Retirement Planning
Adair & Associates | Wealth Management
RETIREMENT PLANNING SERVICES
Retirement is not one decision. It is a chain of them: when to stop working, when to claim Social Security, which account to draw from first, what to do with a pension or an old 401(k). We help you make each one in the right order, with the numbers in front of you.
A 15 to 20 minute conversation. No cost, no obligation.
- Hunter Adair, CFP®, RICP®
- Financial planning since 2002
- Securities and advisory services through LPL Financial
The short answer
What is retirement planning?
Retirement planning is the work of answering two questions with real numbers: when can you afford to retire, and where will the income come from once you do.
For most of your working life the plan is simple: save, invest, repeat. In the last stretch it becomes a sequence of one-time decisions. When to claim Social Security. When to enroll in Medicare. Which account to draw from first. Whether to convert, how much, and in which years. Each choice affects the others, and most of them can only be made once. Retirement planning is how those decisions get made deliberately instead of by default.
Two different jobs
Saving for retirement vs. living on it
Saving for retirement and drawing income from what you saved are different problems. The second one has more moving parts, harsher penalties for error, and less room to recover. It is also the one most people have never done before.
| Saving for retirement | Retirement income planning | |
|---|---|---|
| Core question | Am I putting enough away? | What do we live on, starting which month, drawn from which account first? |
| Time horizon | Your working years | A retirement that can run thirty years or more |
| Main risks | Saving too little, sitting out market growth | Outliving the money, poor markets early in retirement, avoidable tax |
| What moves the needle | Contribution rate and time in the market | The order and timing of claiming, withdrawals, and conversions |
| Typically handled by | A workplace plan, often on autopilot | A financial advisor, coordinating with your tax professional |
| What Adair & Associates does | We review it as part of every plan | This is the center of our practice, and the reason Hunter holds the RICP® designation |
What we look at
Retirement planning services we provide
Every retirement runs through the same set of decisions. These are the ones we work through most often.
Retirement income planning
Turning your savings, your pension, and Social Security into a month by month income plan, so you can see what you will live on before you commit to a date. This is where the question of when you can retire gets a real answer.
Social Security claiming strategy
Comparing what claiming at 62, at full retirement age, and at 70 would actually pay, including spousal and survivor benefits. The differences compound over a long retirement, and the election is mostly permanent. We model it before you file.
Medicare timing & premiums
When to enroll, how the parts fit together, and the detail that surprises people: your premiums are set by your tax return from two years earlier. We time withdrawals and conversions with those IRMAA thresholds in mind.
Withdrawal sequencing
Deciding which accounts to draw from, and in what order, across taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free savings. Two households with identical balances can pay very different lifetime tax depending on the order in which they spend.
Required minimum distributions
Projecting how large your required withdrawals are likely to be by the time they begin, and what the years before then can do about it: partial conversions, qualified charitable distributions, or simply drawing the account sooner.
Roth conversion analysis
The window between your last paycheck and your first required distribution often holds the lowest tax brackets you will see again. We model whether converting part of an IRA in those years makes sense for you and for the people who will inherit it.
401(k), 403(b), TSP & pension decisions
Reviewing your options when you leave an employer, including the option to leave the money where it is. For pensions, we compare monthly annuity elections against lump sum offers and walk through survivor choices before anything is signed.
Investment management in retirement
A portfolio built to grow has to learn to pay you. We manage allocation through LPL Financial around your withdrawal needs, your time horizon, and your tolerance for risk, with tax-sensitive investing and attention to concentrated stock positions.
Insurance & long-term care review
Reviewing the life, disability, and long-term care coverage you carry against what this stage of life actually requires. Sometimes the answer is more protection. Often it is less, and the premium savings go back into the plan.
Estate & beneficiary coordination
Confirming that beneficiary designations, account titling, and your will all say the same thing, in coordination with your estate attorney. Our estate planning page covers this side in full.
Who this is for
When retirement planning matters most
You are five to ten years from retiring
Close enough that the decisions are real, far enough that every option is still open. Claiming strategy, conversion windows, and the shape of your income plan all get set in these years. It is the best time to walk in the door.
You are retiring within the next year or two
A date is forming, or an employer picked one for you with an early-out or severance offer. Before you file for anything or sign anything, the numbers deserve a full run-through. Several of these decisions cannot be undone.
You are already retired
You are drawing income and want a second look: at the withdrawal order, the allocation, the required distributions ahead, or simply whether the plan still holds up. A review does not require moving anything.
Your retirement runs through a pension
A FERS annuity and TSP, a Maryland state or county pension, or a corporate pension with a lump sum option. Pension math has its own rules and deadlines, and we work through them every week. Federal employees can start with our page on retirement planning for Maryland federal employees.
How we work
Our process
Four steps, and the first one costs nothing.
Introductory call
Fifteen to twenty minutes on the phone to hear where you are: your timeline, your accounts, and the question that prompted the call. No cost and no obligation.
Review
We gather statements, Social Security estimates, pension paperwork, and a realistic picture of your spending, and we confirm what you actually have to work with.
Strategy
Your retirement on one page: projected income year by year, the decisions in front of you, and what each one changes. This is where "when can I retire?" stops being a guess.
Implement & revisit
Once you choose a path we put it in motion, from allocation changes to rollover and beneficiary paperwork. Then we meet regularly, because markets, tax law, and life keep moving.
Experience
Why clients bring us their retirement questions
Adair & Associates is a wealth management practice in Marriottsville, Maryland, serving families across Howard County and neighboring Carroll, Baltimore, and Anne Arundel counties. Our team brings more than 45 years of combined industry experience, and securities and advisory services are offered through LPL Financial.
