The Ten-Year Retirement Window
Eight decisions in the decade around the day you stop working. Most of them are made once, and several cannot be undone.
The five years before you stop working and the five years after contain a small number of decisions that shape the next twenty. This complimentary guide walks through what each one is, how the rules behind it actually work, and the specific question worth raising with your CPA, attorney, or advisor.
Bradly Stevens, MBA, ChFC®, CLU®, WMCP®, CEPA™, CLTC®, AIF®, LUTCF® · Forbes Best-In-State Top Financial Security Professional 2023–2026 · Approximately 20 years of experience
- What your tax-deferred balance is actually worth
- The gap years
- Where your real rate stops matching your bracket
- The order accounts are drawn down
- Social Security as a tax question
- The healthcare gap
- When one position is too much of the plan
- The coordination problem
Does Any Of This Sound Familiar?
None of these are unusual. They are what the decade around retirement actually looks like for most households that saved well.
This Is A Common Position To Be In, Not An Unusual One
of people aged 55 to 75 with $250,000 to $2 million in investable assets who already work with a financial professional still have no specific retirement income plan.
are confident their savings will support the lifestyle they want in retirement.
describe themselves as only somewhat informed, or not informed at all, about legislative changes affecting retirement.
Nothing About These Years Announces Itself As A Deadline
Most of the decisions in this window are quiet. There is no notice in the mail telling you that a stretch of unusually low taxable income has begun, or that it is about to end. The account balances keep growing, the statements keep arriving, and the years pass without anything obviously requiring attention.
Then several things start at once. Social Security begins. Required distributions begin. Medicare premiums are set from a tax return filed two years earlier. Each of those is straightforward on its own. Together, they arrive in a compressed period, they interact, and by then most of the choices that would have shaped them are behind you.
The point of the guide is sequence, not urgency
This is not a guide about market timing or about doing something dramatic. It walks through eight decisions, when each one typically comes into range, and what the underlying rule actually says, so you can tell which ones are already handled in your situation and which have a timing element attached. Some readers will find they are in good shape. That is a legitimate result and the guide says so.
The Ten-Year Retirement Window
Eight decisions in the decade around the day you stop working. Each chapter covers the question as it actually gets asked, what commonly happens, how the rule works, and one specific thing worth confirming with your CPA, attorney, or advisor.
Two quick questions first
This guide is written for a specific stretch of time, and it is most useful to people who are actually in it. Two clicks and you will know whether that is you.
A rough answer is plenty. Nobody holds you to it.
Retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, and cash savings — not counting your home. A ballpark is fine. Several of the eight decisions only come into play once accounts are spread across more than one place, so this helps point you to the right next step.
That is exactly the stretch of time this guide is written for. Request your copy below and it will arrive by email shortly.
Continue to the request form ↓You have time, and that is worth something
The decisions in this guide cluster in the years right around the point someone stops working full time. More than a decade out, most of them have not come into range yet, and the rules behind them can change before they do. The guide is still yours if you want it. It may simply read as background rather than as something to act on.
- Request the guide anyway →
- Read our latest articles on retirement and tax planning →
- See upcoming complimentary webinars →
When the window opens — a retirement date starts to feel real, a package gets offered, accounts start piling up in different places — come back and we will pick it up from there.
Here is where you will get the most out of this
The timing is right, so the guide will be useful to you. A few of the eight decisions — the ones about drawing from several account types at once, and the income thresholds behind them — only really come into play when there is more than one account in the picture. Request the guide and read the chapters that match your situation.
The complimentary review is built around coordinating several accounts at the same time. If most of what you have sits in one place, that depth may not be where you get the most value right now.
And if that changes — a rollover, a sale, a spouse’s accounts joining yours — the door is open.
What A Complimentary Ten-Year Retirement Window Review Actually Covers
Forty-five minutes, no product discussion. You bring your current statements and the year you expect to stop working. The conversation walks the same eight decisions the guide covers, against your actual situation rather than a general case.
Establish the window
Where you sit in the decade, and which of the eight decisions are already in range for you.
Map what exists
Which account types you hold, how they are treated differently, and what is already coordinated.
Identify what is open
Which decisions have not been addressed, and which carry a timing element that closes on its own.
You leave with it in writing
A one-page summary of what was reviewed, what is open, and what to confirm with your CPA or attorney.
