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RETIREMENT PLANNING

You've spent years building your wealth.

Now it needs to support the life you've been building it for.

Retirement changes the financial equation. The focus begins to shift from earning and accumulating to creating income, managing taxes, investing thoughtfully, and making your resources last.

We help bring those decisions together into a retirement strategy designed around your life and not simply a retirement date.

Schedule a Conversation → Explore Retirement Planning ↓
THE RETIREMENT QUESTION
01
“

Do I have enough, and how do I turn what I've saved into a retirement that works?

FOR YEARS
Build
Earn  •  Save  •  Invest
→
IN RETIREMENT
Live
Income  •  Spend  •  Preserve

Retirement planning is the bridge between the wealth you've accumulated and the life you want that wealth to support.

A RETIREMENT STRATEGY BRINGS TOGETHER
Income Investments Taxes Healthcare Legacy
THE RETIREMENT SHIFT

Retirement changes the financial equation.

For most of your working life, income arrives before you decide what to do with it.

Retirement reverses that relationship. Your savings and investments increasingly become the source of the income you rely on.

That makes decisions about withdrawals, taxes, investments, Social Security, healthcare, and spending more connected than they may have been before.

01 YOUR WORKING YEARS
Accumulation

Your paycheck supports your lifestyle while a portion of what you earn is directed toward the future.

PRIMARY SOURCE
Paycheck
↓
01 Lifestyle Spending today
02 Savings Building reserves
03 Investments Building wealth
THE OBJECTIVE Build resources for the future.
THE SHIFT
02 RETIREMENT
Distribution

The resources you've accumulated now need to work together to help support the lifestyle you've planned for.

Social Security
Pension
Retirement Accounts
Investments
↓
COORDINATED
Retirement Income
THE OBJECTIVE Turn resources into sustainable income.
WHAT CHANGES

Your money has more jobs to do.

01
Create income

Help replace the paycheck that used to arrive automatically.

02
Fund your lifestyle

Support spending today while planning for the years ahead.

03
Manage taxes

Consider which accounts to use, when to use them, and the tax impact.

04
Stay invested

Balance the need for current income with the need for long-term growth.

05
Prepare for the unexpected

Maintain flexibility for markets, healthcare, family needs, and change.

06
Support what comes next

Keep your longer-term family and legacy priorities part of the strategy.

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The goal isn't simply to accumulate enough for retirement. It's to create a strategy for using what you've accumulated.

YOUR RETIREMENT INCOME SYSTEM

One retirement. Multiple sources of income.

Retirement income rarely comes from just one place.

Social Security, pensions, retirement accounts, investments, and cash may all play a role. The challenge is deciding how those resources should work together.

A coordinated income strategy helps determine what to use, when to use it, and how today's decisions may affect the years ahead.

01 YOUR RESOURCES
01
Social Security Timing & claiming strategy
→
02
Pension / PERS Lifetime income & elections
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03
Retirement Accounts IRA • 401(k) • 403(b) • 457
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04
Taxable Investments Brokerage & investment accounts
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05
Cash & Other Resources Reserves • savings • other income
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BRING IT TOGETHER
02 THE STRATEGY
COORDINATED RETIREMENT INCOME

Your retirement paycheck.

A strategy for turning multiple resources into the income you need while considering taxes, investment risk, future needs, and the longevity of your assets.

Determine How much?
→
Decide From where?
→
Coordinate When?
RETIREMENT INCOME PBWM
DESIGNED TO SUPPORT
Your Life
Today Lifestyle
Tomorrow Longevity
Along the way Flexibility
BALANCING THE SYSTEM

Income is only part of the equation.

01
TODAY Support your lifestyle

Create a reliable framework for regular spending, larger purchases, travel, and the life you want to enjoy now.

02
TOMORROW Keep planning for later

Your strategy still needs to account for inflation, longevity, future healthcare needs, and decades of potential retirement.

03
ALONG THE WAY Manage taxes & flexibility

The accounts you draw from, and the order in which you use them can influence taxes and the resources available later.

Retirement income isn't simply about withdrawing money.

