Retirement Planning
Definition
Retirement Planning Strategies for a Confident Exit
Retirement planning isn’t just about saving — it’s about structuring your income, assets, and decisions so that they continue working long after you stop. At Prolific, we design retirement strategies for professionals whose financial lives are anything but simple.
Whether you’re planning to step away in 5 years or just getting serious about the future, our retirement planning strategies are built to help you exit on your own terms — without stress, surprises, or regrets.
A confident retirement doesn’t start at 65. It starts with a roadmap.
Challenger
Why Retirement Planning Looks Different for High Earners?
Retirement Isn’t Just a Number — it’s a multi-layered strategy
Most retirement advice is built for the average household. But if you’re earning more, saving more, and managing multiple income sources — you need more than a generic savings target and a 401(k).
High earners face a unique set of planning challenges:
- Income that continues to grow late in career
- Deferred compensation or irregular bonus structures
- Business ownership or equity tied to exit
- A higher tax burden in both saving and spending phases
- Greater pressure to preserve lifestyle and legacy
That’s Why Strategy Matters
A strong retirement plan doesn’t just answer “how much do I need?”
It maps out:
- Where your income will come from
- When you’ll draw from each source
- How to reduce taxes on withdrawals
- What to adjust as goals evolve
Our retirement planning strategies are built to help you stay both on target and with proper guardrails to account for the ebbs and flows of life.
Who We Help?
Retirement Planning for Professionals With More to Navigate
If your financial picture goes beyond a single paycheck and a traditional 401(k), retirement planning isn’t a simple checklist — it’s a strategic exercise and arguably one of the most important in your overarching financial picture.
We work with individuals and families whose income, assets, and obligations call for more than just a savings goal.
Physicians & Healthcare Professionals
Whether employed or practice-owning, physicians often face compressed saving timelines, late career income spikes, and complex tax profiles. We help design a retirement plan that supports a smooth transition.
Executives With Deferred Compensation or Stock Options
When your income includes bonuses, equity, or performance-based incentives, traditional planning models fall short. We help you coordinate timing and tax exposure to preserve more of what you’ve earned.
Business & Practice Owners
Your business might be your largest asset — and your eventual exit plan. We structure retirement strategies that align with your equity timeline, payout structure, and lifestyle goals.
Dual-Income Households With Complex Benefits
Spouses with differing benefit packages, retirement ages, or savings patterns often need a unified plan that respects both priorities.
Whether you’re 10 years out or already thinking about the transition, our retirement planning strategies meet you where you are — and help you plan where you’re going.
Retirement Planning
What Our Retirement Planning Covers?
Our approach goes beyond savings targets and risk tolerance questionnaires. We build retirement planning strategies that connect your present career and future trajectory to your lifestyle goals — and align every decision in between.
Retirement Account Design & Contribution Planning
We help you select and optimize the right accounts for your income type and career stage — including Solo 401(k)s, SEP IRAs, defined benefit plans, and backdoor Roth strategies. This isn’t just about saving more. It’s about saving smarter.
Withdrawal Sequencing & Income Timing
Knowing when and how to draw from taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free accounts is one of the most important — and most overlooked — parts of retirement planning.
We help you create a plan that extends your portfolio’s longevity and reduces tax drag.
Investment Allocation by Timeline
Your investment strategy should reflect your career lifecycle and retirement phase, not just your risk tolerance. We align your allocation with real timelines: what you’ll need now, what can wait, and what can grow.
Retirement Income Planning
From Social Security and pensions to rental income or business sale proceeds, we help you map every future income stream and structure it for predictability.
Exit Planning for Business & Practice Owners
If your exit involves selling a business or transitioning out of a practice, we help you plan for valuation, income replacement, and capital gains strategy — long before you hand over the keys.
Retirement Planning
Planning Early vs. Planning Late
The Best Time to Plan for Retirement? Before You Think You Need To.
Whether you’re 15 years away or just starting to think seriously about stepping back, the right retirement strategy starts with one thing: a clear roadmap.
If You’re Planning Early (10–15+ Years Out):
You have options — and flexibility. We help you:
- Maximize tax-advantaged contributions
- Adjust investment strategies as income grows
- Take advantage of catch-up rules and long-term compounding
- Align retirement with business growth, education funding, and lifestyle goals
If You’re Planning Later (5–10 Years Out or Less):
Time is tighter, but strategy matters even more.
