Why Your Current Advisor Can’t Help You Retire (And What You Need Instead)

You’ve been working with the same financial advisor for years. They’ve done a great job helping you accumulate wealth—your 401(k) has grown, your portfolio looks solid, and you’re finally approaching that magic retirement number.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth I need to share with you: the advisor who helped you build your nest egg may not be equipped to help you live off it.

I know that sounds harsh. I’m not saying your current advisor is a bad person or even bad at their job. What I’m saying is that accumulation and distribution are two completely different games—and most advisors only know how to play one.

The Accumulation vs. Distribution Problem

Let me explain what I mean. For the last 20, 30, maybe even 40 years, your financial strategy has been pretty straightforward: make money, save money, invest money, and watch it grow. Your advisor’s job was to help you maximize returns, rebalance your portfolio, and keep you invested through market ups and downs.

That’s accumulation planning, and frankly, it’s the easier part.

Distribution planning—actually living off your money in retirement—is an entirely different challenge. It requires professional knowledge in areas that most accumulation-focused advisors simply may not have studied deeply:

• Income planning strategies beyond the outdated 4% rule
• Tax optimization specific to retirees (RMDs, Roth conversions, Social Security taxation)
• Medicare and healthcare planning including IRMAA brackets
• Sequence of returns risk and how to help protect against early retirement market crashes
• Legacy planning that goes beyond basic beneficiary designations

Here in Greenville, Spartanburg, and Anderson, I see this disconnect play out constantly. Hard-working folks from major Upstate employers come into our offices with substantial savings—often well over $500,000—but without a comprehensive plan for how to turn those assets into reliable retirement income.

The Real-World Consequences

Let me share a story about a couple I’ll call Tom and Sarah. They came to see us at our Greenville office after working with a well-known brokerage firm for over 15 years. Tom had just retired at 62, and they had accumulated about $850,000 between his 401(k), their IRAs, and some taxable accounts.

Their previous advisor had them in a pretty standard allocation: 60% stocks, 40% bonds. Not terrible, but here’s what was missing:

No income strategy. Their advisor told them to “just take 4% per year” which would have been $34,000 annually. Combined with Social Security, they’d have about $68,000 per year—barely enough to cover their essential expenses of $72,000.

No tax planning. They were positioned to take every dollar from their IRAs, which meant every withdrawal would be fully taxable. Nobody had discussed Roth conversions, qualified charitable distributions, or strategic withdrawal sequencing.

No protection against sequence risk. If the market dropped 20% in their first year of retirement (which, as we’ve seen with recent market volatility, absolutely can happen), they’d be forced to sell investments at a loss just to meet their income needs.

No healthcare bridge. Tom retired at 62, but Medicare doesn’t start until 65. Their advisor hadn’t helped them plan for those three expensive years of private health insurance that can easily cost $2,000+ per month here in South Carolina.

What Retirement-Focused Planning Actually Looks Like

1. Income Planning

When we sat down with Tom and Sarah, we didn’t just look at their investments. We built what we call the Common Sense Retirement Roadmap—a comprehensive plan addressing five critical areas:

We started by separating their needs into two buckets: essentials, what they need to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads, and lifestyle, what they would like to enjoy retirement (travel, hobbies, etc.). Then we built a Retirement Income Generator (RIG) using multiple strategies:

• Optimized the Social Security claiming strategy (this could mean delaying one spouse’s social security claim for more income later or it could mean taking it early to pay down debt or dozens of other possibilities)
• Reposition some assets to provide stable income not directly tied to the ups and downs of the market
• Keep strategic growth investments for long-term wealth building

2. Investment Strategy

Rather than a one-size-fits-all allocation, we work to match investments to specific time horizons:

• Years 1-5: Low-volatility, income-focused assets
• Years 6-10: Moderate growth with some protection
• Years 11+: Growth investments for legacy and healthcare contingencies

This bucketing strategy means you are less likely to be forced to sell stocks in a down market to meet expenses.

Part of this is working to match the risk in portfolios to clients own personal risk tolerance.  When those two things don’t match is when we see some of the most common investment mistakes made.