It's about coordinating the resources you've built so they can support the retirement you're living.
THE DECISIONS ARE CONNECTED

One decision can change more than one outcome.

Retirement decisions don't happen in isolation.

When you claim Social Security, where you take income from, how you invest, and how much taxable income you create can influence other parts of your retirement.

The value of planning is not simply making each decision. It's understanding how those decisions work together.

01 THE RETIREMENT DECISION MAP
01
INCOME Social Security

When should benefits begin?

02
DISTRIBUTIONS Withdrawals

Which accounts should fund spending?

03
PORTFOLIO Investments

How much risk and liquidity make sense?

→
→
→
COORDINATED
Retirement Strategy

Income • Taxes
Investments • Life

←
←
←
04
TAXES Tax Strategy

What income are you creating along the way?

05
HEALTHCARE Medicare & Health Costs

How do healthcare costs fit into the plan?

06
FUTURE RMDs & Legacy

What happens to the assets you don't use?

07
THE CONSTANT Your Life & Priorities
SEE THE CONNECTION

A withdrawal is rarely just a withdrawal.

Consider what can happen when retirement income is taken from a tax-deferred account.

01
YOU NEED INCOME Take a distribution
→
02
THAT DISTRIBUTION May create taxable income
→
03
MORE INCOME Can affect other planning decisions
→
04
SO WE ASK Is there a better way to fund it?
QUESTIONS WORTH ASKING

Not just “Can I?”

01

When should I claim Social Security?

02

Which account should I withdraw from first?

03

Are there years when a Roth conversion may make sense?

04

How much should remain invested for long-term growth?

05

How could today's income decisions affect future taxes or Medicare costs?

06

What do I want my remaining wealth to accomplish for my family?

THE BIGGER PICTURE

The best answer for one decision may depend on the others.

That's why retirement planning works best when the decisions are considered together.
SEQUENCE OF RETURNS

Same returns. Different order.

Once withdrawals begin, the order in which investment returns occur can matter just as much as the returns themselves.

The illustration below starts each retiree with the same portfolio, the same annual withdrawals, and the same set of hypothetical investment returns. The only difference is the order in which those returns occur.

Starting Portfolio $1,000,000
Annual Withdrawal $50,000
Investment Returns Same Returns
What Changes? Their Order
PATH A

Favorable returns arrive early.

EARLY GAINS
Starting Portfolio $1,000,000
YEAR 1 +18%
After $50,000 withdrawal $1,130,000
YEAR 2 +12%
After $50,000 withdrawal $1,215,600
YEAR 3 +10%
After $50,000 withdrawal $1,287,160
YEAR 5 PORTFOLIO
After five annual withdrawals $1,370,541
YEAR 10 PORTFOLIO
After ten annual withdrawals $1,327,841
AFTER YEAR 20 $321,088 remains in the portfolio
PATH B

Unfavorable returns arrive early.

EARLY LOSSES
Starting Portfolio $1,000,000
YEAR 1 -18%
After $50,000 withdrawal $770,000
YEAR 2 -12%
After $50,000 withdrawal $627,600
YEAR 3 -10%
After $50,000 withdrawal $514,840
YEAR 5 PORTFOLIO
After five annual withdrawals $348,234
YEAR 10 PORTFOLIO
After ten annual withdrawals $58,644
DURING YEAR 12 Portfolio Depleted despite experiencing the same set of returns
SAME START
SAME WITHDRAWALS
SAME RETURNS
DIFFERENT OUTCOME
01

Early losses can have an outsized effect once withdrawals begin.

When portfolio declines and withdrawals happen at the same time, more of the remaining portfolio may be needed to fund spending. That can leave fewer assets invested when markets eventually recover.

Illustrative example only. Assumes a $1,000,000 starting portfolio and a $50,000 withdrawal at the end of each year. The two examples use the same hypothetical annual returns in reverse order. This illustration does not reflect fees, taxes, inflation, or the performance of any specific investment. It is not intended to project or predict actual investment results.
RETIREMENT IN MOTION

Retirement isn't one financial plan.

