You will not find much on this website about saving for a first home or opening a college fund. That is deliberate. Most of our clients are past those stages, and we would rather be very good at the questions they are actually facing than adequate at everything.
The stage we are built for
The majority of our clients are fifty-five and older. Some are within a few years of retirement and want to know whether the number works. Some retired recently and are figuring out how to turn a lifetime of saving into a reliable income. Some have been retired for years and want their plan, their taxes, and their estate to be coordinated rather than handled piecemeal.
Within that stage, a few groups come up again and again:
- Federal employees and contractors weighing FERS, TSP, FEHB, and early-out decisions.
- Maryland state, county, and municipal employees with pension and deferred compensation questions.
- Business owners preparing to sell or step back, and wondering what the proceeds should become.
- Long-tenured professionals with a mix of 401(k), IRA, and taxable accounts that have never been looked at as one picture.
- Couples and individuals who have done a good job saving and now want someone to help them spend it well.
The questions that come up at this stage
These are the conversations that fill our calendar. If several of them sound like yours, we are probably a good fit.
- When can I actually retire?Not in theory. With your numbers, your spending, and your goals. We call this your Retire Now Number, and it is usually the first thing a new client wants to know.
- How do I turn what I have saved into a paycheck?Which accounts to draw from, in what order, and how to keep the income steady through good markets and bad.
- When should I take Social Security, and how will it be taxed?The claiming decision and the tax decision belong together.
- How do I keep taxes down for the rest of my life, not just this year?Withdrawal sequencing, Roth conversions, required distributions, and charitable giving. We wrote about the difference between tax planning and tax preparation here.
- What about health coverage before Medicare?If you retire before sixty-five, the gap matters, and it affects your income plan.
- How do I protect what I have built and pass it on well?Beneficiaries, titling, insurance review, and coordination with your estate attorney.
- How do I help my kids or my parents without derailing my own plan?Adult children, aging parents, and grandchildren all show up in retirement plans. We help you decide what you can do without putting your own security at risk.
Why we do not try to be for everyone
Focus makes us better at the work. It also makes the experience better for you. When a firm serves every life stage, its advice and its content get diluted. You end up reading about first-time homebuyer programs when what you need is a required distribution strategy. That mismatch is a small thing, but it is the kind of small thing that makes a client wonder whether they are in the right place.
We would rather you never have that feeling. Everything we publish, every meeting we hold, and every tool we use is pointed at the same decade of life.
If a client of ours is reading about saving for a child's education, something has gone wrong. Nearly all of our clients are well past that point. We want everything they see from us to be about where they actually are.Hunter Adair, Principal
Who we may not be the right fit for
We say this with respect, because the right fit matters more than the size of our client list.
- Early-career savers whose main needs are budgeting, debt payoff, and getting started. There are good options built for that stage, and we are glad to point you to them.
- People looking for a one-time stock pick or a trading relationship. We build and maintain plans. We do not run a trading desk.
- Anyone who wants investments managed in isolation from taxes, estate, and income planning. For us, those pieces cannot be separated.
- Anyone who prefers a fully digital, low-touch experience. We are a conversation-first firm.
What working together looks like
If you are at the stage we serve and the questions above sound familiar, the next step is simple. An introductory call, a conversation about where you are, and a clear answer from us about whether and how we can help. You can read more about each step on our process page.
Key takeaways
- Most of our clients are fifty-five and older, within about ten years of retirement or already retired.
- The questions we answer most often: when you can retire, how to create income, when to claim Social Security, how to manage taxes over a lifetime, and how to protect and pass on what you have built.
- We focus on one stage of life on purpose, so our advice and our content always match where you are.
- If we are not the right fit, we will tell you and point you somewhere useful.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a certain amount of assets to work with you?
We do not lead with an asset minimum. We lead with fit: whether your situation and the stage you are at line up with the work we do best. The introductory call is where we figure that out together, and we will be direct with you either way.
I am in my late forties. Is it too early?
Not if retirement is within roughly ten years. Many of the most valuable decisions, especially around taxes and the timing of income, are easier to make with a decade of runway than with a year.
Do you only work with people in Maryland?
No. Our office is in Marriottsville, Maryland, and many of our clients are in Central Maryland, but we work with clients across the country, in person or by video.
Do you work with federal and state employees?
Yes. Federal employees with FERS, TSP, and FEHB decisions, and Maryland state and county employees with pension and deferred compensation questions, are a regular part of our practice.