3. Tax Optimization

We project income over the next 20 to 30 years and identify potential problems.  Often, starting at age 73 or 75, required minimum distributions (RMDs) would push folks into a significantly higher tax bracket, which can cost tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands in unnecessary taxes over people’s lifetime.

Often, these taxes can be mitigated.  Sometimes that’s through strategic Roth conversions, or through life insurance, or through charitable giving strategies,  

4. Healthcare & Asset Protection

It is also important to evaluate Medicare supplement plans versus Medicare Advantage when you turn 65. We also address long-term care planning—a critical issue for many as it can often cost $5,000/mo or more if it is needed.

Rather than traditional “use it or lose it” long-term care insurance, there are now many options that help offset the cost of LTC without losing your investment if you don’t use it.

5. Legacy Planning

We connect clients with the estate planning attorney here in Greenville who works exclusively with our firm to create wills, trusts, Powers of Attorney, and other key legal documents to help preserve wealth, protect privacy, and ensure your assets go to who you want, when you want, in a tax efficient manner.

The BMW, Michelin, and Prizma and Other Upstate Employers Challenge

If you work or worked at one of our area’s major employers, you face unique challenges that require professional knowledge:

Pension decisions: Should you take the lump sum or monthly pension? The answer depends on your health, your spouse’s age, interest rates, and tax considerations—not just a rate-of-return calculation.

Company stock: Many BMW and Michelin employees have concentrated positions in their employer’s stock. Diversifying this requires understanding net unrealized appreciation (NUA) strategies that most advisors may not have implemented.

Timing: Manufacturing work is physically demanding. Many of our clients from these companies want to retire earlier than the traditional 65—which means bridging healthcare costs and making every dollar work harder.

I’ve worked with hundreds of retirees from these companies over my decade-plus with Common Sense Retirement Planning, and I can tell you: a cookie-cutter approach doesn’t cut it.

The Bottom Line: For a Retirement Plan An Experienced Professional Matters

Think about it this way: if you needed heart surgery, you wouldn’t go to a general practitioner. You’d see a cardiologist. The same principle applies to retirement planning.

Your accumulation-focused advisor served you well during your working years. But retirement requires a professional —someone who works exclusively with retirees and understands the unique challenges of the distribution phase.

Here’s what they should provide:

• Comprehensive income planning that goes beyond portfolio withdrawals
• Proactive tax strategies designed specifically for retirees
• Risk management that helps protect against sequence of returns risk
• Healthcare planning including Medicare optimization and long-term care
• Legacy planning that efficiently transfers wealth to the next generation

At Common Sense Retirement Planning, this is all we do. We don’t work with 30-year-olds trying to save for their first house. We don’t manage corporate 401(k) plans. We focus exclusively on helping people in their 50s, 60s, and 70s transition from accumulation to distribution—from building wealth to living off it.

Your Next Step for a Personalized Financial Plan

If you’re approaching retirement or recently retired and you’re not confident your current advisor can guide you through this next phase, I’d encourage you to get a second opinion.

Come visit us at one of our offices in Greenville, Spartanburg, or Anderson. We’ll review your situation at no cost and with no obligation. We’ll show you what a comprehensive retirement roadmap looks like and help you identify any gaps in your current plan.

You’ve spent decades building your nest egg. Don’t trust it to someone who may not have the experience necessary to help manage it.

References

1. Internal Revenue Service. (2024). “Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distributions FAQs.”
2. Genworth Financial. (2024). “Cost of Care Survey.”
3. Social Security Administration. (2024). “Delayed Retirement Credits.”

Securities and advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through Madison Avenue Securities LLC, member FINRA/SIPC and a Registered Investment Advisor. MAS and Phillip Allen Inc. or Common Sense Retirement Planning are not affiliated entities.

The information and opinions contained herein provided by third parties have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed by Common Sense Retirement Planning.

A Roth IRA conversion is a taxable event. Our Firm does not offer legal or tax advice. Consult with your legal or tax advisor regarding your situation.

Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. Any references to protection, safety or lifetime income, generally refer to fixed insurance products, never securities or investments.

The examples above are hypothetical in nature and intended for illustrative purposes only. Your results will vary. Past performance does not ensure future performance or results.