Service

Retirement Planning

Most people do not need a more complicated plan. They need to know whether the plan they have will hold up.

Retirement planning is the work of turning a pile of savings into a paycheck that lasts. It sounds simple, and the arithmetic often is. What makes it hard is that the decisions arrive all at once, most of them are difficult to reverse, and each one affects the others.

At Howard Financial LLC we start by answering one question honestly: based on what you have, what you spend, and when you want to stop working, does this plan hold up? Everything else follows from that answer.

What this looks like in practice

Income projections that account for Social Security timing, pensions, and required distributions
Stress-testing your plan against slower markets, higher costs, and longer lifespans
Withdrawal sequencing designed to keep more of your money working
Annual reviews so the plan stays current as your life changes

Knowing what you actually spend

Every projection rests on a spending number, and most people underestimate theirs. We work from real figures — bank and card activity over a full year — rather than a budget written from memory. Then we separate the essentials from the discretionary, because those two categories behave very differently under stress.

We also plan for the shape of retirement spending, which is rarely flat. The first years are often the most expensive: travel, a vehicle, a project on the house. Spending typically settles in the middle years and rises again later with health care.

Essential expenses covered by predictable income sources
Discretionary spending funded from the portfolio, adjustable in poor markets
One-time costs mapped to the specific year they occur
Health care and long-term care costs planned rather than hoped away

Social Security timing

Claiming Social Security is one of the few remaining decisions that is entirely yours and worth real money. Filing at 62 versus waiting to 70 can change the lifetime total substantially, and for married couples the survivor benefit often matters more than either monthly check does today.

We model your options side by side against your other income, your tax picture, and your health, then put the reasoning in writing so you can revisit it.

Where the income comes from, and in what order

Withdrawal sequencing — which account you draw from first — quietly changes your lifetime tax bill and how long the portfolio lasts. Taxable accounts, tax-deferred accounts like IRAs and 401(k)s, and Roth accounts each behave differently, and the right order shifts as tax brackets, required distributions, and Medicare premium thresholds come into play.

This is where retirement planning and tax strategy overlap, and why we look at both together rather than one at a time.

Testing the plan against bad luck

A plan that only works when markets cooperate is not a plan. We stress-test yours: a weak first decade of returns, inflation running above expectations, one spouse living to 95, a long-term care event in the mid-eighties.

The goal is not to frighten anyone. It is to know in advance which levers you would pull, and how much room you have before the plan actually needs to change.

Reviewing it every year

Nothing about retirement follows a projection exactly. We review the plan annually, compare actual spending and returns to the assumptions, and make small corrections early so large corrections are never necessary.

Who this work suits

You are within five to ten years of retiring and want an honest read on whether you are ready
You have accounts in several places and no single view of the whole picture
You are recently retired and want to know how much you can safely spend
You are deciding when to claim Social Security or how to handle a pension election

Common questions

How much do I need to retire?: There is no universal number. It depends on what you spend, what guaranteed income you already have, and how long the money needs to last. We work backward from your actual spending rather than a rule of thumb.
Can I retire earlier than 65?: Often yes, but the bridge years before Medicare and Social Security are the hard part. Health coverage and the sequence of withdrawals are usually what decide it.
Do you take over managing the accounts, or just build the plan?: Either. Some clients want a plan they implement themselves; most prefer we manage the portfolio alongside the plan. We will tell you plainly what each costs.
How often will we talk?: A formal review at least once a year, and a phone call whenever something changes. You will not have to go through an assistant to reach Bill.