Financial Planning as You Approach Retirement

Retire on Your Terms

For years, retirement was something in the distance, a number you were working toward and a date you didn't have to think about too hard. Then, somewhere along the way, it stopped feeling abstract. The finish line you'd been saving toward is now close enough to see, and the question changes with it. It's no longer whether you're saving enough. It's whether what you've built will actually carry you through.

That question deserves a real answer, not a rule of thumb. The years just before retirement are when decisions carry the most weight, because there's less time to recover from a misstep and more that's finally within reach. Understanding where you truly stand, what's solid, what's still uncertain, and whether the retirement you picture is the one your plan supports, matters far more now than it did a decade ago.

At SJS, this is one of the most important conversations we have with clients. We help you see clearly where you stand today, make the adjustments that can still be made, and move toward retirement with a plan you can trust rather than a hope you're carrying. Whether retirement is five years away or fifteen, the right time to find out is now.

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Common Questions

  • Who understands me and my financial goals?

  • Have I saved enough money to retire?

  • Can I afford to leave an inheritance for my children and grandchildren?

  • How can I prepare for the future and still enjoy life today?

  • How can I reduce my taxes?

  • What will my retirement look like?

How We Help

  • Our goal is to provide the analysis and strategies that help you make good financial decisions now and in the future. At SJS, we can help you:

    • Create an action plan to optimize all areas of your wealth

    • Build a cash flow plan balancing income sources and expenses

    • Incorporate goals like travel and philanthropy into your financial planning

    • Account for the tax impact of retirement accounts’ transactions

    • Make decisions about Social Security timing and Medicare options

    • Review your insurance needs and make recommendations through a licensed insurance agent, particularly for life insurance coverage

    • Cash flow management

    • Charitable giving

    • Financial planning

    • Investment management

    • Lifestyle and retirement goals

    • Risk management

    • Social Security analysis

    • Tax and estate coordination

    • Tax optimization

  • Our local financial advisors take the time to learn what matters most to you, then craft and implement a customized financial plan that grows, protects, and preserves your wealth. We coordinate seamlessly with your other trusted professionals—accountants, attorneys, insurance agents—to ensure every piece of your financial life works together. We also will conduct progress check-ins as needed to answer any questions and help keep your financial goals on the right track.

  • We provide a secure and personal MySJS online portal with 24/7 access for tracking goals, account balances, investment progress, financial statements, and tax documents.

  • We are a fee-based investment advisor. We monitor and disclose any fees to you.

    We charge a fee based on assets under management that is paid directly by you, our client. Your investment management fee is calculated as a percentage of the market value of all assets in your account(s) on the last day of trading of each calendar quarter. 

    For unique investment practices, special reporting requirements or extraordinary advisory services, special fees will be negotiated on a client-by-client basis. 

    Investments (such as mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs)) contained in your portfolio typically bear separate and additional expense ratios, disclosed by the prospectus and offering documents.

  • We work with a variety of individuals and families, helping them through life’s transitions, preserve and grow their wealth, and achieve their goals.

    Download the following service sheets to see how we can help you specifically:

We strive to free you from the burden of worrying about your finances so you can stay focused on the people and experiences you care about most.

The Goal Isn't a Number. It's Confidence.

It's natural to think of retirement as a number. Reach it, and you're ready; fall short, and you're not. But a number alone can't tell you whether you can actually retire, because retirement isn't a single moment you arrive at. It's two or three decades of living on what you've built, through markets, tax changes, and a life none of us can fully predict.

That's why the real goal at this stage isn't just a figure on a statement. It's a plan that has been tested against the things that could go wrong, and that can adapt as your life changes. Confidence doesn't come from the size of the balance. It comes from knowing the plan holds up under pressure and knowing what you would do if something shifted.

That is what we work to give you: not a promise that nothing will go wrong, but the confidence of having looked honestly at what could, and of walking into retirement ready for it. For many of our clients, that clarity is the difference between dreading the decision and finally feeling free to make it.

Readiness Isn't a Feeling. It's Something You Can Measure.

  • Pinning down what the retirement you actually want will cost, year after year, once the paychecks stop.

  • Measuring the gap, if there is one, between what you've saved and what your retirement will require, while there's still time to close it.

  • Pressure-testing whether you can retire when you hope to, and what would change if you went a year or two earlier or later.

  • Shifting a portfolio built to grow toward one that can also provide income, without overcorrecting into too much caution.

  • Weighing Social Security timing, pension choices, and how you'll cover health care before Medicare, most of them easier to get right with lead time.

  • We build a detailed picture of where you stand, test it against a long and unpredictable retirement, and show you honestly whether you're on track, ahead, or with work still to do.

  • From there, the work gets practical. We help you make the adjustments still on the table, fine-tuning how much you save, rethinking your target date, or positioning your portfolio for the shift ahead. And as retirement nears, we help you turn what you've built into the income you'll live on, the work of retirement income planning.

Schedule a Discovery Meeting

After decades of saving, you deserve to know where you actually stand. A conversation with SJS is the simplest way to find out, an honest look at whether you’re ready, what’s working, and what’s worth adjusting while there’s still time.

Call (800) 434-4406, fill out the form below or visit our Contact page for more information.