Retirement Planning Decisions a Financial Advisor Can Help With
Travis Tsukayama, CFP® CFA
Jan 23
5 min read
With Andrew Leong and Brandon Lau - recording the KupunaWiki radio show
Last week I joined Brandon Lau and Andrew Leong on their KupunaWiki radio show as a guest to talk about how we help seniors in Hawaii reach financial security. The guys do a fantastic job collecting resources in senior housing, real estate, finance, and estate planning in one place for the benefit of Hawaii’s kupuna. My episode won’t be released until later this year, but it was an excellent conversation.
What’s the most valuable part of working with a financial advisor?
The answer to this question depends on the person asking it.
Most often, people come to us with one major issue that needs to be addressed. They may be worried about running out of money in retirement, they may think they’re paying too much in taxes, or they’re not sure if their legacy plan is set up correctly. Rarely does someone contact an advisor without a clear problem in mind they’re solving for.
All our initial meetings with prospective clients start with us asking them, “what’s on your mind?”. We want to identify their primary concern first and confirm it’s within our realm of expertise before prescribing solutions. Our ability to listen, fully understand the problem and the full scope of their situation, and then help them address it is the area where professional guidance adds the most value.
The wide variety of issues for which people seek an advisor’s guidance is understated. In 2026, a financial advisor’s value is greatest in the form of guidance, not products or attempting to beat the stock market.
In today’s post, we’ll look at:
Different areas of retirement planning where an advisor can add value
Decisions you should delegate to your advisor vs. make on your own
Retirement Planning Decisions
Image Credit | peopleimages.com | Adobe Stock
When you’re planning your retirement or already retired, your advisor can add a lot of value in your quest to turn retirement assets into income. Here are some of the most common retirement decisions we help clients with:
When have I accumulated enough in savings to be “work-optional”?
What are the financial trade-offs between continuing to work and retiring?
How much can I withdraw from my retirement accounts with a high degree of confidence?
Which accounts should I withdraw from first?
When should I claim my Social Security benefits?
How does continuing to work affect my Social Security benefits?
Should I adjust my portfolio withdrawals if the stock market declines?
We love the process that goes into retirement planning because there are a lot of ways we can add value. The stakes tend to be higher with making these decisions since a retiree has a shorter time horizon than someone in the accumulation phase.
Client-Driven Retirement Planning Decisions
Contrasting with the above questions, there are some decisions that are best left to the client. A great advisor will present the client with options for their consideration and final decision. Retirement is simply a phase of one’s life and it’s up to the client to take ownership of decisions that will affect their overall happiness.
What you want your retirement to look like. Where will you live and how will you spend your time? What does a meaningful retirement look like to you?
Your comfort with risk and uncertainty. Your advisor can recommend a minimum level of risk to lead towards potentially higher returns, but your personal tolerance for certainty vs. flexibility will drive the strategy taken.
When you stop working. Although your advisor will walk you through the numbers when you have “enough” to retire, the timing is up to you when you fully or partially retire.
Tax Planning Decisions
Advisors are starting to offer tax planning assistance to their clients more and more and the trend is not slowing down in 2026. Great advisors understand the role they play in their clients’ tax planning. We are not CPAs or Enrolled Agents and do not prepare tax returns. We understand, however, that CPAs are typically swamped during tax season and may have limited capacity to provide forward-looking tax planning. We fill that void by requesting a copy of every client’s most recent tax return and addressing common questions such as:
What’s my current marginal federal tax rate? What’s my current long-term capital gain tax rate? How might they change in the future?
Should I convert some of my pre-tax retirement assets to Roth this year?
How can I reduce my lifetime tax bill?
What charitable gifting strategies would help reduce my tax bill this year?
Am I handling Required Minimum Distributions correctly?
Client-Driven Tax Planning Decisions
Deciding whether you prefer minimizing taxes for your lifetime or your heirs is a personal preference
How important simplicity is to you in tax strategy
Preference for giving to charity during your lifetime or after death
Many of the personal decisions deal with your values and priorities. Your CPA can assist with providing accurate numbers, and your financial advisor presents you with options to consider.
Investment Strategy
Advisors should add value to an investment strategy discussion beyond picking funds.
By having thorough knowledge of your situation and what you’ll need in the coming years, your advisor can help guide your investment strategy as you experience life changes. Here are a few ways we provide deeper guidance with investments:
Matching investments to income needs and your time horizon
Creating a diversified portfolio of investments that’s appropriate for your tolerance for volatility
Rebalancing the portfolio regularly to keep your asset allocation consistent
Deciding on asset location – putting certain investments in the right types of accounts for tax savings
Serving as a barrier between you and the Big Mistake that can do significant harm to your portfolio
Client-Driven Investment Decisions
Your tolerance for investment volatility is a personal preference based on past experiences and your emotional reaction to volatile markets. Your advisor may recommend a level of risk, but it comes down to your ability to stay invested when markets are bumpy.
The purpose of the money being invested is a personal decision. Your goal for the use of the funds will impact time horizon, risk capacity, and investment style.
Your values may influence investment decisions and the companies you want to invest in. There are socially-responsible funds that exclude certain industries from being added to the portfolio.
In Summary
In addition to what I’ve stated here, there are more topics that we often help clients with. In reality, a new prospective client will come to us with one question/problem area to solve but will end up finding additional issues to address in their planning. That’s the beauty and challenge of planning for retirement – one decision can open the door for three other decisions to be made. Fortunately, you have a team of professionals helping you along the way – your CPA for taxes, your estate attorney for legacy planning, and your financial advisor for assistance with all the retirement decisions above and more.
Have a great weekend!
Travis
Investment advisory services offered through Andrews Advisory Associates LLC, a registered investment advisor. This blog is not meant to give investment advice. Before investing in any advisory product please carefully read any disclosure documents, including without limitation, the firm’s Form ADVs. The information herein is provided for informational purposes only, and does not constitute an offer, solicitation or recommendation to sell or an offer to buy securities, investment products or investment advisory services. Nothing contained herein constitutes financial, legal, tax, or other advice. These opinions may not fit your financial status, risk and return profile or preferences. Investment recommendations may change, and readers are urged to check with their investment adviser before making any investment decisions.
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