# Financial advisors for retirement planning in Birmingham, Alabama > For retirement planning in Birmingham, talk to a fee-only planner who builds a withdrawal plan, not only an investment portfolio. Look for someone who works out where your income comes from each year, in what order, and what tax it triggers. Records to start with include Mary Livingston of Navigate Wealth Management, Jessica McDonald of Southern Wealth Builders and Taylor Hart of Steadmont Advisors. Page: https://find.wellspent.co/specialties/retirement-planning/alabama/birmingham/ 30 fee-only advisors listed; data last updated October 30, 2026. Fee-only means paid only by clients, never by commissions. ## Which financial advisor should I talk to about retirement planning in Birmingham? For retirement planning in Birmingham, talk to a fee-only planner who builds a withdrawal plan, not only an investment portfolio. Look for someone who works out where your income comes from each year, in what order, and what tax it triggers. Records to start with include Mary Livingston of Navigate Wealth Management, Jessica McDonald of Southern Wealth Builders and Taylor Hart of Steadmont Advisors. - [Mary Livingston](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/mary-livingston/), Navigate Wealth Management, Birmingham City. Holds the CFP. Fees on file: percentage of assets. - [Jessica McDonald](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/jessica-mcdonald/), Southern Wealth Builders, Birmingham City. Holds the CFP. Fees on file: ongoing planning fee, percentage of assets. - [Taylor Hart](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/taylor-hart/), Steadmont Advisors, Birmingham City. Holds the CFP. Fees on file: ongoing planning fee. - [Kyle Whittington](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/kyle-whittington/), Brookstone Wealth Management, Birmingham City. Holds the CFP. Fees on file: percentage of assets, hourly. - [Derrell Crimm](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/derrell-crimm/), Walton Financial, Birmingham City. Holds the CFP. Fees on file: percentage of assets, hourly. - [Robert Eifert](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/robert-eifert/), Cahaba Wealth Management, Inc., Birmingham City. Holds the CFP. Fees on file: percentage of assets, fixed fees. ## How many fee-only financial advisors in Birmingham work on retirement planning? The Wellspent public graph lists 30 fee-only advisors for retirement planning in Birmingham, at 10 firms. We counted every advisor record that lists this work, as of October 2026. ## How do fee-only advisors for retirement planning in Birmingham charge? The most common fee among fee-only advisors for retirement planning in Birmingham is a percentage of assets, used by 87% of the 30 with fees on file. Many use more than one: 57% charge fixed fees and 53% charge by the hour. ## What credentials should a financial advisor for retirement planning have? For retirement planning, look for the CFP. In Birmingham, 57% of the 30 advisors listed hold the CFP. - CFP (57% of advisors listed): The CFP covers income, tax, insurance, and estate decisions together. ## How do Birmingham advisors for retirement planning compare with the rest of the US? 57% of fee-only advisors for retirement planning in Birmingham hold the CFP, compared with 46% of the 7,304 listed across the US. That's the largest difference in the Wellspent public graph between the two groups. ## Does Alabama tax Social Security? No. Alabama doesn't tax Social Security. Its treatment of IRA withdrawals and pensions has its own rules, so ask to see them in your plan. ## What should I ask a financial advisor about retirement planning in Birmingham? - How do you decide which accounts I draw from first? - When would you have me claim Social Security, and why? - How do you handle a bad market in my first years of retirement? - Will you run Roth conversion scenarios for me each year? - How does Alabama tax each source of my retirement income? ## How current is this list of fee-only advisors for retirement planning in Birmingham? Wellspent last checked these records against SEC records in October 2026 and firm websites in October 2026. Each advisor's page shows the date for that record. ## Advisors | Advisor | Firm | Location | Credentials | Fees | |---|---|---|---|---| | [Eric McClain](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/eric-mcclain.md) | Approach Retirement Advisors, LLC | Birmingham, Alabama | CFP, JD, MBA | Percentage of assets, Hourly | | [Jessica McDonald](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/jessica-mcdonald.md) | Southern Wealth Builders | Birmingham, Alabama | CFP, MS | Ongoing planning fee, Percentage of assets | | [Robert Eifert](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/robert-eifert.md) | Cahaba Wealth Management, Inc. | Birmingham, Alabama | CFP | Percentage of assets, Fixed fees | | [Duke