Service
Income Planning
Turn what you have saved into a paycheck that lasts as long as you do.
The hardest switch in retirement is the one from saving to spending. For thirty or forty years a paycheck arrived on its own. Income planning is how we replace it — deliberately, in the right order, from the right accounts.
Who this is for
You might recognise yourself here
You are five years out and doing the math in your head
You have a number in mind but no one has ever shown you, month by month, where the money actually comes from.
You are choosing when to claim Social Security
The difference between claiming at 62, at full retirement age, or at 70 can be six figures over a lifetime — and it is not the same answer for everyone.
You have a pension decision in front of you
Single life, joint and survivor, or lump sum. It is usually irreversible, and it deserves more than a coin flip.
What we do
How this works in practice
No jargon, no black box. Here is the actual work.
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Map what comes in and what goes out
We start with your real expenses — the fixed ones, the fun ones, and the ones that only show up once a year — and compare them against every income source you already have.
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Model Social Security timing
We look at your benefit at different claiming ages, how a spouse's benefit interacts with yours, and what happens to the survivor if one of you passes first.
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Work through the pension election
We compare the survivor options side by side, including what a lump sum would realistically need to earn to beat the guaranteed payment.
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Build a withdrawal order
Which account you draw from first changes your tax bill for the rest of your life. We sequence taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free withdrawals on purpose.
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Stress-test it
We check the plan against inflation, a bad market in your first years of retirement, and the loss of one household income.
How it fits your bigger plan
One piece of a single plan
Income is the foundation the rest of the plan stands on. Once we know what the paycheck looks like, the investment mix has a job to do, the tax plan has a target to work against, and healthcare costs stop being a guess. That is what makes it part of one plan instead of six separate conversations.
See the comprehensive planQuestions
Common questions about Income Planning
When should I claim Social Security?
It depends on your health, your spouse's benefit, whether you are still working, and how much of your income needs to be guaranteed. Claiming early locks in a permanently smaller benefit — including for a surviving spouse — while waiting until 70 raises it. We run your actual numbers rather than using a rule of thumb.
How much can I safely withdraw each year?
The old answer was four percent. The honest answer is that it changes with your age, your mix of investments, how flexible your spending is, and how much of your baseline is already covered by Social Security or a pension. We give you a starting rate and a plan for adjusting it.
What happens to our income if one of us dies?
Usually the household keeps the larger of the two Social Security benefits and loses the smaller one, and a pension may drop or stop entirely. We plan for that in advance so the survivor is not making decisions in the worst week of their life.
Do I need to move everything to you to get an income plan?
No. The first visit is a conversation, not a transfer of accounts. Plenty of people come in to get a second opinion on a pension election or a claiming decision, and that is a perfectly good reason to sit down.
Related
Other pieces of the plan
Investment Planning
Risk-based, customized portfolios using independent, cost-efficient funds — not a house list.
Tax Planning
Tax diversification designed to minimize income, capital-gains, and estate taxes over your lifetime.
Healthcare Planning
Medicare decisions, coverage before 65, and a realistic plan for long-term care costs.
Let's talk about your plan
A relaxed, no-pressure conversation about your goals. Free, about 30 minutes, and you will leave with something useful whether or not we work together.
Veteran-owned · Independent fiduciary · Jacksonville, Florida