Nothing is recommended or implemented in that conversation. It is a review of where things stand. If it makes sense to work together afterward, that is a separate discussion, and any fees involved are discussed then.
“I Already Have An Advisor”
Most people reading this do, and that is not the question
Among people aged 55 to 75 with $250,000 to $2 million in investable assets who already work with a financial professional, 38% still have no specific retirement income plan (Global Atlantic, 2026 Retirement Outlook Survey). Those are not unadvised households. The investments are being managed. What has not been written down is what happens to the tax picture when the paycheck stops.
The eight decisions in this guide sit at the intersection of investments, tax, and benefits, which means they frequently belong to nobody in particular. Your CPA reviews last year. Your attorney handles the transfer. Your advisor manages the portfolio. The guide ends every chapter with a specific question worth raising with whoever is already in that seat — and if the answers come back clear, you are in good shape and you have confirmed it.
A Working Session, Not A Presentation
There is no slide deck, no product illustration, and nothing to sign. BAS Financial's approach is coordination — investments, tax strategy, insurance, and estate considerations looked at together rather than separately, with outside CPAs and attorneys looped in where it makes sense. That approach only works if the first conversation is genuinely about understanding your situation.
Some of these conversations end with a clear list of things worth addressing. Some end with confirmation that the important pieces are already handled. Both are useful outcomes, and the guide is written so that either one is a legitimate result.
After You Request The Guide
Tell us where to send it
First name, last name, and email. Three fields, nothing else, and no phone number required.
The guide arrives by email
It is sent to the address you provide rather than shown on this page, so you have a copy you can return to.
Talk it through if you would like
A short series of follow-up notes covers the decisions readers ask about most. Booking a complimentary review is always optional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to be within ten years of retiring for this to be useful?
The guide is built around the decade surrounding the point someone stops working full time, roughly five years either side. Further out than that and most of the decisions have not come into range yet, and the rules behind them can change before they do. The two questions above the form are there so you can tell before you request it.
I already retired. Is this still relevant?
Yes. Several of the eight decisions sit on the far side of the retirement date rather than before it, including the years between stopping work and the start of required distributions. Readers who have already stopped working often find more of the guide applies to them, not less.
Is the guide going to try to sell me something?
No. It explains how eight sets of rules work and ends each chapter with a specific question worth raising with your CPA, attorney, or advisor. There is no product discussed in it, and requesting it does not commit you to a conversation.
What does a complimentary review cost, and what happens afterward?
The review is complimentary. Nothing is implemented during it and nothing is sold in it. If it makes sense to work together afterward, that is a separate conversation, and any fees involved are discussed at that point.
Do I need to send financial documents before we talk?
No. Bringing current statements and the year you expect to stop working makes the conversation more specific, but nothing needs to be sent in advance.
Will I be added to a mailing list?
Requesting the guide starts a short series of follow-up emails covering the decisions readers ask about most. Every message includes an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing does not affect your access to the guide.
Find Out Which Of The Eight Are Already Handled
Request the guide, or book a complimentary 45-minute review and walk through them against your own situation. Either way you will know where the open items are and which ones have a timing element attached.
This material is intended for general public use and is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice, and it is not a recommendation for any specific individual or situation. By providing this content, Park Avenue Securities LLC and your financial representative are not undertaking to provide investment advice or make a recommendation for a specific individual or situation, or to otherwise act in a fiduciary capacity. Consult your own CPA, attorney, or financial professional regarding your particular circumstances.
Bradly A Stevens is a Registered Representative and Financial Advisor of Park Avenue Securities LLC (PAS). OSJ: 2875 Michelle Drive, Suite 110, Irvine CA, 92606, (909) 399-1100. Securities products and advisory services offered through PAS, member FINRA, SIPC. Financial Representative of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian), New York, NY. PAS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Guardian. BAS Financial and Pacific Advisors are not affiliates or subsidiary of PAS or Guardian. CA Insurance License Number - 0F60819. Insurance products offered through One Pacific Financial & Insurance Solutions LLC, DBA of Pacific Advisors LLC. Pacific Advisors LLC is not registered in any state or with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a Registered Investment Advisor. The Living Balance Sheet® (LBS) and the LBS Logo are service marks of Guardian. CA License #0K12914.
Bradly Stevens, MBA, CEPA™, ChFC®
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