If you are getting close to retirement, you are likely nearing the point where you will need to live off your investments. So what do you do? Anyone could tell you that you need to decrease risk. But that is quite subjective. How much risk do you decrease by? Is there a certain amount that's correct for you? How do you know?
Instead of telling clients to "dampen volatility," we use a logical framework: match what you spend to your portfolio. Instead of guessing, we plan. We plan how much you'd like to spend, what kind of vacations you'd like to take, how much you'll owe in taxes each year, how much you'll get from Social Security, and we clear up the picture of what will be coming in and out of your pocket during retirement. Then we map those needs over to your portfolio.
Here's the net result: you have pre-funded your retirement expenses based on your life, not a generic 60/40 portfolio. Then we help you decide how far out you'd like to pre-fund those expenses. Some clients say 3 years. Some want 12. It comes down to how much distance you'd like between market performance and your quality of life, and what's logical based on market behavior and, most importantly, you.
Discounted Retirement Expenses
So what does it actually look like to have discounted retirement expenses? This is a deliberate framing we use to explain the power of planning.
Here's a real example, not a real person, just current rates run through the math:
- A pre-retiree/retiree wants to spend $100,000 per year in retirement.
- Over the next 7 years, inflation-adjusted, you can PRE-FUND the next 7 years of all your expenses.
- This buys you $776,458 worth of expenses. This lasts you 7 years.
- What you paid for those expenses was $671,655 because you bought them early.
Put plainly, you're buying $776,458 of expenses for $671,655.
That's a $104,803 discount on the next 7 years of retirement.
Not a real person. Current rates run through the math.
Data from week of 8/03/2026
7 years is an arbitrary number for your scenario. But for clients, we find out the appropriate length of time based on their unique goals, taxes, Social Security, and spending.
There is another beauty of funding retirement this way. Not only do you get discounted expenses, but what you also receive is a "time buffer" that acts as a moat between your life and what the market is doing.
The market goes down, and you've already built 7 years of buffer for things to get back to normal before you have to sell anything at a loss. Once the ladder is in place, we have a protocol that helps us know, based on your unique situation, when to add more "time buffer" back to your ladder. We call that "the critical path."
Interesting Note & Counterintuitive Result
This does not work with bond funds because they're subject to interest rate risk. That's not how bond funds are designed. We buy bonds that mature before you need the money, so there's no question where your next dollar comes from.
For the couple I mentioned, this is what finally got them to say yes: we built the spending plan first, laddered a few years of bonds to cover it, then used the years before their required distributions kick in to move money into tax-free territory instead of leaving it to compound their tax bill. They didn't need to hope the market cooperated. They needed a resilient retirement income plan that planned for life's surprises.
The counterintuitive part: this process often leads to more money invested for growth. Instead of slapping a quick fix on your portfolio, you have something built exactly for you because we aren't trying to dampen volatility. We're trying to make sure you don't run out of money. Those are two different goals.
How We Work With Clients
If you're within 10 years of retirement and want to stretch your dollars farther, there are two ways we can help, and the right one depends on where you are.
Flat Fee Planning. We look at everything in your life with your number on it, take time to listen to what is most important to you, and build a plan that doesn't battle your desires and your money. Rather, a plan that blends them.
Then we give you recommendations. You're the one who implements them. This works well if you're close to retirement and want advice, but you're not ready for an ongoing relationship, want to keep managing your own assets, or just aren't ready to hand it all off yet. It's a 1 to 3 month engagement, and you walk away with exact next steps in hand.
Wealth Management. Everything included in flat fee planning, plus we implement the recommendations for you. We manage your investments, coordinate with your CPA, coordinate with your estate attorney, and monitor the plan so it adjusts as your life does. This is an ongoing relationship. You've delegated the work and the worry to someone else.
Neither tier is better than the other. They're built to meet people where they actually are, not to force everyone into the same model.
About Sam
I'm Sam Buchanan, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®. I work with families who want clear answers, real accountability, and advice built around their actual life, not a generic plan. I help them keep more of what they've earned and actually enjoy it. I also work with business owners who want someone to look at their whole complicated, busy life and simplify what comes next.
We're fee-only fiduciaries. That means no products to sell, just advice to give, and it's how we help families stretch their dollars so they can retire and stop second guessing money decisions.
If you're within a few years of retirement and want to find the gaps in your plan, click the link below to see if we are a fit. See Which Branning Wealth Advisor is Right for You