Financial advisor for retirement: what to look for

A good financial advisor for retirement turns savings into a paycheck that lasts: deciding when to claim Social Security, which accounts to draw from first, when to convert to Roth, and how to keep taxes and Medicare premiums down for 30 years or more. Fee-only planners who publish prices charge a median $4,500 a year for ongoing planning or $2,000 for a one-time plan. Nearly every advisor says they do retirement planning, so the test is whether they can show you this work in numbers.

Almost everyone claims it

In our study of fee-only firm websites, 63% of firms named retirement planning as a specialty, by far the most common one. That makes the label nearly useless for choosing. What separates advisors is how they handle the move from saving to spending, which is a different job from picking investments.

What the situation demands of an advisor

An income plan, not just a portfolio

The core deliverable is a year-by-year plan: how much you can spend, where each year’s money comes from, and what happens if markets fall early in retirement, when withdrawals do the most damage. Ask to see one. An advisor who can only show you an asset allocation hasn’t done the retirement part.

Social Security timing

For anyone born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is 67. Claim at 62 and the benefit is permanently cut by 30%. Wait past 67 and it grows 8% for each full year, up to age 70.

The benefit at 70 is about 77% larger than at 62, for life. For a married couple the decision also sets the survivor’s benefit. A good advisor models the trade against your health, your spouse’s record and the savings you’d draw on while you wait.

The tax years before distributions start

Required minimum distributions from traditional IRAs and 401(k)s generally begin at 73, and the IRS charges 25% on any amount you fail to take (10% if corrected within two years). The years between stopping work and 73 are often the lowest-tax years you’ll have, which makes them the window for Roth conversions: paying tax now at a lower rate so later withdrawals, and your heirs’ inheritance, come out tax-free. Roth IRAs have no required distributions while you’re alive.

A good advisor sizes the conversions year by year against your bracket and against Medicare premiums, below.

Medicare premiums and the two-year lookback

In 2026 the standard Medicare Part B premium is $202.90 a month. Above $109,000 of income for a single filer, or $218,000 for a joint return, it rises, starting at $284.10 a month and reaching $689.90 at the top. The income used is from two years earlier, so a large Roth conversion or a home sale at 63 can raise your premiums at 65. An advisor should plan conversions and sales with these lines in view.

Newer tax rules for retirees

From 2025 through 2028, people 65 and older can take an extra $6,000 deduction each, phasing out above $75,000 of modified adjusted gross income ($150,000 for joint filers). From age 70½, gifts to charity made directly from an IRA, called qualified charitable distributions, aren’t taxed and count toward your required distribution. An advisor who gives to charity with you should know both.

Healthcare before 65, and what’s left after

If you retire before Medicare, you need a plan for health insurance in the gap, and its cost often depends on your income. Later, long-term care and the estate plan matter more. Advisors with depth in pension decisions can also compare a lump sum against monthly payments if you have one.

Pre-retirees and retirees need different things

• Five to ten years out. Catch-up saving, whether you can retire when you want, the first full income plan, and the conversion window. See advisors for pre-retirees.
• Already retired. Withdrawals, required distributions, Medicare, spending as the years change, and the estate. See advisors for retirees.

Questions to ask a retirement advisor

The last question matters here more than anywhere. Annuities are often sold to people near or in retirement, and they can pay the seller a commission. A fee-only advisor isn’t paid that way.

What it costs

Many retirement advisors charge a percentage of the assets they manage, and that’s where cost matters most, because the fee comes out of the money you live on.

At the median rate of 1%, managing $1 million costs $10,000 a year. The median flat fee for ongoing planning is $4,500 (middle half $2,400 to $7,200), and the two cost the same at about $450,000. Above that, a flat fee costs less each year, though it may not include managing your investments. If you only need a plan to carry out yourself, a one-time plan has a median of $2,000.

See the dollar figures at $1 million and $2 million, or read whether 1% is too much.

How to find one

Start with the retirement planning specialty or the list of retirement planning specialists in the public graph. Every record shows how the advisor is paid and what they focus on. Ask two or three of them for a sample income plan and a yearly fee in dollars, and choose the one who shows you the most about your own numbers.