Consider the role of your trusted advisers in an ever-changing retirement landscape

When it comes to personal finances and planning for retirement, most of us have heard the adage, “spend less than you make.” While this rule of thumb is a bedrock of financial well-being, the ever-changing landscape surrounding retirement and the financial implications associated with preparing for this exciting stage of life can often be intimidating and potentially hazardous to navigate alone.

As with any important financial decision, the process of forming a team of trusted advisers should begin with a simple cost-benefit analysis. In other words, you should expect a return on the investment of the dollars you spend getting and keeping your team in place. But what factors should be included in this calculation? In general, you should expect your advisers to help increase the return on your investment by delivering three equally important forms of value:

More money

Putting dollars away during your working career is imperative when planning for retirement. However, it is also important to do so in a tax-efficient manner. Using the current tax laws to your advantage can result in significant savings over time.

Tax-efficient investing is of equal importance to your bottom line. It’s not what you make that matters, it’s what you get to keep. You work hard for the dollars you invest, so it’s important to make sure that you keep as many of those dollars as possible after paying Uncle Sam.

Having a portfolio that is invested and growing in a tax-efficient manner can all be for naught if your investment strategy does not align with your goals or tolerance for risk. The best investment strategy is the one you can stick with through all types of market environments. As such, co-creating a portfolio mix that’s designed to help keep you invested for the long run is an essential role of trusted advisers.

More time

It’s often said that the only certainties in life are death and taxes. An argument could be made that a constantly changing tax landscape could be added to this list. The speed of change has accelerated exponentially over the years and tax law is no exception. Your time is valuable and staying up to date on the changes that relate to retirement savings, investing and planning may not be how you prefer to spend your time or energy.

Being able to digest the technical nature of these changes is important, but understanding how they impact your situation and goals also can take an immense amount of time and energy.

A team of trusted advisers that understand the complexities of taxes, investments and financial planning can help create and implement a strategic plan that assists your needs. Removing the primary responsibility of creating this plan alone can help save significant time and potentially improve the desired outcome.

More peace of mind

With the pace of change we all experience daily, it can be taxing to wonder what blind spots you might be missing in your strategic plan. Trusted advisers can help provide the peace of mind that your team is proactively monitoring for and helping to eliminate.

▪ Advisers also should see one of the primary functions of their job as meeting you where you are, helping you define where you want to be and then walking alongside you in pursuit of that desired goal.

▪ Having this peace of mind can help you achieve the freedom to do more of the things you love unencumbered by financial concerns.

Understanding, planning for and managing legislative changes, market volatility and an ever-evolving tax code are just a few ways a team of trusted advisers can help improve the return on your investment. If done right, the result should be the creation of a plan that works for your specific goals.

Alex Hunter, CFP is a member of the Financial Planning Association of Greater Kansas City and a Director at Forvis Mazars in Kansas City. Do you have financial topics or questions you’d like answered by a CFP professional? If so, submit your question or topic to KCFPA@gmail.com and your topic/question may be featured in a future article!

This story was originally published January 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.