Retirement Income Planning Built Around Your Life

Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) generally begin at age 73 for most retirement-account owners under the SECURE 2.0 Act (current as of 2026), rising to age 75 for individuals born in 1960 or later. According to the IRS open_in_new , an account owner who fails to take the full RMD by the due date may face an excise tax of 25% of the amount not withdrawn — reduced to 10% if the shortfall is corrected within two years. Coordinating RMD timing with the rest of your income may help align withdrawals with tax-bracket considerations.

We work alongside CPAs and tax professionals to review your assets and identify approaches that may help reduce your tax exposure — both now and in the years ahead. From tax efficient considerations to thoughtful withdrawal sequencing, we help you explore strategies designed to support keeping more of what you've earned.

For 2026, the IRS open_in_new has set the federal estate and gift tax exemption at $15 million per individual ($30 million for a married couple, with proper portability election), with a top federal estate tax rate of 40% on amounts above the exemption. For most California families, state-level considerations also matter: under California Probate Code §13100 open_in_new , an estate's gross personal property must generally exceed $208,850 before formal probate is required, and Assembly Bill 2016 (effective April 1, 2025) created a separate $750,000 threshold for the decedent's primary residence.

A legacy strategy is about more than paperwork — it's about helping make sure the people and causes you care about are considered when you're no longer here. We help you think through approaches to pass assets to heirs, support charitable organizations, or develop a business succession plan, and we work alongside your estate attorney so your retirement strategy and estate plan stay coordinated.

Annuities are long-term contracts issued by insurance companies, regulated at the state level. According to the NAIC Buyer's Guide for Deferred Annuities open_in_new , a fixed annuity offers a guaranteed minimum interest rate set by the insurer; a fixed indexed annuity earns interest based in part on changes in a market index, with a minimum interest rate that is typically guaranteed to never go below zero; and a variable annuity earns returns based on the performance of subaccount investments and may lose value. Each product type carries different fees, surrender charges, and features.

As an independent insurance professional, Jim has access to a wide range of carriers and products, which means your strategy can be built around your needs, not limited by what one company offers. Whether you're exploring lifetime income features, legacy protection, or long-term care planning, we'll help you evaluate options that may fit your situation. Annuity guarantees are subject to the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company; product features vary by carrier and state.

If you have a defined benefit pension, the form of your payout is rarely a small decision. Under ERISA, as amended by the Retirement Equity Act of 1984, the default form of benefit for a married participant in most defined benefit plans is a Qualified Joint and Survivor Annuity (QJSA) — a life annuity paying the participant during their lifetime, with a survivor annuity for the spouse equal to between 50% and 100% of that amount. Electing any other form of benefit generally requires written, witnessed spousal consent. (Source: IRS open_in_new )

We review your workplace benefits in detail — pension payout options, beneficiary designations, and how they may interact with Social Security and your other assets — so the pieces work together toward a more stable, comfortable retirement.