You Don’t Have to Do This Alone Anymore
You’ve been the one in charge of the money for 40 years. The 401(k), the IRAs, the taxes, the decisions. You’ve done it well. But you don’t want to keep doing it forever, and you don’t want your spouse to have to figure it out if something happens to you. What you want now is a financial advisor for retirement planning who knows your full picture, picks up the phone when you call, and stays with you for the rest of your life.
What a Financial Advisor for Retirement Planning Does at Focus Planning Group
Full-service retirement planning at Focus Planning Group is an ongoing relationship in which a fiduciary financial advisor manages your investments at Charles Schwab, runs your retirement income strategy, coordinates your annual tax planning, and updates your financial plan as your life changes. The relationship is built to last 25 years or more.
We’ve been doing this for over 25 years from our office in Bayport, New York, and we serve clients virtually across the United States. Most of the people we work with have been with us for over a decade.
Our approach is built on three things:
A Quieter Way to Live with a Financial Advisor in Retirement
Retirement is supposed to be the time when worry goes down, not up. For most of the people we meet, it’s the opposite. The questions get bigger. The mistakes get more expensive. There’s no employer, no HR department, no payroll service handling things for you anymore. It’s just you and your spouse, making decisions that will shape the next 25 years.
We take that off your plate.
When you work with us, you don’t have to keep up with tax law changes, Social Security rules, RMD deadlines, Medicare windows, or what the market did this week. You don’t have to wonder if you’re pulling from the right account, claiming Social Security at the right time, or leaving money on the table at tax season. We watch all of it. You live your life.
If something comes up, you call. We pick up.
What We Manage for You
Full-service clients of Focus Planning Group receive ongoing management of the following:
If something off this list happens: a home sale, an inheritance, a health event, a family member who needs financial help, a new car purchase or lease, you call us first. We think it through with you before you act.
The Questions We Answer Together
These are the most common questions full-service clients ask us, and the ones we work through with them every year:
“When can I start taking money out of my retirement accounts, and how much?”
“Should I delay Social Security or claim it now?”
“How do Roth conversions and RMDs fit into my tax plan?”
“Should I own bonds in retirement?”
“Should I look to harvest my capital gains or do a Roth Conversion?”
“Can we afford to help our daughter with a down payment?”
“We just sold the house. What do we do with the cash?”
“How do I make sure my spouse is okay if something happens to me?”
“Are we going to be okay?”
How the Relationship Works
Step 1:
Schedule a Complimentary Intro Call
We begin with a brief 15-minute conversation to understand your goals and determine if this model aligns with your needs. There’s no prep or pressure, just clarity on next steps.
Step 2:
The Focus on Retirement Blueprint (First 90 Days)
The Focus on Retirement Blueprint is the four-part system we use to organize every client’s full financial picture. We work through it together over the first 90 days:
1. Rough-Cut Meeting (60 minutes). Statement of Financial Purpose, Balance Sheet, and your Retirement Budget.
2. The Projects (30-minute meetings). Retirement Income, Tax Distribution Planning, Social Security Timing, Investment Planning, Estate Planning, and Insurance Consulting. One topic per meeting.
3. Account Setup (approx. 5-7 Business Days). Rollovers and transfers to Charles Schwab if you decide to consolidate.
4. One-Page Financial Plan (60 minutes). Every important number and decision on a single sheet.
Step 3:
Ongoing Management
Once your plan is built, we run it. Your investments are managed at Schwab. We meet at least once a year for a full plan review, with quarterly check-ins as standard. We coordinate with your CPA at tax time. We adjust the plan as life changes.
You don’t have to schedule anything. You don’t have to remember anything. We run the calendar.
Step 4:
A Relationship That Lasts
The Blueprint isn’t a one-time project. The four parts are what keep your retirement running year after year. Tax planning every year, Social Security as the rules change, estate reviews, investment rebalancing, and a phone you can pick up whenever something happens.
Most of our clients have been with us for over a decade. Many have introduced their adult children to us. A few have introduced their grandchildren.
A Story From Our Practice
Tom and Linda came to us 18 months before Tom’s retirement. Tom had managed their money for 40 years and done well: a healthy 401(k), a few IRAs, a brokerage account, and an inherited IRA from Linda’s mother. Linda trusted him, but she had never been deeply involved in the details.
What brought them in wasn’t a crisis. It was a quiet realization. Tom was 64. He looked at Linda one night and said, “If something happens to me, you’d have to figure all of this out on your own.”
That was the conversation that brought them to us, looking for a financial advisor for retirement planning who would care for both of them, not just the one who’d been handling the money.
We worked through the Blueprint together over their first 90 days. We built a withdrawal strategy that pulled from the right accounts in the right order, mapped out a five-year Roth conversion window before RMDs hit, claimed Linda’s Social Security on the right schedule, consolidated their accounts at Schwab, and built a one-page plan they both understood.
That was eight years ago. Linda is now as comfortable on our quarterly calls as Tom is. They sold the house in 2024, and we walked them through the tax planning. Tom went back to consulting part-time for two years, and we adjusted the income plan. When Linda’s mother passed away, we handled the paperwork for the inherited IRA.
They don’t lie awake at night anymore. That’s the point.
Who Full-Service Planning Is For
It’s probably not the right fit if you only want help with a single question, or if you’d rather pay by the hour and stay fully hands-on. For that, we offer hourly and flat-fee planning.
Full-Service vs. Hourly Planning: Which One Fits
|
Full-Service
|
HOURLY | Flat Fee
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
Relationship |
Ongoing, multi-decade |
One-time or as needed |
|
Investment Management |
Yes, at Schwab |
No, you manage your own |
|
Fee Structure |
1% annually, scales down |
$300/hour or $3,750 flat |
|
Asset Minimum |
$500,000 |
None |
|
Tax Planning |
Annual, ongoing |
One-time review |
|
Best For |
Retirees who want a fiduciary running the financial side |
DIY investors who want an expert second opinion |
|
Includes Blueprint System |
Yes, as an ongoing system |
Yes, as a one-time project ($3,750) |
What Our Clients Say
Why Clients Choose Focus Planning Group
For over 25 years, we’ve helped clients simplify their financial decisions and approach retirement with confidence. Our philosophy is what we call Elegant Simplicity, which helps you see the big picture clearly and make informed decisions without unnecessary complexity.
As a fiduciary, our only goal is to help you make the best possible choices for your future and your family’s.
You’ll get professional advice that’s accessible, practical, and rooted in decades of experience. You’ll also get a person who knows your name, your spouse’s name, and the names of the things that matter most to you.
Book Your Free Intro Call to See if We’re a Good Fit!
In just 15 minutes, we’ll assess your specific situation and determine if it’s the right fit. It’s completely complimentary.
This is a no pressure call where you don’t need to prepare. It’s for folks who wants clear direction and answers to their retirement questions. Fill out the form and book a time that works for you.