Clear pricing, plain language, and advice built around you.
From K–12 teachers and administrators to college and university faculty and staff, we help educators understand their retirement benefits and build a plan for what comes next.
Your pension tells only part of your retirement story.
Your 403(b), 457, Social Security, taxes, investments, insurance and other financial decisions all affect when you can retire, and what retirement may actually look like.
The Foundation Plan brings those pieces together into one comprehensive financial roadmap.
We'll answer the question that matters most:
Am I on track to retire when I want?
We'll project your retirement income, savings and future assets and compare them with the lifestyle you want to maintain.
You'll see where you stand today, what your retirement could look like and what adjustments may improve your outlook.
For many educators, your pension is the foundation of retirement.
We'll evaluate your projected pension benefit, retirement eligibility and how different retirement dates may affect your income.
We'll also consider how your pension fits alongside your other retirement resources.
Already contributing to a 403(b) or 457?
We'll review:
The goal isn't simply to look at your account. It's to determine whether your workplace retirement savings are actually helping you reach your retirement goals.
We'll look beyond your workplace retirement plan.
IRAs, Roth IRAs, brokerage accounts, old employer plans and other investments should work together, not operate as separate accounts with separate strategies.
We'll review your overall allocation, diversification, risk and investment costs.
What you save matters. Where you save it matters too.
We'll evaluate your current tax situation and identify planning opportunities involving:
We'll evaluate Social Security as part of your overall retirement income picture, including your own benefit and applicable spousal benefits.
The objective is to understand how Social Security, your pension and your investments may work together in retirement.
A strong financial plan should also consider the risks that could derail it.
We'll review your existing insurance coverage and identify areas that may warrant additional attention.
We don't believe every financial problem needs another financial product. The goal is to understand your risks and determine whether you're appropriately protected.
We'll review your existing estate-planning arrangements and beneficiary designations and identify areas that may need attention.
When appropriate, we'll coordinate with your attorney or other professionals to help ensure your financial and estate plans work together.
The Foundation Plan isn't simply a stack of projections. You'll receive a clear financial roadmap showing:
Most importantly, you'll know what to do next.
No ongoing planning relationship is required. Your plan is delivered over three meetings, followed by an implementation check-in about six months later.
After your Foundation Plan is complete, you can implement the recommendations yourself, or, when appropriate, choose to work with us for ongoing financial planning and/or investment management.
A financial plan shouldn't be something you create once and put on a shelf.
Your income changes. Your pension grows. Tax laws change. Your family changes. And as retirement gets closer, the decisions become increasingly important.
Ongoing Planning keeps your financial strategy current throughout your career and into retirement.
We continually evaluate your projected retirement income, pension benefits, retirement date and savings progress so you can see whether you're on track, and what adjustments may help.
We'll help you evaluate contribution levels, Roth versus pre-tax contributions, investment allocation and how your workplace plans fit alongside IRAs and other investments.
We'll look for opportunities to make your retirement strategy more tax-efficient, including contribution strategies, Roth conversions, retirement distributions and coordination with your tax professional when appropriate.
We'll help evaluate Social Security within the context of your pension, spouse's benefits and overall retirement income strategy.
As your salary, savings and goals change, we'll update your projections so you always have a current picture of where you stand.
Changing districts? Retiring earlier than expected? Receiving an inheritance? Getting married? We'll help you evaluate how major financial decisions affect the rest of your plan.
As retirement approaches, we'll help turn your pension and investments into a coordinated income strategy designed around your spending needs, taxes and long-term goals.
You'll have an advisor who knows your plan and can help you make financial decisions throughout your career.
Start My Retirement PlanYour 403(b) or 457 may become one of your largest retirement assets. It deserves more than a set-it-and-forget-it investment strategy.
We provide professional investment management for eligible workplace retirement accounts through approved platforms.
Your investments should reflect your retirement, not someone else's.
We build diversified portfolios based on your age, goals, risk tolerance, pension benefits, retirement timeline and overall financial picture.
Investment costs matter.
When available and appropriate within your plan, we favor diversified, cost-conscious investment strategies using mutual funds and other available investment options rather than selecting investments based on commissions.
Even seemingly small differences in annual investment costs can have a significant impact when compounded over an educator's career.
Your portfolio shouldn't stay the same for 30 years.
We monitor your investments and make adjustments as appropriate based on your financial plan, risk profile and changing retirement timeline.
Your 403(b) shouldn't be managed in isolation.
We consider your pension, 457, IRAs, spouse's retirement accounts and other investments when determining how your workplace retirement savings should be invested.
Investment strategy becomes increasingly important as retirement gets closer.
We'll evaluate your portfolio's risk, income needs and retirement timeline and make appropriate adjustments as you transition from accumulating retirement savings to using those savings for income.
Many educators aren't sure exactly what they own. You may have a mutual fund account, an annuity, or another investment arrangement, and the differences can affect your costs, flexibility and retirement strategy.
We'll help you understand:
Before making changes, let's find out exactly what you have.
Get My 403(b) ReviewAs your savings grow, After Class connects you to the full wealth management services of Cortez Wealth, including investment management for outside accounts, retirement income planning, and more.
