it?”

“I don’t have enough money.” “It’s too late.”

Two versions of the same hesitation, and neither holds up.

If you’re younger and think you don’t have enough to talk to a planner — the opposite is true. Starting early is the single biggest advantage you can give yourself, and it costs nothing to begin the conversation.

If you’re older and feel like it’s too late — it isn’t. Even if the picture is already good, a second opinion either confirms you’re on track or surfaces one or two things you were too close to see. Emotions and biases hide things from all of us; a professional with no attachment to your lifestyle can spot what you can’t.

Think of it like an annual physical. There’s no downside to going and making sure everything’s okay — and maybe adjusting one thing before it becomes a problem. Andrew makes this point himself, and he means it literally: he sits down with another advisor to pressure-test his own thinking. If the person doing this for a living wants a second set of eyes, that tells you something about the value of one.

Fees, plainly

We’re a fee-based firm, and we get paid two ways.

On the assets we manage, we charge a percentage of assets under management. That means we’re incentivized alongside you — the better your portfolio does, the better we do. When we use insurance products where they fit — permanent or term life, sometimes an annuity, long-term care coverage — those typically pay a one-time upfront commission with no ongoing trails.

Here’s how it works in practice: we might present life insurance as here are your options and here’s what they cost. If it matters to you and your family, we’ll help you move forward. If not, that’s the end of it. There’s no “you need to have this.” No pitch.

Separately, tax preparation is available to new clients through our CPA partner for $90 — distinct from the tax planning we do as part of your strategy.

What the ongoing relationship looks like

It’s built around you. Some clients want a single annual check-in with any needed adjustments. Others want to keep a finger on the pulse and meet three, four, or five times a year. Phone calls between visits, emails back and forth — there’s no cap on staying in touch. In person, by video, or over the phone, whatever suits you. As life changes, the cadence changes with it.

If you’re on the fence

Here’s the whole case: there’s no downside to meeting with someone whose job is to see you succeed. We don’t charge for the first meeting. You’ll either hear that you’re in good shape, or you’ll learn one or two things worth adjusting. It genuinely doesn’t matter what your income is, whether you have significant assets, or how much debt you’re carrying — good planning helps across the board.

You deserve someone in your corner. Most people don’t have that. Let’s change it.

Schedule a complimentary meeting — by phone, video-conference, or in our office. Call (866) 626-3990 or book a no-obligation discovery call.

Investment advisory services offered through Great Lakes Benefits, Inc., an SEC-registered investment adviser. Registration does not imply SEC endorsement. This material is general in nature and not personalized investment, tax, or legal advice; consult your own advisors regarding your specific situation.