Your retirement plan shouldn't feel like a second job. We build a simple, easy-to-follow roadmap so you can have confidence in your retirement.
What it costs to find out
Nothing.
If you are a good fit for the firm, the retirement roadmap is built on your real numbers and walked through at the second meeting. No cost, nothing to sign, and no decision owed at the end.
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01
First meeting
45 min, freeWe confirm the fit, then get clear on your goals and the financial picture around them. Nothing to sign, no decision required.
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02
The analysis
We build a detailed analysis of your current financial picture, then put together the observations and opportunities we find in it.
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03
Your retirement roadmap
We walk through the planning observations and opportunities, and what working together would look like.
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04
Mull it over
Nobody should rush this. Take the roadmap home, answer four questions for yourself, then reply by email or book a short call:
- Do I feel comfortable working with Jacob and Styra?
- Will the benefits exceed the cost?
- Do I understand and agree with the investment philosophy?
- Do the planning opportunities make sense to me?
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05
Sign and begin
We begin to implement the plan to achieve your financial goals.
What we cover
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Retirement income
What your savings support each year, and which account funds it.
- Multi-year income projections
- Spending guardrails
- Withdrawal sequencing
- Sequence-of-returns testing
- Pension and lump-sum decisions
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Tax planning
Projections run during the year, while there is still time to change the outcome.
- Multi-year tax projections
- Roth conversion sizing
- Bracket management
- Tax-loss and gain harvesting
- Charitable giving strategy
- Coordination with your CPA
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Investment management
A low-cost, diversified portfolio built to be spent from rather than to beat anything.
- Portfolio design and implementation
- Asset location across account types
- Tax-aware rebalancing
- A bond reserve against forced selling
- Unwinding concentrated company stock
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Social Security optimization
When to claim, decided against your other income rather than a break-even chart.
- Claiming-age analysis
- Spousal and survivor benefits
- Taxation of benefits
- Coordination with withdrawals and conversions
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Insurance and risk management
What could derail the plan, and what is worth insuring against. Styra sells no insurance of any kind.
- Long-term care planning
- Existing policy review
- Health coverage before Medicare
- Medicare enrollment timing
- Property and liability review
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Estate planning
Making sure what you have goes where you want it to, with as little friction as possible.
- Beneficiary designations
- Account titling and ownership
- Trust funding review
- Coordination with your attorney
- Gifting and legacy goals
The ongoing work
Onboarding ends and the relationship starts. Two scheduled meetings anchor the year, one at midyear and one before year-end.
Mid-year review
- Whether your monthly income still holds, and whether anything moved enough to change it
- Refilling your cash reservoir, so your income keeps coming even when the market drops
- A look at this year's taxes while there is still time to fix what is being withheld
- A check on your investments, and anything that has drifted out of line
- Anything that changed at home, at work, or in what you want out of the next few years
Year-end planning
- What you will owe this year, and the moves that still fit before December 31
- Whether to move money out of your IRA and into a Roth while your bracket is low
- Withdrawals the IRS requires once you reach the age, and which account they come from
- Selling investments at a loss, or at a gain, on purpose to lower the bill
- Giving to charity in whichever way costs you the least
Tax season
- If we also prepare your return, we walk through it together in the spring
- What drove the result, in plain English
- What your estimates and withholding should look like from here
- What carries into next year
- Prior-year IRA and HSA contributions, while they can still be made
Whenever something comes up
- An inheritance or a windfall
- A market drop you want a read on
- A job change, a move, or a decision at home
- Anything you want a second opinion on before you act
- Reach out when it happens. We work through it then, instead of waiting for whatever meeting is next on the calendar
Common questions
What does it cost?
Ongoing engagements carry a minimum fee of $6,000 a year, billed monthly. Once the asset-based fee exceeds that minimum, it transitions to a percentage of assets under management, starting at 1.00% and stepping down on a blended schedule as the balance grows. Tax preparation is a separate engagement. The full schedule is in the Form ADV, and we will give you the number that applies to your situation during the first meeting.
I already have a CPA. Can I still work with you?
Yes, and we will not try to replace them. Planning and tax preparation are separate engagements. You keep your CPA, Styra handles the planning and the investments, and we work with them directly on anything that changes the return: a Roth conversion, a harvest, a large distribution. When an accountant refers a client to us, the tax work stays with them.
What does a CPA add to a financial plan?
The plan gets built off your return rather than around it. Jacob is both a CPA and a CFP® professional, and he spent six years preparing individual, partnership, and S corporation returns before founding Styra. A Roth conversion, a portfolio sale, or a charitable gift gets modeled against the bracket it will actually land in, during the year, while there is still time to act on it.
Do you prepare tax returns?
For some clients, as a separate engagement and a separate fee. It is an option rather than part of the planning relationship. If you already have an accountant, keep them. If you do not, we can talk about whether preparing your return here makes sense, or introduce you to someone we trust.
What type of people do you work with?
People who are retired or getting close to it, typically five years or less, with at least $500,000 saved. Who we serve covers this in full.
Do I need to be local to work with you?
No. We work with clients across the country. All meetings are virtual unless you are local to Phoenix and prefer to meet in person.
Are you a fiduciary, fee-only advisor?
Yes. We are a fiduciary at all times, and Styra is a fee-only firm. No commissions and no product sales.