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Retirement Planning
The decisions you make in the years before retirement shape everything that comes after. Retirement planning in Alaska starts here.
planning for retirement
Retirement Is a Decision You Make Years Before
The clients who arrive at retirement with the most clarity are the ones who started planning when retirement still felt far away. The decisions you make in the five to fifteen years before you stop working — how you invest, how you manage taxes, when you claim Social Security — shape what your financial life actually looks like on the other side.
At True North, retirement planning is built around your specific timeline and goals, not a generic model. Whether you’re ten years out or closer to the edge, we build a coordinated plan that connects where you are today with the retirement you’re working toward.
What’s Included
- Retirement income modeling showing projected income, estimated expenses, and what your financial life looks like after work
- Social Security timing analysis to identify the claiming strategy that maximizes your lifetime benefit
- Tax-efficient withdrawal sequencing across IRAs, 401(k)s, Roth accounts, and taxable investments
- Required minimum distribution planning to manage RMD impact on your tax bracket each year
- Investment strategy aligned to your retirement timeline — shifting focus from growth to preservation and income as you approach the transition
- Ongoing plan adjustments as your income, goals, or timeline change — retirement planning isn't a one-time exercise
WHY TRUE NORTH
Retirement Decisions Have Tax Consequences. We Plan Accordingly.
The years just before and after retirement are often the most tax-sensitive of your financial life. You’re making decisions about when to claim Social Security, which accounts to draw from first, and how to generate reliable income without pushing yourself into a higher bracket unnecessarily. These aren’t just investment questions — they’re tax questions. And getting them right requires someone who can see both sides of the equation at once.
Because Mark holds both a financial advisor and CPA credential, retirement income planning at True North is built with the tax picture already in view.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find Answers and Get Directions
When should I start retirement planning?
The most valuable planning tends to happen in the five to fifteen years before retirement — when you still have enough time to meaningfully adjust your strategy but close enough to the finish line that the decisions are concrete and specific. That said, earlier is always better. The further out you start, the more options you have. If you’re in your 40s and retirement feels abstract, that’s actually the ideal time to establish a baseline plan and start making intentional decisions around it.
How do I know if I'm on track to retire when I want to?
The honest answer is that most people don’t know until they actually run the numbers. Retirement income planning in Alaska — or anywhere — requires modeling your projected expenses in retirement, your anticipated income sources, your current savings trajectory, and your expected Social Security benefit. At True North, that analysis is built into the planning process. We look at where you are, where you need to be, and what the path between those two points actually requires.
What is retirement income planning, and how is it different from just saving for retirement?
Saving for retirement is the accumulation phase — building the balance. Retirement income planning is the distribution phase — figuring out how to turn that balance into reliable, tax-efficient income that lasts. That means deciding which accounts to draw from first, in what order, and in what amounts each year. It means coordinating Social Security timing with other income sources. It means managing your tax bracket year by year rather than just at filing time. The two phases require different strategies, and the transition between them is where a lot of planning mistakes get made.
How does Social Security timing affect my retirement plan?
Claiming Social Security earlier means a lower monthly benefit for the rest of your life. Claiming later means a higher benefit — but you need enough income to bridge the gap. The right decision depends on your health, your other income sources, your spouse’s situation, and your tax picture in the years between retirement and when you claim. There’s no universal right answer, but there’s almost always a better answer for your specific situation, and identifying it requires modeling several scenarios side by side.
What are required minimum distributions, and why do they matter for planning?
Once you reach the RMD age threshold, the IRS requires you to withdraw a minimum amount from your traditional retirement accounts each year — whether you need the income or not. Those withdrawals are taxable, and if they’re large enough, they can push you into a higher bracket, affect Medicare premium calculations, and make a portion of your Social Security benefit taxable. Planning for RMDs well in advance — including Roth conversions in the years before they begin — can significantly reduce their long-term tax impact.
Can I retire in Alaska and still work with True North if I spend part of the year elsewhere?
Many Alaskans split their time, especially in retirement. Mark works with clients who aren’t physically in the state year-round, and the ongoing advisory relationship is built to accommodate that. The planning itself doesn’t change — what matters is having a consistent, coordinated strategy that follows you regardless of where you are at any given time of year.
How is True North's retirement planning different from what I'd get at a large brokerage?
At a large brokerage, your financial advisor and your tax professional are almost always two different people — and they rarely coordinate closely. Mark holds both credentials, which means the investment side and the tax side of your retirement plan are developed together by the same person. That changes the advice in practical ways: withdrawal sequencing, Roth conversion timing, bracket management in retirement — these only get optimized when someone is looking at the full picture at once. For Alaskans who want retirement planning in Alaska at that level of integration, True North was built specifically for that.
Find Out Where You Stand Before You Need To Know
A free 30-minute discovery call with Mark is the simplest way to get a clear, honest look at your retirement timeline — what’s working, what needs attention, and what your path forward looks like.