Hunter Adair, CFP®, RICP®
Wealth Management Advisor, Partner
A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional in practice since 2002, Hunter also holds the Retirement Income Certified Professional® and CASL® designations, both focused on turning savings and pensions into income that lasts. He meets personally with every prospective client. Full bio
Pat Gibbons
Wealth Management Advisor, Partner
More than 30 years in financial services, including time as a partner in a CPA firm and as a business owner. That background shows up in how the practice plans retirement income and the taxes that come with it. Full bio
How we fit in
We coordinate with your CPA and your attorney
Retirement decisions are usually tax decisions and estate decisions wearing different clothes. We do not prepare returns and we do not draft documents. We build the income plan, then keep your tax professional and your estate attorney working from the same numbers we are, so nothing gets decided twice or missed entirely.
2205 Warwick Way, Suite 300, Marriottsville, MD 21104 · (443) 609-7727 · hunter.adair@adairadvisory.com
Before we meet
What to bring to a retirement planning conversation
Nothing is required for an introductory call. If you want the first conversation to go deep, these help:
- Recent statements for your retirement accounts: 401(k), 403(b), IRA, Roth IRA, TSP, or a pension summary.
- Your Social Security statement, or an estimate of your expected benefit.
- Your most recent tax return. One page of it answers a dozen planning questions.
- A rough sense of what you spend in a month, and the retirement date you have in mind, even if it is soft.
- Any pension election paperwork, lump sum offer, or early-out package you have received, along with its deadline.
- Life, disability, and long-term care policy summaries, including coverage through work.
Common questions
Retirement planning FAQs
When can I retire?
That is the question most first calls start with, and it has a real answer. It comes from three numbers: what you spend, what you have saved, and what your guaranteed sources such as Social Security or a pension will pay. We project those numbers year by year and show you the dates that work. For most people the answer is a range rather than a single day, and seeing it changes how the remaining working years get used.
How much money do I need to retire?
There is no universal number, and the round figures that circulate online are not a plan. A household with a pension and modest spending can retire well on savings that would not last long for a household with neither. The honest answer comes out of your own spending, your income sources, and your health coverage costs, which is exactly what a retirement income projection is for.
When should I claim Social Security?
Any time between 62 and 70, and the difference is permanent. Claiming early reduces your monthly benefit for life; each year you wait past full retirement age increases it until 70. The right answer depends on your health, your spouse's benefit, whether you are still working, and what you will live on while you wait. We model the options before you file, because the decision is difficult to undo after twelve months.
Should I roll my 401(k) or TSP into an IRA when I retire?
Not automatically. Employer plans can offer lower costs, penalty-free withdrawals at 55 if you separate from service in or after that year, and, in the TSP's case, pricing that is hard to match. An IRA offers wider investment choice and more flexible withdrawals. We compare the options side by side, and leaving the money where it is stays on the list.
At what age do required minimum distributions start?
Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, required minimum distributions from traditional IRAs and most employer retirement plans currently begin at age 73. That age is scheduled to increase to 75 in 2033 for people born in 1960 or later. Roth IRAs are not subject to required distributions during the original owner's lifetime. These rules have changed several times in recent years, so it is worth confirming your own start date with your tax professional.
How should my investments change once I retire?
The portfolio's job changes from growing to paying you, and it has to do both for a long time. Losses early in retirement do more damage than the same losses later, because you are withdrawing on the way down. So we pay particular attention to how many years of near-term income sit outside of market risk, and we manage allocation, risk, and taxes as one decision rather than three.
Do you work with federal employees?
Yes, all the time. Our office sits between the Fort Meade corridor and the agency campuses around Woodlawn, and FERS annuities, TSP decisions, and early-out offers are everyday work here. We built a separate page for it: retirement planning for Maryland federal employees.
Does Maryland tax retirement income?
Partly. Maryland does not tax Social Security benefits, and it offers a pension exclusion on qualifying retirement income beginning at age 65. IRA withdrawals are treated differently from pension income, and county income tax applies on top of the state rate. The details shift with the law, so we plan around the current rules and confirm specifics with your tax professional.
Do I need to move my accounts to get a retirement plan?
Not necessarily. Many people start with an introductory call to get a second look at one question: a claiming decision, a pension election, or a withdrawal strategy. If it turns into a longer relationship, that is a decision for later. The first conversation commits you to nothing.
How much money do I need to work with Adair & Associates?
We start with a conversation. The introductory call is where we learn what you are trying to solve and tell you honestly whether we are a good fit. If we are not, we will say so.
Related
Let's find out when you can retire
Schedule a short introductory call with Hunter Adair. Bring a target date, bring a question, or bring nothing at all. We will start wherever you are.
Adair & Associates · 2205 Warwick Way, Suite 300, Marriottsville, MD 21104
Important Disclosures
Content last reviewed September 2026.
Adair & Associates and LPL Financial do not provide tax or legal advice or services. This material is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual, nor is it a substitute for specific individualized tax or legal advice. Please consult your qualified tax or legal professional regarding your particular situation.
Traditional IRA account owners should consider the tax implications, age and income restrictions in regard to executing a conversion from a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. The converted amount is generally subject to income taxation in the year of conversion.
Adair & Associates and LPL Financial are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Social Security Administration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, or any other government agency. Benefit rules are subject to change; confirm your eligibility and elections with the relevant agency.
All investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss. Asset allocation does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss. There is no guarantee that a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns or outperform a non-diversified portfolio. Diversification does not protect against market risk.
Life insurance policies are subject to substantial fees and charges, and any guarantees are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Long-term care insurance policies carry costs, exclusions, and limitations that should be reviewed carefully with your professional before purchase.
Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor. Member FINRA & SIPC.
The LPL Financial representative associated with this website may discuss and/or transact securities business only with residents of the following states: CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, MA, MD, NC, NH, NY, PA, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV.