Retirement Planning
in Fort Collins, CO

The central question of retirement is not how much you have saved. It is how much reliable income your savings can produce, for how long, with how much risk. Getting that answer right requires a plan, not a rule of thumb.

We build a retirement income plan that maps your spending needs against every source of income you have: Social Security, required minimum distributions, portfolio withdrawals, part-time work, rental income, or pensions. The plan accounts for inflation, sequence-of-returns risk, and the reality that spending patterns shift over time.

The goal is simple: you should never have to wonder whether a check will clear. We model scenarios so you understand your financial range and can make confident decisions.

Social Security timing is one of the most consequential decisions in retirement planning. You can claim as early as age 62 or as late as age 70, and your benefit grows roughly 8% for every year you delay past your full retirement age. Over a 25-year retirement, the difference between claiming early and delaying can exceed $200,000.

But the math is not the only consideration. Health, other income sources, spousal benefits, survivor benefits, and your tax situation all affect the optimal strategy. For married couples especially, coordinating two Social Security elections is a planning exercise that should not be done without modeling.

We run Social Security analysis as part of every retirement plan and revisit it as your situation changes. There is no one-size-fits-all answer, and we will tell you honestly what the numbers show for your specific situation.

A Roth conversion moves money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) into a Roth account. You pay income tax on the amount converted today, in exchange for tax-free growth and withdrawals from the Roth account in the future.

The opportunity is most powerful in the years between retirement and age 73 , the window before Required Minimum Distributions begin. During this period, many retirees have lower taxable income than they will have once RMDs force large withdrawals from their traditional accounts.

Done well, a multi-year Roth conversion strategy can reduce lifetime taxes significantly, lower future Medicare premiums, shrink RMD exposure, and leave a more tax-efficient inheritance. Max Ramirez, our in-house Enrolled Agent, helps us model conversions against your full tax picture across your full picture, not just the current year.

Required Minimum Distributions are annual withdrawals the IRS requires from traditional IRAs, 401(k)s, and most inherited retirement accounts beginning at age 73. The amount is calculated each year based on your account balance and a government-issued life expectancy table. Miss a distribution and the penalty is 25% of the amount you should have taken.

But RMD planning is not just about compliance. Large RMDs can push you into a higher tax bracket, increase your Medicare premiums, trigger taxation of Social Security benefits, and affect your estate. The time to plan for RMDs is before they begin Not after.

We help clients reduce future RMD exposure through strategic Roth conversions, qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), and account positioning decisions made years in advance. For clients who already have RMDs, we coordinate the timing and sourcing of distributions to minimize tax impact across the portfolio.

Medicare is the primary health insurance for most retirees, but it is not free and its cost is not fixed. Part B and Part D premiums are based on your income from two years prior. If your income exceeds certain thresholds, you pay IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) that can add hundreds of dollars per month to your Medicare costs.

In 2026, IRMAA surcharges begin at $109,000 in modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) for single filers and $218,000 for married couples filing jointly. Because Medicare uses a two-year lookback, your 2026 premiums are based on your 2024 income — meaning income events in 2026 will not show up as IRMAA surcharges until 2028. A large Roth conversion, asset sale, or required minimum distribution can push you across a threshold without warning.

We model Medicare costs and IRMAA exposure as part of your retirement income plan. When a Roth conversion or other income event would trigger a surcharge, we weigh the trade-offs before recommending a course of action. Healthcare costs are one of the largest variables in retirement We treat them as such.

Most retirees have money spread across three types of accounts: taxable (brokerage), tax-deferred (traditional IRA, 401k), and tax-free (Roth). The order in which you draw from these accounts and the amount you draw from each has a significant impact on how much of your money the IRS eventually takes.

The conventional wisdom is to draw taxable accounts first, then tax-deferred, then Roth. But the optimal sequence is rarely that simple. Tax bracket management, Social Security income, RMD obligations, and estate planning goals all affect the right answer for a given year. A dollar taken from the wrong account at the wrong time can cost more in taxes than the account earned.

We build a withdrawal sequencing strategy into every retirement income plan, updated annually as your situation changes. Max Ramirez, our Enrolled Agent, coordinates the tax implications with the broader planning picture so nothing is made in isolation.

When you are still working, a bad year in the market is uncomfortable but recoverable. When you are drawing from your portfolio for income, a sharp decline in the early years of retirement can permanently impair how long your money lasts. This is sequence-of-returns risk, and it is the central challenge of retirement investing.

We manage retirement portfolios with this reality in mind. That means maintaining enough liquidity that you are never forced to sell equities at depressed prices to meet income needs, building in income-generating assets that reduce portfolio drawdown, and adjusting allocation as retirement progresses.

Investment management is fully integrated with your income plan. We do not manage the portfolio in isolation from your spending needs, tax situation, or Social Security income They are all part of the same model. Learn more about our investment management approach →

An estate plan that was set up 15 years ago may not reflect your current wishes, your current assets, or the current tax law. Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance policies can override what a will says Many people do not realize this until it is too late.

We review beneficiary designations, account titling, and asset distribution strategies as part of the comprehensive planning relationship. When your estate plan needs updating or when you do not yet have one, we work alongside your estate attorney to make sure your financial plan and legal documents align.

Common issues we find and address: outdated beneficiaries, mismatched account titling, no plan for an inherited IRA, and retirement accounts that will create large tax bills for heirs when a different distribution approach would have been more efficient.