A retirement strategy may need to support you through decades of change.

Spending evolves. Markets move. Tax rules change. Healthcare becomes more important. Family circumstances shift. And what you want your wealth to accomplish may look different later than it does today.

Retirement planning is an ongoing process of revisiting those changes and determining whether the strategy should change with them.

01 A RETIREMENT THAT EVOLVES
01
EARLY RETIREMENT

Establish

Transition from your paycheck to your retirement income system and begin putting the strategy into practice.

FOCUS Income • Spending • Portfolio
02
AS RETIREMENT UNFOLDS

Reassess

Compare the plan with the retirement you're actually living and make adjustments as circumstances change.

FOCUS Taxes • Markets • Lifestyle
03
LATER RETIREMENT

Coordinate

Required distributions, healthcare decisions, and changing income needs can introduce a different set of planning considerations.

FOCUS RMDs • Healthcare • Taxes
04
LOOKING AHEAD

Transition

As priorities evolve, planning increasingly considers how wealth may support a spouse, family, charitable goals, or the next generation.

FOCUS Family • Estate • Legacy
WHAT CAN CHANGE

The plan moves because your life moves.

Some changes are expected. Others aren't. Both can affect the decisions that make sense for your retirement.

01
LIFESTYLE Spending

Travel, housing, family support, and everyday expenses can look different over time.

02
INVESTMENTS Markets

Market conditions can change portfolio values, withdrawal decisions, and near-term priorities.

03
PLANNING ENVIRONMENT Taxes

Tax laws, income levels, and required distributions can create new planning considerations.

04
WELL-BEING Healthcare

Insurance, Medicare, care needs, and health-related expenses may become more important with age.

05
PEOPLE Family

Children, grandchildren, a spouse, or aging family members can change your priorities.

06
PURPOSE Legacy

As retirement progresses, what you want your remaining wealth to accomplish may become clearer.

ONGOING RETIREMENT PLANNING

The strategy isn't set and forgotten.

We revisit the retirement picture over time; looking at what's changed, what hasn't, and whether the strategy still reflects the life you're living.

01
SEE WHAT'S CHANGED Review
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02
REVISIT THE PLAN Reassess
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03
RESPOND THOUGHTFULLY Adjust
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04
KEEP MOVING FORWARD Continue
02
A DIFFERENT KIND OF RETIREMENT QUESTION

At the beginning, the question may be:

“Can I retire?”
→

Over time, the question becomes:

“Does my strategy still fit the retirement I'm living?”
THROUGH RETIREMENT

A good retirement strategy has room to evolve.

Because retirement isn't one decision at one point in time. It's a series of decisions across the life you've worked to build.
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

Retirement works better when the pieces work together.

Retirement planning isn't about finding one perfect investment, withdrawal rate, or retirement date.

It's about coordinating the decisions that affect your income, investments, taxes, healthcare, family, and future so they support the same direction.

01 HOW WE HELP
01
SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE

Organize

Bring together your retirement resources, income sources, spending needs, investments, and other important pieces of your financial life.

02
CREATE THE STRATEGY

Build

Develop an approach for generating income, managing investments, and making retirement decisions around your circumstances and priorities.

03
CONNECT THE DECISIONS

Coordinate

Consider how withdrawals, taxes, Social Security, healthcare, investments, and legacy decisions interact with one another.

04
KEEP THE PLAN CURRENT

Adapt

Revisit the strategy as markets, spending, tax rules, family circumstances, and your priorities change over time.

YOUR RETIREMENT STRATEGY
01 Income
02 Investments
03 Taxes
04 Healthcare
05 Legacy
START A CONVERSATION

You don't need to have retirement figured out.

That's what the planning process is for.

Whether retirement is several years away, right around the corner, or already underway, we can start by looking at where you are and the decisions in front of you.

Schedule a Conversation →
No pressure. Just a conversation about where you are, what's ahead, and what you'd like retirement to look like.
PAULSEN BELDING WEALTH MANAGEMENT

You've spent years building toward retirement. Let's help make the transition as thoughtful as the years that came before it.

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