Services & Strategies
Retirement Planning That Protects What You Keep
Safety-first income planning, proactive tax strategy, and a clear path through every phase of retirement.
The 3 Phases of Retirement Planning
When you’re saving for retirement, your focus is on accumulation and maximizing returns.
But as you approach retirement, your mindset often shifts toward safety, predictability, income — and tax efficiency.
Why?
Because the way you use your assets can mean the difference between leaving a large taxable burden behind or saving your family hundreds of thousands (even millions) in lifetime taxes.
This is why proactive tax planning is at the center of everything I do.
From avoiding unnecessary tax-bracket jumps, to minimizing IRMAA surcharges, to reducing exposure to the very real risk of rising future tax rates — the way we plan today has a direct impact on how much freedom you and your heirs will enjoy tomorrow.
Retirement planning can be broken down into three distinct phases:
Phase 1: Accumulation
Building Wealth for the Future
These are your working years, when the focus is on saving aggressively, growing your investments, and laying the foundation for long-term tax efficiency.
Every decision now helps shape your freedom later.
Phase 2: Transition & Income Planning
The Critical Window
The years just before and after retirement are the most important — and the most vulnerable.
This is where Safety-First Income Planning matters most to protect your lifestyle and avoid costly tax mistakes.
Phase 3: Retirement Management
Protecting Lifestyle & Legacy
Once retirement begins, the focus shifts to sustaining income, managing rising costs, and ensuring your legacy. Smart strategies here can preserve wealth for decades.
Retirement isn’t just about how much you save — it’s about how much you get to keep.
Through proactive income and tax planning, I help people protect their lifestyle, minimize unnecessary taxes, and create a legacy that lasts.
Proactive Tax-Planning
For many retirees, taxes are the single biggest expense in retirement — often larger than healthcare, travel, or even housing. The difference between a traditional plan and a proactive tax strategy can add up to hundreds of thousands (even millions) over your lifetime.
Most CPAs focus on filing last year’s tax return. My role is different: I help you look forward — identifying opportunities to reduce future taxes, avoid costly surcharges, and create a more tax-efficient legacy for your family.
That’s why tax planning isn’t just an add-on — it’s a core focus of every retirement plan I build.
👉 Because retirement isn’t just about how much you make — it’s about how much you keep.
Safety First. Income For Life.
Safety-First Retirement Income Planning
Retirement isn’t one-size-fits-all. That’s why I use a 2-Bucket Strategy in the income planning phase of retirement — a simple but powerful framework that balances safety and growth.
One bucket is built for security, predictability, and income, while the other is designed for long-term growth, supplemental income, and legacy building.
The balance looks different for every person, but together, these two buckets give you confidence today and opportunity for tomorrow.
Bucket 1: Security & Peace-of-Mind
(the safe bucket)
This bucket is customized to you. For some, it’s about protecting a portion of your wealth from market losses.
For others, it’s about creating guaranteed lifetime income.
Either way, it ensures your lifestyle is secure — and gives you permission to spend confidently.
Bucket 2: Growth & Efficiency
(the growth bucket)
This is the best of both worlds.
You don’t have to sacrifice the long-term growth potential of the market, in fact, this approach often allows you to achieve better returns over time, because you’re no longer depending on the market for the bulk of your monthly income.
This approach allows you to stay invested more efficiently, with less stress, and more discipline.
The result?
Predictable income you can rely on
Peace of mind that your lifestyle is protected
Freedom to grow your wealth without being a slave to volatility
It’s not about hoping you have enough income, it’s about designing a plan that’s both secure and efficient.
Want to see what a Safety-first Retirement Income Plan looks like for you?
Free Resources to Help You Retire With Confidence
- Want all of my best content + premium resources sent directly to your inbox? Be sure to get Safe Money Weekly sent directly to your inbox → Click Here
- Join 69,000+ followers on Instagram for weekly retirement tips, tax planning strategies, and real-world case studies → Click Here
- 📘 Free Hard Copy Book: Safe Money: How to Invest Your Hard Earned Money (keeping it safe from losses, fees, and inflation) → Click Here
- 🎥 Free One-page Resource Guide: Long-term Care Planning Guide → Click Here
- Free Roth Blueprint Example: Shows a Lifetime Wealth Value comparison for a 60-year-old couple (Roth Conversion vs. not doing one) → Click Here
- Want more resources?! Join my Free VIP Channel — Retirement Income Insider → Click Here
- Most Popular Blogs → How Much Does a $1M Annuity Pay? | The Top 5 Strategies to Minimize Taxes in Retirement | How to Boost Retirement Income with a Portfolio Guardrail Strategy
Common Retirement Topics I Address
My work covers every area of retirement planning, but here are the strategies I’m most often helping clients with — and the topics I share in my weekly blogs and videos:
Safety-First Income Planning
Protecting your lifestyle with guaranteed, predictable income so you can spend with confidence.
Portfolio Guardrail Strategies
Balancing withdrawals and growth to protect against running out of money while staying invested efficiently.
Proactive Tax Planning
Reducing lifetime taxes, avoiding IRMAA surcharges, and positioning assets to pass on more wealth to your family.
Legacy & Estate Planning
Designing strategies that preserve your wealth and create a lasting impact for your loved ones and causes you care about.
Long-Term Care Planning
Protecting your retirement income from future healthcare costs with smart, flexible solutions.
Pension Optimization Strategies
Helping you make the most of your pension with choices that align with your long-term goals.
Annuities & Insurance Planning
Leveraging the right products to build security, predictability, and protection into your plan.
👉 No matter where you are in your retirement journey, I’ll help you create a plan that protects your lifestyle, minimizes risk, and gives you freedom to focus on what matters most.