As a fiduciary financial advisor in Titusville, Holland Capital helps you choose the year you retire and see what that year means for Social Security, health coverage, taxes, and the income your savings have to produce. Then we manage the investments to that plan.
You know retirement is close.
What you do not know yet is whether close means 62, 65, 67, or another year entirely.
You have saved for it. You know roughly what is in the 401(k), IRA, and other accounts. You can see the Social Security estimate. Maybe there is a pension too.
But none of those numbers answers the question you actually have.
When can I retire?
Not when you hope to retire. Not when people your age usually retire. The year when your own numbers say the paycheck can stop and the rest of the plan still works.
That is where we start. We compare the years you are considering, show what changes with each one, and choose a retirement date the rest of the plan can be built around.
What Changes If You Retire One Year Earlier?
More than one number.
Work another year, and you add another year of pay and savings. If you have a pension, the benefit may change. Your investments have another year before they have to support you.
Retire a year earlier, and those pieces move in the other direction.
Then there is Social Security. Claim at 62, and the monthly check is permanently smaller. Wait past full retirement age, and it grows each year until 70. If you are married, the choice also sets what the surviving spouse receives.
We show what each claiming age would mean for your household in Social Security timing.
Retiring and claiming Social Security do not have to happen together. You may be able to stop working and use savings for a period while Social Security continues to grow. Or claiming sooner may be the better plan, so the savings carry less in those early years.
That is why we test actual years.
If 62 works, you should be able to see why. If it does not, you should be able to see what changes at 63, 64, or 65 and whether another year of work is worth what it buys you.
Our retirement planning work is built around that decision.
If You Want to Leave Before 65
Retiring before 65 creates another question immediately.
What replaces your health coverage?
Some employers offer retiree coverage. Many do not. COBRA can continue your work plan for a limited time, often at a high cost. A marketplace plan is another option, and the help with its premium depends on your income that year.
That connects health coverage to decisions that might otherwise look separate.
A large IRA withdrawal, a sale with a big gain, or a Roth conversion in those years can raise your income and shrink the premium credit. The account you use to pay the bills can therefore change what health coverage costs you.
So we do not just drop a health insurance estimate into the plan and move on.
We look at what you need to spend, which account provides the money, what that does to your income, and how the pieces change when you move the retirement date.
Where Does the Paycheck Come From After Work Stops?
Choosing the year answers when the paycheck ends.
The next question is what replaces it.
Social Security may cover part of your spending. A pension may cover another part. The rest has to come from the savings you built while you were working.
The account you use changes the tax bill. Every dollar out of an IRA or 401(k) counts as income. Selling in a brokerage account counts only the profit. Qualified Roth withdrawals do not count at all.
Drawing from those accounts in the right order, year by year, can lower what you pay over the whole of retirement, not just this year. That work is laid out in retirement income planning.
The final working years are part of the same plan. Catch-up contributions after 50, the mortgage payoff date, and any pension election all shape what the first retirement paycheck looks like.
By the time you choose the retirement year, you should know more than the date.
You should know what replaces your paycheck and where that money comes from.
The Investments Have to Support the Date
Once the retirement year and income plan are set, we know what the portfolio has to do.
We put those requirements into a written investment policy statement. It records what the savings need to provide, how much risk the plan allows, and how each account is taxed.
The portfolio is then managed to that policy for the best after-tax result for the risk the plan allows.
We start with the investments you already own. If something already fits the policy and is doing the job it needs to do, there is no reason to replace it because we are now managing the portfolio.
Our investment management keeps the investments tied to the plan as retirement gets closer and after the retirement date arrives.
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 get started, bring your latest account statements, your Social Security estimate, and a pension estimate if you have one. We look at the years you are considering and tell you what each would mean.
If a CPA prepares your return, they stay involved and get a copy of the withdrawal plan before tax season.
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 Titusville primarily by video or phone. When an in-person meeting makes sense, we meet by appointment at the Alliance meeting center at 1980 North Atlantic Avenue in Cocoa Beach, about 25 to 30 minutes from Titusville.
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 Winter Park at 633 North Orlando Avenue.
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
How Do I Know What Year I Can Actually Retire?
We test the years you are considering with your own savings, spending, Social Security, pension if you have one, taxes, and health coverage.
The useful answer is not simply that you have enough money. You should be able to see what changes if you retire at 62 instead of 65, or 65 instead of 67, and what each choice asks your savings to provide.
What Happens If I Retire Before My Full Retirement Age?
You can still claim Social Security as early as 62, but the monthly benefit is permanently reduced. For anyone born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is 67, and claiming at 62 pays about 30 percent less each month.
If you claim before full retirement age and keep working, part of the benefit can be withheld when your earnings pass an annual limit. Retiring early and claiming early are separate decisions, and the plan looks at each.
How Does a Fiduciary Financial Advisor Help Me Choose a Retirement Date?
We put the choices in front of you using your own numbers. Holland Capital acts as a fiduciary when providing financial planning and investment advice, including advice about retirement timing and the investments that support the plan.
Moving a retirement account under our management increases what we are paid. When our advice points that way, you hear it from us before anything moves.
Does My Fiduciary Financial Advisor Need to Be Located in Titusville?
No. Choosing a retirement year is planning work. Most of that work is done by video or phone while we look at the same projections, accounts, and choices together.
When a face-to-face meeting makes sense, we can meet by appointment at the Alliance meeting center at 1980 North Atlantic Avenue in Cocoa Beach, about 25 to 30 minutes from Titusville.
Photo: DaSpader / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped.
