Paychecks End. Your Income Doesn't Have To.

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The goal isn't just to retire — it's to retire with confidence that the income will be there when you need it, in the amounts you need it, for as long as you need it. That takes more than a portfolio. It takes a plan.

We work with families across Marion, Cedar Rapids, and the surrounding communities. The first conversation is free, and it starts with your situation — not a sales pitch.

Three Frameworks. One Coordinated Plan.

There is no single right way to turn savings into income — the right approach depends on your spending pattern, your risk tolerance, your other income sources, and how much flexibility you need. We work with three proven frameworks, and most clients end up with elements of more than one.

The Moment the Math Stops Being Abstract

There's a point — usually somewhere in the last two or three years before retirement — when the planning stops feeling hypothetical and starts feeling real. The date is on the calendar. The pension paperwork is sitting on the desk. And the question underneath all the numbers isn't really about the numbers. It's whether everything you've worked toward is actually going to hold.

That's the conversation Ryan has with nearly every pre-retiree he works with. Not just what the projections say — but what it feels like to hand in your notice when you're not certain the plan is airtight. Getting to certainty, before that moment arrives, is what this work is for.

The 4% Withdrawal Approach

The most widely cited rule in retirement planning holds that withdrawing around 4% of your portfolio each year — adjusted for inflation — gives a high probability of your money lasting 30 years. It's a reasonable starting point, and for clients with a diversified portfolio and moderate spending needs, it holds up well.

But the 4% rule is a guideline, not a guarantee. We stress-test it against your actual numbers: your expected spending, your Social Security income, any pension or rental income, your tax situation, and realistic market scenarios. If the math works, we'll tell you. If it needs adjustment, we'll show you exactly why and what to do instead.

The Income Floor Strategy

Some expenses aren't optional — housing, food, utilities, and healthcare. The income floor approach covers those non-negotiables with guaranteed or near-guaranteed income sources: Social Security, a pension if you have one. Once the floor is set, the rest of your portfolio can be invested with a longer horizon and more growth potential, because you're not depending on it to pay next month's bills.

This approach works especially well for clients who lose sleep over market volatility. When your essential expenses are covered regardless of what the market does, short-term downturns become far less threatening. We help you identify what your floor needs to be, what income sources can fill it, and whether an annuity makes sense as part of that structure — without any pressure toward products that don't fit your situation.

The Bucket Strategy

Time-segmented investing — often called the bucket approach — divides your retirement savings by when you'll need them. We look at your specific situation and set money aside for Now, Soon, and Later goals, with the money you need the soonest investment more conservatively and money you don't need for a long time to be investment more aggressively as it has time to recover through market cycles. 

The practical benefit is psychological as much as financial. When the market drops, your near-term spending is already sitting in a stable account — you're not selling stocks at a loss to pay your electric bill. The growth bucket has time to recover. We build the bucket structure around your actual projected spending, not round numbers, and we rebalance between buckets over time as the plan evolves.

Social Security Claiming Optimization

For most people, Social Security is the single largest financial decision they'll make in retirement — and most people make it without running the numbers. Claiming at 62 versus 67 versus 70 can represent a difference of tens of thousands of dollars over a lifetime, and for couples, the coordination between spouses adds another layer of complexity.

We use dedicated analysis tools to model your specific scenario: your earnings history, your spouse's benefit, any age gap between you, your health outlook, and how part-time work or pension income interacts with your benefit. For couples, we pay particular attention to the survivor benefit — the higher earner's claiming age directly determines what the surviving spouse receives for the rest of their life.

RMDs, Withdrawal Sequencing, and Iowa Tax Considerations

Once you reach age 73, the IRS requires minimum distributions from your traditional IRAs and 401(k)s — whether you need the income or not. Poorly timed RMDs can push you into a higher bracket, increase Medicare premiums, or trigger taxes on Social Security benefits. We plan for RMDs well before they start, using Roth conversions and strategic withdrawal sequencing to reduce their long-term tax impact.

Iowa has its own retirement income tax rules, and they've changed in recent years. We stay current on Iowa-specific treatment of retirement income — including pension exclusions and the phase-out of state tax on retirement income — so your plan reflects what you'll actually keep, not just what you withdraw.