5 to 10 years before retirement
This is the window where most of the levers still work. Roth conversions, healthcare planning, claiming strategy modeling, last-decade tax positioning.
Retirement planning in Boca Raton covering income strategies, IRA and 401(k) rollovers, Social Security timing, and RMDs. For South Florida pre-retirees and clients already drawing on their assets.
This is the window where most of the levers still work. Roth conversions, healthcare planning, claiming strategy modeling, last-decade tax positioning.
The order you draw from accounts matters more than the total. We model the sequence so the tax bill and the longevity risk both get accounted for.
When to claim, how spousal benefits work, and the breakeven math behind delayed claiming. See the full page →
Old 401(k)s, 403(b)s, pension lump sums. Where to land them, the tax considerations, and how they fit the broader portfolio. See IRA rollover →
Required minimum distributions, qualified charitable distributions, and how to manage forced income in retirement.
Retirement is also a life change. The financial plan and the conversation about what comes next both belong on the table.
Most of the variables that decide how retirement actually goes are set in the ten years leading up to it. The savings rate, the asset allocation, the Roth conversion windows, the timing of Social Security, the choice of healthcare coverage. Once retirement starts, you can still adjust, but the lever arm is shorter.
The case for sitting down with a planner sometime between age 50 and 60 is that you still have meaningful room to change the trajectory. The case for sitting down with one after retirement starts is that the decisions get more technical (RMD coordination, healthcare, longevity planning) and the cost of getting them wrong stays high.
Three things that shape how we deliver retirement planning for South Florida clients.
Retirement Planning doesn't sit alone. The investment plan, the tax plan, and the estate plan reference each other. We coordinate all three so decisions match.
No off-the-shelf model portfolios or boilerplate plans. The recommendations match your specific income, tax bracket, family situation, and timeline.
We meet on a quarterly cadence to adjust the plan as your life and the tax code change. The relationship is long-term by design.
If you're within ten years of retirement, this is the window. The Roth conversion windows, the Social Security claim decision, the healthcare bridge, the rollover timing. All of it benefits from real-time modeling and a written plan.
Most retirement planning clients work through one or more of these as part of the broader plan.
Rolling over old 401(k)s, 403(b)s, pension lump sums. Mechanics and tax positioning.
See ira rollover planning →When to claim, spousal benefits, breakeven math, and how it fits the income sequence.
See social security optimization →Multi-year tax modeling, conversion ladders, and the low-tax window before RMDs start.
See roth conversion strategy →The work looks different depending on where you are. The most common situations:
"Beth modeled my Social Security claim three different ways and walked me through why delaying made more sense for our situation. Nobody had ever shown me the math before."
"We started Roth conversions five years before I retired. The tax savings over the rest of our lives is real money. I wish we'd started sooner."
"I had a 401(k) at my last employer that I hadn't touched in eight years. They walked me through the rollover, helped me see where it should go, and now it's actually working with the rest of the plan."
Posts our wealth advisors have put together on this topic.
The most useful window is somewhere between age 50 and 60, while you still have time to adjust the savings rate, run Roth conversions through the low-tax years, and model Social Security claiming. That said, the work is still worth doing later, just with a shorter lever. If you're already retired, the focus shifts to withdrawal sequencing, RMD planning, and healthcare.
It depends on your health, your spouse's benefit, your other income sources, and your taxable situation. The default math favors delaying to 70 if you can, because the benefit grows about 8% per year you wait past full retirement age. But the right answer can be earlier if you've shorter projected longevity, no spouse to claim against, or income needs that outweigh the breakeven math. See the full Social Security page →
Usually yes, but not always. A rollover gives you a much wider investment universe, easier coordination with the rest of your plan, and simpler RMD tracking. The cases where you might leave it in the old plan: better fund options or lower fees in the old plan, separation-of-service access at 55, or specific creditor-protection considerations. See the IRA rollover page →
A Roth conversion moves money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) into a Roth IRA, paying the income tax in the year of the conversion. The case for doing it: lock in today's tax rates, reduce future RMDs, leave a tax-free inheritance, and use up the low-tax window between when you stop working and when RMDs start. The case against: limited cash to pay the tax, or expecting much lower tax rates in retirement. See the Roth conversion page →
A Required Minimum Distribution is the amount you've to start withdrawing from traditional retirement accounts each year once you hit RMD age (currently 73, moving to 75). The IRS uses a formula based on your account balance and life expectancy. The penalty for missing one is steep, so the coordination matters.
There's no single number. The honest version: you need enough that the withdrawals you take (after tax, after inflation) cover your spending for as long as you live, plus the things you want to do or leave behind. For most clients we model out three or four scenarios with different spending levels and longevity assumptions. Use the calculator → to get a rough starting number, then a real plan goes deeper than the calculator can.
The first meeting is a conversation, not a sales pitch. We'll talk about where you are, what you're working through, and whether Intercoastal is the right fit. In person in Boca Raton or Plantation, or by video from anywhere.