We focus on:
- Withdrawal sequencing to reduce tax erosion
- Smoothing the transition from active income to portfolio income
- Minimizing risks in business exit timing or lump sum events
- Reassessing your lifestyle targets with precision
It’s never “too early” or “too late” — it’s only too easy to do nothing. Our retirement planning strategies are built to meet you where you are.
Retirement Planning
What Good Retirement Planning Helps You Avoid?
Even successful professionals can run into trouble during retirement — not because of poor decisions, but because of no strategy at all.
Here are some of the most common mistakes we help our clients avoid:
Relying Too Heavily on One Asset
Many professionals treat their business or home as their retirement plan. That works—until it doesn’t. We help ensure your wealth is diversified and accessible when you need it.
Withdrawing in the Wrong Order
Pulling from the wrong accounts at the wrong time can lead to unnecessary taxes, penalties, and reduced portfolio longevity. We create a plan that draws strategically, not reactively.
Misjudging Retirement Lifestyle Costs
Without detailed planning, it’s easy to underestimate future healthcare, travel, or family expenses. We help build a realistic projection so you don’t outlive your income.
Waiting Too Long to Start
The later you start, the fewer levers you have to pull. We help clients take action today, even small steps, so they’re not stuck rushing later.
Ignoring the Exit From a Practice or Business
Your practice isn’t just something to leave behind; it’s part of your financial future. We help structure exits that turn business equity into sustainable income.
Retirement planning strategies aren’t about perfection, they’re about prevention. We help make sure your best years don’t come with financial surprises.
Our Process
Retirement planning doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Our process is designed to deliver clarity, not more complexity and to move at a pace that fits your life.
Here’s how it works:
Discovery & Goal Setting
We start with a focused conversation to understand where you are and where you want to go. We look at your income, lifestyle, career trajectory, existing retirement accounts, and any business equity or investment assets that could impact the path ahead.
Strategy Mapping
Using what we learn, we simulate outcomes and design a custom retirement planning strategy aligned with your age, risk profile, savings capacity, and vision for the future. This includes account structure, contribution pacing, withdrawal projections, and timelines.
Plan Delivery & Coordination
We walk through your full plan in plain language and coordinate with any existing specialists — CPAs, estate attorneys, pension actuaries, etc. — to ensure every piece is working together.
Ongoing Reviews & Adjustments
Retirement planning isn’t one and done. We revisit the strategy as life changes — salary increases, business sales, health shifts, or just new goals. We’re here to keep the plan moving, year after year.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
There’s no one-size-fits-all number. It depends on your expected lifestyle, income sources, and when you want to retire. We build a personalized target and savings plan based on your actual goals, not rule of thumb estimates.
There isn’t a single “best” plan — but a blended approach like Solo 401(k)s, defined benefit plans, SEP plans, etc often work well. We help you layer the right strategies based on your income type and timeline.
The earlier, the better — but it’s never too late. If you’re within 5–10 years of retiring, it’s critical to review your asset mix, withdrawal strategy, and income timeline now.
Yes. Saving i.e. accumulation is only part of the equation — you also need a plan for how to access your money efficiently (distribution and decumulation), in the right order, and with minimal tax impact.
Absolutely. We frequently coordinate with other professionals to ensure your retirement plan is integrated across taxes, investments, and estate goals.
Why Choose Prolific?
We don’t use retirement calculators and call it a day. At Prolific, we create personalized strategies that fit the complexity of your career, your finances, and your life goals.
CFP®-Led Guidance
Every retirement planning strategy is led by a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ — not an algorithm, not a product salesperson. You get real expertise, every step of the way.
Designed for Professionals With Complex Income
We specialize in working with people who don’t just have a paycheck — they have business equity, deferred comp, 1099 income, or layered assets. Your plan reflects that.
Coordination Across All Parts of Your Financial Life
We ensure your retirement strategy is in sync with your tax plan, investment portfolio, insurance and risk management mix, and — when needed — your estate plan.
Time-Efficient, Long-Term Support
We know your time is limited. That’s why our process is structured, focused, and built to keep momentum going — without dragging you into unnecessary details.
Fiduciary. Always.
We act in your best interest. No commissions. No hidden agendas. Just smart planning for what matters most: your future.
Plan the Retirement You Actually Want
It’s Not About When You Retire — It’s About How Prepared You Are
Whether you’re years away or approaching the transition, the right strategy makes all the difference. A clear retirement plan gives you more than peace of mind — it gives you control.
Let’s make sure every step is carefully calculated and in lockstep with your overarching financial roadmap.