A common financial goal is to afford a comfortable retirement – but that takes planning. Retirement planning includes taking advantage of your saving and investing opportunities through the years, estimating your expenses in retirement and preparing to have enough money to cover those costs for your lifetime. It’s also important to have a well-planned withdrawal strategy, choosing the best, most tax-efficient way to access and spend your retirement savings. Tapping your assets in the right way, at the right time, will help you get the most out of them.

When you approach retirement, you may have questions about the money you’ve saved: Will it be enough? Will it afford you all the opportunities you hope to have, such as traveling and spending time with loved ones? After spending decades saving for retirement, you may even feel a little uneasy when it comes time to start withdrawing and living off that money.

There are many methods for withdrawing retirement savings and there isn’t a single approach that’s right for everyone. In fact, it’s usually a good idea to use a combination of them.

Retirement may start in the later stages of life, but the dreams of retirement start much sooner. By identifying and addressing retirement needs early on, you can increase your chances of realizing those dreams. Planning for both the accumulation and withdrawal stages of retirement requires consistency, discipline and careful consideration of tax implications. Together we can develop a plan that works for your unique situation so you can feel good about the future and enjoy the rewards of your hard work.