The Safe Harbor
RETIREMENT SYSTEM™
A structured, seven-step approach to the decisions that matter most in retirement.
Most people have retirement goals. Far fewer have a retirement system.
Over the years, I’ve met with countless people who did everything they were told to do. They paid off their mortgage, contributed faithfully to their retirement accounts, invested consistently, and built substantial savings. Yet when retirement finally arrived, many were left wondering, “Now what?”
The challenge wasn’t that they lacked discipline or financial knowledge.
The challenge was that they never had a clear process for turning their savings into a successful retirement.
Get retirement Planning Guidance
build a forward-looking retirement tax
map and test different scenarios before decisions are made.
Author James Clear said it well:
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
That philosophy is exactly why I created The Safe Harbor Retirement System™
Rather than focusing on isolated financial decisions, we guide clients through a proven 7-Step Retirement System designed to help bring every aspect of retirement into alignment—from understanding your spending needs and maintaining an adequate emergency reserve, to optimizing Social Security, minimizing taxes, creating sustainable retirement income, reviewing your investment strategy, and ensuring your estate plan is in order.
Each step builds on the one before it. By following the process in the right order, you gain clarity, confidence, and a retirement plan designed to work in harmony.
When someone sits down with me, we’re not simply talking about investments. We’re working through a system. And if I can’t tell you which step you’re on, then our work isn’t finished.”
Safe Harbor’s guiding principal:
“The client’s best interest is the only interest to be considered.”
Led by advisor Chad White | EA, CIMA®, AIF®
Step 1 — Monthly Spending Analysis
What will retirement actually cost you?
Something you can do while you’re still working. You can run an accurate monthly spending number, To figure out what retirement actually costs month to month. Everything else in retirement depends on how much you’re actually spending each month.
Step 2 — Emergency Reserve
A rainy-day fund built for retirement.
Emergencies don’t stop happening once your paycheck does. I like to see clients have somewhere between 6 and 12 months of essential expenses in the bank as a rule of thumb.
Step 3 — Social Security Evaluation
The default claiming age is rarely the right one.
Social Security isn’t a “turn it on and forget it” decision. Claiming strategy, spousal and survivor benefits, and how that choice changes the tax picture on everything else you draw. People leave money on the table here more than almost anywhere else.
Step 4 — Tax Planning
Your tax bracket and your effective rate are not the same thing.
This is where I see the most confusion, and this is where we add the most value in my opinion. Roth Conversions, Tax Diversification, Required Minimum Distributions, IRMAA thresholds. We plan for taxes before the end of each year with clients, but our plan spans the entire retirement timeline.
Step 5 — Retirement Income Sources
A plan that tells you what to draw from, and when.
Pensions, Social Security, investments. Most people have the pieces. Almost nobody has the order they should come in. I build a withdrawal strategy meant to hold up for twenty, thirty, forty years.
Step 6 — Investment Strategy
Your portfolio needs to support your monthly income while still keeping pace with inflation.
“As Warren Buffett said, “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been skinny dipping.” We believe the true test of a retirement portfolio isn’t how it performs during great markets—it’s how it holds up during periods like the lost decade from 2000–2010, when the S&P 500 produced virtually no return for ten years.”
Step 7 — Estate Planning Review
Make sure your plan still says what you think it says.
Beneficiary designations. Powers of attorney. Healthcare directives. I’ve seen plans that were right ten years ago and dead wrong today, and nobody noticed until it mattered.
Connect with Chad White, Financial Advisor to help build a forward-looking retirement tax map and test different scenarios before decisions are made.
Chad White offers securities and advisory services through Commonwealth Financial Network®, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser. Fixed insurance products and services are separate from and not offered through Commonwealth. Tax preparation services offered through Ocean Tax Pros, LLC are separate and unrelated to Commonwealth.
This material has been provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or specific investment advice. Please contact your financial professional for more information specific to your situation.