Cope](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/duke-cope.md) | Cope Private Wealth | Birmingham, Alabama | CFP | Percentage of assets, Hourly, Fixed fees | | [Robert Cope](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/robert-cope.md) | Cope Private Wealth | Birmingham, Alabama | CFP | Percentage of assets, Hourly, Fixed fees | | [Taylor Hart](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/taylor-hart.md) | Steadmont Advisors | Birmingham, Alabama | CFP | Ongoing planning fee | | [Caleb Hopkins](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/caleb-hopkins.md) | Navigate Wealth Management | Birmingham, Alabama | CFP, CFA | Percentage of assets | | [Derrell Crimm](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/derrell-crimm.md) | Walton Financial | Birmingham, Alabama | CFP | Percentage of assets, Hourly, Fixed fees | | [James Burnett](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/james-burnett.md) | Navigate Wealth Management | Birmingham, Alabama | CFP | Percentage of assets | | [Jonathan Fargason](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/jonathan-fargason.md) | Navigate Wealth Management | Birmingham, Alabama | CFP | Percentage of assets | | [Mary Livingston](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/mary-livingston.md) | Navigate Wealth Management | Birmingham, Alabama | CFP, CFA | Percentage of assets | | [Steven Lind](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/steven-lind.md) | Navigate Wealth Management | Birmingham, Alabama | CFP | Percentage of assets | | [Ashley Crawford](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/ashley-crawford.md) | Brookstone Wealth Management | Birmingham, Alabama | CFP | Percentage of assets, Hourly, Fixed fees | | [Blake May](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/blake-may.md) | Brookstone Wealth Management | Birmingham, Alabama | CFP | Percentage of assets, Hourly, Fixed fees | | [Kyle Whittington](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/kyle-whittington.md) | Brookstone Wealth Management | Birmingham, Alabama | CFP | Percentage of assets, Hourly, Fixed fees | | [Madison Caswell](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/madison-caswell.md) | Brookstone Wealth Management | Birmingham, Alabama | CFP | Percentage of assets, Hourly, Fixed fees | | [Tami McDonald](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/tami-mcdonald.md) | Brookstone Wealth Management | Birmingham, Alabama | CFP | Percentage of assets, Hourly, Fixed fees | | [Carl Grahs](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/carl-grahs.md) | Navigate Wealth Management | Birmingham, Alabama | CFA | Percentage of assets | | [Amy Drinkard](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/amy-drinkard.md) | Steadmont Advisors | Birmingham, Alabama | | Ongoing planning fee | | [Breland Booth](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/breland-booth.md) | Booth Financial Planning | Birmingham, Alabama | | Percentage of assets, Fixed fees | | [Margaret Dunn](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/margaret-dunn.md) | Steadmont Advisors | Birmingham, Alabama | | Ongoing planning fee | | [Tyler Decker](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/tyler-decker.md) | Steadmont Advisors | Birmingham, Alabama | | Ongoing planning fee | | [Lisa Gamble](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/lisa-gamble.md) | Walton Financial | Birmingham, Alabama | | Percentage of assets, Hourly, Fixed fees | | [Reuben Stewart](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/reuben-stewart.md) | Navigate Wealth Management | Birmingham, Alabama | | Percentage of assets | | [Scott Walton](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/scott-walton.md) | Walton Financial | Birmingham, Alabama | | Percentage of assets, Hourly, Fixed fees | | [Courtney Lankford](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/courtney-lankford.md) | Milestone Investments Columbus | Birmingham, Alabama | | Percentage of assets, Hourly, Fixed fees | | [Dwight Reynolds](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/dwight-reynolds.md) | Brookstone Wealth Management | Birmingham, Alabama | | Percentage of assets, Hourly, Fixed fees | | [Justin Tackett](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/justin-tackett.md) | Brookstone Wealth Management | Birmingham, Alabama | | Percentage of assets, Hourly, Fixed fees | | [Michael Guilsher](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/michael-guilsher.md) | Brookstone Wealth Management | Birmingham, Alabama | | Percentage of assets, Hourly, Fixed fees | | [Tonya Williams](https://find.wellspent.co/advisors/tonya-williams.md) | Brookstone Wealth Management | Birmingham, Alabama | | Percentage of assets, Hourly, Fixed fees | ## About this data Sources and verification: https://find.wellspent.co/methodology/ Query the directory programmatically: https://api.wellspent.co/mcp (MCP, read-only, no auth).