Areas addressed for the near-retiree

General overriding concerns for those 0 - 12 years from retirement include:

• When do I truly want to retire, and am I on the right track?
• What are the trade-offs of retiring earlier rather than later?
• What is the impact of making a career move, or pursuing that business opportunity?
• How do I get my kids through these last few years of college while still planning for retirement?
• Do I have the right amount in my cash or emergency fund? How do manage this need with the goal of generating a decent return on our money?
• Is our debt structured correctly, or should we look to make changes?
• While I have not reviewed my budget in great detail lately, perhaps it is time that we, as a couple, sit down to revisit that and make some decisions that impact us for years to come.
• How should I be saving to my company retirement plan? Should I be saving to the Roth or Traditional option?
• Should I be saving to a taxable portfolio or an IRA of some type? What's the best approach from a tax perspective, and are there any savings strategies I am missing?
• Are there other benefits at work that I should consider such as the Flexible Spending Account of Health Savings Account, and how should I be implementing these?
• Am I investing in the right funds in my company retirement plan?
• What's the best approach to exercise my stock options, taking into account tax, concentration risk, and cash flow needs?
• With as long as I have until retirement, how much do I really need in bonds compared to stocks?
• What if something happened to us prematurely? Will our kids be OK? Do we have the right documents and designations in place?

Case Study: A Pre-Retiree Success Story

Situation

Chris and Nicole were in their late 50s and getting closer to retirement, but they were not quite sure whether their savings had truly put them in a position to step away from work with confidence. They had strong incomes over the years, had done a good job saving, and had built a meaningful nest egg. But they wanted help understanding whether it was enough to support the lifestyle they envisioned. With kids still in the picture and important family goals still ahead, they wanted a clearer view of how retirement, college, and day-to-day life could all fit together.

Both spouses knew they were on solid footing, but they also knew retirement is one of those milestones where "probably fine" was not the level of certainty they wanted. They were worried about their savings if the market got choppy at the wrong time. They also had concerns about what would happen if one of them needed long-term care for an extended period of time. Chris and Nicole knew there were factors they hadn't considered and wanted an expert who could bring those to their attention.

Analysis and Planning

Through our Retirement Readiness Assessment, we helped Chris and Nicole look at the pieces that would drive their retirement decision. We modeled several retirement ages side by side and identified a two-year window where retiring earlier meaningfully increased the risk of running short later in a poor market sequence — giving Chris and Nicole a specific tradeoff to weigh rather than a gut call. We also compared directing additional savings toward Roth versus traditional accounts and mapped out optimal Social Security claiming ages for both spouses.

On the college funding side, we set a monthly contribution amount they could sustain without touching retirement savings, even if the market underperformed in the years leading up to enrollment. We also simplified their account structure, reviewed their portfolio allocation against their actual risk capacity, and worked through the long-term care and debt-related decisions that shape whether a plan holds up in real life, not just on paper.

Outcome

Chris and Nicole left with specific answers, not general reassurance: a retirement age range they could plan around, a savings split between account types, and a college funding number that wouldn't compete with their own future security. Instead of wondering if they'd saved enough, they now know which one or two decisions in the next few years matter most.