Retirement Planning

Saving for retirement is one problem.Living on it is another.

Accumulating wealth and distributing it efficiently are entirely different challenges. Many plans are built for the first and never updated for the second. We plan for both — so what you spent a career building is positioned to support the retirement you have in mind.

Start a Conversation How we plan

Our Approach

Income first.

We plan the withdrawal, not just the balance you retire with

Coverage

Areas of retirement planning coordinated into one income strategy

Our Team

100+

Years of combined experience across our advisor team

Our Structure

100%

Independent — our advice serves you, not a product shelf

The Problem

Most retirement plansstop at the finish line.

For thirty or forty years, the goal is simple: contribute, grow the balance, don't touch it. Most plans, projections, and advice tend to be built around that one objective.

Then you stop working, and the entire problem inverts. Now the questions are which account to draw from first, how much you can take without running out, what it costs in taxes, when to claim Social Security, and what happens if the market drops in your first year of withdrawals. Much of that may not have been answered by the plan that got you here.

That's the gap we work in. Retirement income planning means running the numbers before you need them — modeling the scenarios, sequencing the withdrawals, and building in flexibility to help keep a difficult market or a change of plans from derailing the life you were saving for.

The balance on your statement isn't the whole answer. What matters is how much of it reaches you, after taxes, for as long as you need it. That's a different calculation entirely.

The withdrawal order may not have been planned

Taxable, pre-tax, and Roth accounts are each taxed differently. Drawing from them in the wrong sequence can create tax drag that compounds over time.

A bad market at the wrong moment

Sequence-of-returns risk is well documented: a downturn in your first years of withdrawals can do far more lasting damage than the same downturn later. Not every plan accounts for it.

RMDs and Social Security can arrive as surprises

Required distributions and claiming decisions have deadlines and tax consequences. Handled reactively, they can cost money that planning ahead might have saved.

You may not know whether you have enough

"Probably fine" isn't a plan. Without projections and what-if scenarios, it's difficult to answer one of the most consequential financial questions you'll face.

How We Plan

Six areas.One retirement income strategy.

Projections, account analysis, withdrawal sequencing, required distributions, and taxes aren't separate conversations. We coordinate them into a single strategy for turning what you've saved into income that lasts.

01 / Cash Flow Projections & Income Distribution Planning

Cash Flow Projections & Income Distribution Planning

Detailed projections aimed at helping you meet your income needs throughout retirement — mapping what comes in, what goes out, and how long it holds up.

Income projections · Spending analysis · Distribution sequencing · Longevity planning

02 / 401k/403b Analysis & Recommendations

401k/403b Analysis & Recommendations

We analyze the retirement accounts you already have — investment options, costs, and allocation — striving to align them with your future needs and goals rather than leaving them on whatever default they started on.

Plan investment review · Cost analysis · Allocation alignment · Rollover considerations

03 / Retirement Planning ("What If" Scenarios)

Retirement Planning (i.e., "What If" Scenarios)

Personalized scenarios that let you explore different retirement outcomes and strategies — retiring earlier or later, spending more or less, a market downturn, a health event — so you can see how the plan may hold up before you commit to it.

Scenario modeling · Early/late retirement analysis · Stress testing · Trade-off comparison

04 / Tax-Efficient Ways to Access Funds

Tax-Efficient Ways to Access Retirement & Investment Funds

We help you navigate tax-efficient methods for withdrawing from retirement and investment accounts — because which account you draw from, and when, can change how much actually reaches you.

Withdrawal sequencing · Bracket management · Roth conversion analysis · Account coordination

05 / IRA Minimum Distribution (RMD) Planning

IRA Minimum Distribution (RMD) Calculations & Planning

We assist with RMD strategies aimed at staying compliant while minimizing the tax impact — calculating what's required, planning for it in advance, and coordinating it with the rest of your income.

RMD calculations · Timing strategy · Qualified charitable distributions · Penalty avoidance

06 / Tax Planning

Tax Planning

Integrated tax planning through retirement, not just at tax time — managing your obligations year by year so a decision made now is less likely to create an avoidable bill a decade from now.

Multi-year tax strategy · Bracket planning · Coordination with your CPA · Ongoing monitoring

How It Works

Run the numbersbefore you need them.

The decisions that shape retirement — when to stop working, what to draw from, when to claim — are far easier to get right with a few years of runway than in the moment they're forced on you.

So we start with projections. What income do you actually need, what do you have, and what does the gap look like under a range of outcomes rather than one optimistic line on a chart?

From there we build the income strategy, sequence the withdrawals with taxes in mind, and revisit it as markets move and your plans change. Retirement isn't one decision — it's a few decades of them.

Define what retirement actually looks like

Before any numbers, we talk about when you want to stop working, what you want to be doing, and what that life realistically costs. The plan is built around that, not a generic replacement ratio.

Project the income — and stress-test it

We build detailed cash flow projections, then run what-if scenarios against them: retiring sooner, spending more, a market downturn early, a longer life than expected.

