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I’ve been a CPA since 1981, and I’ve watched plenty of disciplined people build real retirement savings on their own. Saving was the first job. The next one is different.
Between your mid-50s and 70, you’ll make a handful of decisions you can’t take back. Claim Social Security at 62 instead of 67, and your check is about 30% smaller for life. Even your retirement date is less in your control than it feels: in EBRI’s 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey, nearly half of retirees said they left work earlier than they’d planned.
With $100,000 or more saved or invested, a second look from a fiduciary is worth your time. A fiduciary is an advisor legally required to act in your best interest. Here’s why.
Short on time? See which fiduciary advisors match your situation (for people with $100,000 or more saved or invested)
1. The decisions you can’t undo deserve a second opinion
Some retirement choices lock in for life. Sell a fund too soon, and you can buy it back. Claim Social Security too early, and you can’t.
With a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 62 cuts your benefit by about 30%. Each year you wait past 67 adds about 8%, up to age 70. Pension payout choices, 401(k) rollovers and your retirement date work the same way.
SEC staff have said an adviser recommending a rollover should weigh leaving your money in your employer’s plan. That’s the check a fiduciary runs before you sign. The choice stays yours.
2. A bad market early in retirement hurts more. Plan for it before it happens.
The same market drop costs more once you’re withdrawing. Nobody knows when the next bad year will come. But a decline in your first few years of retirement can do more lasting damage than the same decline later. You’re selling investments to cover living costs while prices are down, so there’s less left to recover.
Planners call this sequence-of-returns risk. Handling it means deciding how much risk to keep as your paycheck stops, how much cash to hold and how much your spending can flex in a down year. A fiduciary helps you decide that now, so the decisions aren’t made in a panic. No one can promise you’ll avoid a downturn. A plan means you know what you’ll do if one comes.
Get a second look before your first withdrawal. Advisor.com matches you with fiduciary financial advisors based on your goals and situation. It’s built for people with $100,000 or more saved or invested, and you decide whether to meet anyone.
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3. Which account you draw from first changes your tax bill
Withdrawal order decides how much of each dollar goes to taxes. Pull too much from pre-tax accounts in one year, and you can land in a higher bracket. Wait too long, and required minimum distributions, which start at 73 under current IRS rules, can force bigger taxable withdrawals later.
As a CPA, this is where I’ve seen many avoidable mistakes. Withdrawal order, Roth conversions and your Social Security age all affect each other. A fiduciary looks at them together, not one year at a time.
Want someone to look at all your accounts together? Find My Fiduciary Advisor
4. A fiduciary has to put your interests first, and you can check
Not every financial advisor is a fiduciary. Registered investment advisers owe clients a duty of care, meaning advice in the client’s best interest. They also owe a duty of loyalty, meaning they must eliminate or fully disclose conflicts of interest.
Ask any advisor three questions:
- Are you a fiduciary at all times, for all my accounts?
- How are you paid?
- Will you put both answers in writing?
Then look them up for free at adviserinfo.sec.gov, the SEC’s database, which shows registration and any disciplinary history. Advisor.com only refers people to fiduciary advisors, but checking is a good habit with anyone who handles your money.
5. Someone your spouse can call
Your plan should still work if you’re not the one running it. In many households, one person handles the money. If something happened to you tomorrow, would your spouse know where every account is, what the plan is and who to call?
An advisor who already knows your accounts and goals gives your family that answer. A planning meeting is also a natural time for both of you to see the full picture at once.
Is this for you?
- You have $100,000 or more saved or invested.
- You’re within about 10 years of retiring, or recently retired.
- You’ve managed it yourself and want a second look before the big decisions.
Find a fiduciary who fits your situation
Find My Fiduciary Advisor
- Matches you only with fiduciary advisors, legally required to act in your best interest
The Bottom Line
You’ve done the hard part. Now comes a stretch of decisions that set your income for life, and several can’t be reversed. Claiming Social Security at the wrong age alone can mean a check about 30% smaller, permanently.
People who handle this stretch well decide before they have to. They know their claiming age, their withdrawal order and their plan for a down market before the first withdrawal. A fiduciary’s second look is a straightforward way to get there. It takes about 10 minutes and a conversation, and every decision stays yours.
For people with $100,000 or more saved or invested.
Find My Fiduciary Advisor
This article is for general information and isn’t individual investment, tax or legal advice.
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