Retirement projections
We model when you can realistically retire, including early retirement, so you can make work optional on your terms.
When can you retire, and how do you make it last?
One plan that connects your timeline, income, withdrawals, and pensions, so you know exactly when you can retire and that it will last.
Schedule Your Strategy Session
Free intro call.
What is retirement planning?
Retirement planning is the process of mapping when you can stop working, how much you can safely spend, and how to turn savings into income that lasts for life. A complete plan coordinates your timeline, withdrawals, taxes, Social Security, and pensions into one strategy, not separate decisions.
Retirement isn't a single decision. It's a hundred of them, and they all connect. When can you stop working? How much can you safely spend? Which accounts do you draw from first? A real retirement plan answers those questions together, not one at a time.
If you’re asking
- Can I afford to retire when I want to, or do I need to keep working?
- How much can I spend each year without running out?
- Which accounts should I draw from first?
- Should I take my pension as a lump sum or monthly income?
How I help
What retirement planning includes.
Retirement spending plan
A sustainable spending strategy that tells you what you can actually spend, with confidence, year after year.
Portfolio withdrawals
A tax-smart withdrawal order across your accounts, so you keep more of what you've saved.
Pension elections
Clear guidance on lump sum versus monthly income, and single versus joint, before the decision becomes permanent.
Flat-fee planning vs. the traditional AUM model
| Traditional AUM advisor | Your Path Fi | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay | 1% or more of assets, every year | One flat annual fee |
| As your portfolio grows | Your fee rises automatically | Your fee stays the same |
| What gets prioritized | Assets under management | Your written plan |
| Investments used | Often high-cost and active | Low-cost index funds |
How I approach it
Your plan is holistic by design. Your spending talks to your taxes. Your withdrawals talk to your Social Security timing. Nothing is decided in isolation, because in retirement, nothing happens in isolation.
Why it matters
The first five years of retirement matter more than any that follow. Draw down too fast into a falling market, or in the wrong tax order, and small early mistakes compound into large, permanent ones. A plan is what protects you from a bad first chapter.
The numbers that matter.
The first 5 years
of retirement carry outsized sequence-of-returns risk to a portfolio.
Source: Retirement-income research (Pfau, Kitces)
73
the age required minimum distributions now begin, a key planning milestone.
Source: IRS, SECURE 2.0 Act (2022)
Frequently asked questions.
- How early should I start planning?
- Most of the people I work with are 2 to 5 years from retirement. That window is when the highest-leverage decisions get made, so the earlier in it we start, the more options you have.
- Do I need a certain amount saved to work with you?
- There is no asset minimum. Because the fee is flat, the question is whether ongoing planning makes sense for your situation, not how big your portfolio is.
- What if I've already retired? Is it too late?
- Not at all. Many people come in after retiring. We optimize from where you are, your income, your withdrawals, and your taxes, instead of starting from a blank page.
- How is this different from a traditional advisor?
- Most advisors lead with investments and charge a percentage of them. I lead with the plan, charge one flat fee, and build the investments to serve the plan, not the other way around.
Written by Ryan Langan, CFP®
Founder of Your Path Fi, a fee-only fiduciary firm. Last reviewed May 2026.
It all connects.
None of this lives in isolation. Here’s what tends to come up alongside it.
Let’s talk about your retirement planning.
Schedule Your Strategy Session
Free intro call.