As a fiduciary financial advisor in Palm Harbor, Holland Capital helps you turn your 401(k), IRAs, savings and Social Security into retirement income, decide which accounts should pay you first and manage the investments for the best after-tax result at the level of risk your plan allows.
Retirement is close, or it has already begun.
The house may be paid off or close to it. There is a 401(k) from the last job, perhaps an IRA or two, some savings and a Social Security estimate you have looked at more than once.
You have spent years building the accounts. Now they have to do something different.
They have to pay you.
How much can you take out? Which account should the money come from first? When should Social Security start? What will each choice cost in tax? And how should the investments change now that you are using the money instead of adding to it?
Those are planning questions before they are investment questions, so that is where we begin.
Turning Savings into Retirement Income
A paycheck arrives on its own. Retirement income has to be assembled.
We start with what a normal year costs: the fixed bills, property taxes and insurance on the house, travel, help for family and health care. Then we add what comes in without touching savings, such as Social Security and any pension.
The difference has to come from the accounts.
That number tells us how much the savings need to provide and whether that pace can last. If the plan works comfortably, you can see what else the money can do. If it does not, you can see which decisions make the biggest difference.
Our retirement income planning guide explains the approach, and retirement planning covers the full process.
Which Account Pays You First
By retirement, the money usually sits in accounts that are taxed three different ways. A 401(k) or traditional IRA is taxed as income when money comes out. A Roth account can come out tax-free once the rules are met. A regular brokerage account is taxed on gains and dividends.
The lowest tax bill this year is not always the lowest tax bill over the rest of retirement.
The years after the paycheck stops and before required minimum distributions begin, at 73 or 75 depending on your birth year, can create planning choices. The IRS explains the timing on its required minimum distributions page.
We map the withdrawals year by year against your tax brackets, your Social Security date and the distributions that will eventually be required. There is no single withdrawal order that is right for everyone. Our guide to retirement withdrawal strategy explains how the pieces fit together.
Investing Once the Plan Is Written
Once the income plan is written, the investments have a clear job.
That job goes into a written investment policy statement. It sets out the income the accounts must supply, the swings in value the plan can absorb and how each account is taxed. Every account we manage is then run against that document, aiming for the most you keep after tax for the amount of risk your income plan can live with.
The same investment can have a different tax result depending on whether it sits in a traditional retirement account, a Roth account or a taxable account. Our guide to asset location explains that part of the process.
We start with what you already own. A holding that still fits is kept, and any sale is weighed against the tax it would create. Our investment management then adjusts the accounts as markets move and your spending changes, always measured against the plan.
Working with Holland Capital
Holland Capital Management is an independent registered investment adviser and a fiduciary. M. Chad Holland, CFA, CFP® works directly with clients and is responsible for the planning and advice.
To start, we need little more than recent account statements, your Social Security estimates and a copy of last year’s tax return. If one of you is still working, bring that timeline too. We will show you what the accounts need to provide and which decisions come first.
Your CPA stays involved, and so does your estate attorney if you have one. We coordinate the financial decisions with the work they are already doing.
The first conversation is free. If there is work worth doing after that, we will define the scope and cost before you decide whether to move forward.
Our offices are in Charlotte, North Carolina and Winter Park, Florida. We work with clients in Palm Harbor primarily by video or phone. When an in-person meeting makes sense, we meet by appointment at the Regus center at 34125 US Highway 19 in Palm Harbor.
For clients whose investments we manage, accounts are held directly at Charles Schwab in the client’s own name. Holland Capital manages the investments but does not take custody of client assets. If a client ever needs in-person assistance from Schwab, the closest branch is in Clearwater at 28200 US Highway 19 North.
We work with clients throughout Florida. You can see the other Florida communities we serve here.
Our what we do page explains how a planning engagement works.
RETIREMENT ENGINEERING™
The Order Matters
Five retirement decisions and why timing matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I Leave My 401(k) with My Old Employer After I Retire?
Sometimes. Leaving it can make sense if the plan has low-cost funds you are happy with, or if you left that employer in or after the year you turned 55 and may need withdrawals before 59½. Some plans limit how and when former employees can take money out, so the plan’s rules count too.
The answer depends on the plan’s costs and withdrawal rules, how you want to draw income and what other accounts you have. Our 401(k) rollover guide compares the options. If you roll the account into an IRA we manage, our advisory fee applies, and we tell you that before you decide.
Does the Fiduciary Duty Cover Retirement Income Decisions?
Yes. A fiduciary must act in your best interest in each recommendation. With retirement income, that includes the withdrawal order, the Social Security decision and whether money stays in an employer plan or moves somewhere else, not just how the money is invested.
Holland Capital acts as a fiduciary when providing financial planning and investment advice. If a recommendation would increase what we are paid, we point that out before you act on it.
Do You Work with My Estate Planning Attorney?
Yes. We do not draft wills or trusts, but we work with the attorney who does.
The financial side includes making sure the attorney has accurate information about the accounts and coordinating beneficiary forms and account titles with the estate plan. Legal advice and the estate documents themselves stay with the attorney.
Does My Fiduciary Financial Advisor Need an Office in Palm Harbor?
No. Most planning meetings are by video or phone, with the same statements and figures in front of both of us.
When sitting down together makes sense, we can meet by appointment at the Regus center at 34125 US Highway 19 in Palm Harbor.
Photo: Xrzt / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.
