When should I hire a financial planner before retiring?
By Seth Deal, CPA/PFS ·
If you’re a Washington public employee with a pension, one to three years before your retirement date is the sweet spot. That’s early enough to change the things that can still be changed, like your date and your savings, and close enough that your pension numbers are real. Waiting until you’ve filed your retirement application means the biggest decisions are already made.
Why one to three years
The decisions that matter most in a public-sector retirement come with deadlines, and most of them land in the final year.
DRS recommends requesting your official benefit estimate 3 to 12 months before you retire, and filing your application at least 30 days ahead. On that application you choose your survivor option. DRS says that choice becomes final once retirement begins, with only a few exceptions.
If you’ll keep PEBB retiree coverage, you have 60 days after your employer coverage ends to enroll or defer. Miss it and you lose the right to enroll, unless you later return to a benefits-eligible job.
And if you’re close to 65, Medicare’s sign-up window opens three months before your 65th birthday month and lasts seven months.
None of that is hard on its own. The trouble is that each choice affects the others, and they all arrive at once.
What starting earlier gives you
With a year or more of lead time, you can compare retirement dates side by side instead of guessing. You can see how your pension, DCP, Social Security and taxes fit together before you commit. And you have time to adjust your savings, your spending and your health coverage plan while you’re still getting a paycheck.
You also get an honest answer to "one more year?" before you’re tempted to work it just to feel safe.
When it’s not too late
If you’re already inside a year, or even a few months, a plan is still worth doing. The survivor option, PEBB enrollment, your withdrawal order and your tax picture are all still open until you’ve acted on them.
And if you’re more than three years out, that’s fine too. A shorter conversation now can set your direction, with the full plan closer to the date.
How I work with people at this stage
I work with Washington public employees in the last one to three years before retirement. I’m a CPA and fee-only fiduciary, and before I was an advisor I was a public employee myself.
A One-Time Plan starts at $3,000, and once your documents are in, you’ll have your plan in about a month. If you’d like help through the transition and after, the Ongoing Plan is a flat fee, quoted up front, starting at $6,500 a year.
The first step is a free 45-minute Retirement Clarity Assessment on Zoom. We’ll look at where you are on the timeline and what needs to happen first.