Build the distribution strategy

We sequence which accounts you draw from and when, with taxes, RMDs, and Social Security timing coordinated rather than handled one surprise at a time.

Position the portfolio for withdrawals

A portfolio you're spending from is managed differently than one you're contributing to. We adjust for liquidity needs and sequence-of-returns risk as the transition approaches.

Revisit every year — because things change

Markets, tax law, health, spending, and plans all shift. We update the projections proactively so you always know where you stand, not just where you stood.

Who This Is For

Retirement planning matters mostin the years right around the transition.

The window before and just after you stop working is when these decisions carry the most weight — and when getting them right is worth the most. That typically means:

People within roughly ten years of retiring

Close enough that the numbers are real, far enough out that there's still time to adjust course, convert, or reposition before the decisions become permanent.

Business owners whose exit funds their retirement

When the business is the retirement plan, the sale, the succession, and the income strategy have to be planned as one thing — not sorted out after the fact.

Anyone with savings spread across multiple account types

Old 401(k)s, IRAs, Roths, and taxable accounts each carry different tax treatment. The more account types you hold, the more the withdrawal sequence is worth planning.

Recent retirees who never got an income plan

If you retired with a balance but no strategy for drawing it down, it isn't too late — withdrawal order, RMD timing, and tax planning can still make a meaningful difference.

Worth Noting

You don't need to have it figured out before you call. Most people come to us with a rough sense of when they'd like to stop working and no clear picture of whether it's realistic. Answering that honestly — with projections rather than reassurance — is usually the first thing we do.

Explore Further

Retirement planning,answered.

What's the difference between saving for retirement and planning for retirement income?

Accumulating wealth and distributing it efficiently are entirely different challenges. Saving is about contributing and growing a balance. Retirement income planning is about turning that balance into dependable income — deciding which accounts to draw from, in what order, at what pace, and with what tax consequences. Many plans are built for the first challenge and never updated for the second.

When should I start retirement planning?

Earlier gives you more options, but the years immediately before and after you stop working are the highest-leverage window. That's when decisions about withdrawal order, Roth conversions, Social Security timing, and how your portfolio is positioned can have the largest and most lasting effect.

What is sequence-of-returns risk?

It's the risk created by the order in which investment returns arrive. Two retirees can experience the same average return over time and end up in very different places, depending on whether poor returns hit early or late. A market decline in the first few years of retirement — while you're withdrawing rather than contributing — can do far more lasting damage than the same decline later. Planning for it is a core part of building a retirement income strategy.

What order should I withdraw from my retirement accounts?

There's no single right answer — it depends on your tax bracket, the mix of taxable, pre-tax, and Roth accounts you hold, and what else is happening in a given year. The order matters because each account type is taxed differently, and the wrong sequence can create tax drag that quietly costs you over time. This is one of the main things we model before you start drawing income.

What is a required minimum distribution (RMD)?

An RMD is the amount the IRS requires you to withdraw each year from most pre-tax retirement accounts — traditional IRAs, 401(k)s and similar — once you reach a certain age. The starting age has changed under recent legislation and depends on your birth year, and the required amount is recalculated annually based on your balance and life expectancy. Missing one can trigger a penalty, so we help clients calculate and plan for them in advance.

Should I do a Roth conversion before retirement?

It depends on your tax situation now versus what you expect later. A conversion moves money from a pre-tax account into a Roth, creating taxable income in the year of the conversion in exchange for potentially tax-free qualified withdrawals afterward. The window between when you stop working and when RMDs begin is often when conversions are most worth modeling. It should be evaluated as part of a broader plan, not in isolation.

When should I claim Social Security?

Claiming earlier means smaller monthly benefits for longer; waiting means larger benefits later. The right choice depends on your other income sources, your tax picture, your health, whether you're married, and how the decision interacts with your withdrawal strategy. We model the timing alongside the rest of your income plan rather than treating it as a standalone decision.

How do I know if I have enough to retire?

That question is best answered with projections rather than a rule of thumb. We build detailed cash flow projections and run what-if scenarios — retiring earlier or later, spending more or less, a market downturn, a health event — so you can see how your plan may hold up under different outcomes instead of relying on a single estimate.

Where is Streamline Wealth located?

Streamline Wealth is an independent wealth management firm with offices in St. Simons Island and Atlanta, Georgia. We work with clients across the country.

How do we get started?

It starts with one conversation. We'll talk about when you want to stop working, what you want retirement to look like, and what you've built so far — then you decide whether to go further. No pitch, no obligation.

Let's Talk

Find out whether the retirementyou have in mind actually works.

Start with one conversation. We'll talk about when you want to stop working, what you've built so far, and what the numbers say about the gap — then you decide if it makes sense to go further.

Phone

(912) 257-4195

St. Simons Island

20 Market Street Suite 106
St. Simons Island, GA 31522

Atlanta

Three Alliance Center
3550 Lenox Road, 21st Floor
Atlanta, GA 30326

Start a Conversation

No pitch. No obligation. Just an honest conversation.