The financial planning process is a structured method used by CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals to evaluate a client’s financial situation, identify goals, develop strategies, and monitor progress over time.

At Public Retirement Planners, we follow the seven-step financial planning process established by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.

What Are the 7 Steps of the Financial Planning Process?

The seven steps of the financial planning process are understanding your financial situation, identifying goals, analyzing your current strategy, developing recommendations, reviewing the plan, implementing strategies, and monitoring progress. These steps help ensure financial decisions are based on careful analysis and aligned with long-term goals.

Step 1: Understanding Your Financial Circumstances

The first step in financial planning is gathering detailed information about your financial life. Your CFP® professional reviews:

• Income and expenses
• Assets and liabilities
• Retirement accounts and investments
• Insurance coverage
• Tax considerations
• Family circumstances

This information forms the foundation for all financial planning recommendations.

Step 2: Identifying Financial Goals

The second step is defining clear financial goals. Your financial planner works with you to determine priorities such as:

• Retirement income planning
• Reducing taxes in retirement
• Protecting family members through insurance
• Saving for education or major purchases
• Managing investment risk

Your planner will also evaluate your risk tolerance and time horizon.

Step 3: Analyzing Your Current Situation

During the analysis stage, your CFP® professional evaluates how well your current financial strategy supports your goals. This analysis may include:

• Retirement readiness projections
• Investment portfolio allocation
• Tax efficiency opportunities
• Insurance coverage gaps
• Estate planning considerations

The goal is to identify strengths, weaknesses, and potential improvements.

Step 4: Developing Financial Planning Recommendations

After analyzing your situation, your CFP® professional develops strategies designed to improve your financial position. These recommendations may include:

• Retirement planning
• Investment allocation
• Tax planning
• Risk management
• Estate planning coordination

CFP® professionals are required to act in the client’s best interest when developing recommendations.

Step 5: Reviewing the Recommendations

Your financial planner presents the recommendations and explains the reasoning behind each strategy. At this stage you can:

• Ask questions and discuss alternatives
• Adjust recommendations
• Decide which strategies to implement

Financial planning is a collaborative process designed to align strategies with your preferences and priorities.

Step 6: Implementing the Financial Plan

Implementation is the stage where planning strategies are put into action. Your CFP® professional may assist with:

• Implementing investment strategies
• Coordinating insurance coverage
• Assisting with retirement account rollovers
• Working with tax professionals or attorneys

Step 7: Monitoring Progress and Updating

Financial planning is an ongoing process that requires periodic review. Your financial planner monitors progress by:

• Reviewing investment performance
• Updating retirement projections
• Adjusting strategies when laws or circumstances change
• Ensuring the plan stays aligned with your goals

Why Work With a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional?

Working with a CFP® professional provides a structured approach to organizing your finances, evaluating options, and building a long-term strategy designed to support financial security. The CFP® financial planning process ensures recommendations are based on careful analysis and aligned with each client’s financial goals.

Investment Management for Retirement and Brokerage Accounts

Public Retirement Planners provides professional investment management for retirement accounts and investment portfolios. Our goal is to help clients manage their investments responsibly so they can focus on their careers, families, and long-term financial goals rather than the day-to-day movements of the financial markets.

We manage portfolios for a wide range of retirement and investment accounts commonly used by public employees, professionals, and retirees, including:

• 457 Deferred Compensation Plans
• 403(b) Retirement Plans
• 401(k) Retirement Plans
• 401(a) Retirement Plans
• DROP Pension Program Accounts
• Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs
• Rollover Retirement Accounts
• Taxable Investment Portfolios
• SIMPLE and SEP IRAs

Public Retirement Planners manages client portfolios through limited trading authorization, allowing us to make investment decisions on your behalf while you retain full ownership and control of your accounts.

Client assets are held in custody by Charles Schwab, not Public Retirement Planners. This independent custody structure ensures that your investments remain under your ownership while we provide professional portfolio management. Withdrawals from the account must always be authorized by the account owner, except for the clearly disclosed investment management fee. Investment management charges are clearly displayed on your monthly Charles Schwab statements.

Investment Philosophy: How We Approach Long-Term Investing

The investment philosophy at Public Retirement Planners focuses on protecting capital, managing risk responsibly, and pursuing long-term portfolio growth. We believe preserving capital is essential to long-term financial success. While some investment risk is necessary to generate growth, our strategies are designed to balance growth opportunities with responsible risk management.

Every investment portfolio is built based on a client’s financial goals, retirement timeline, income needs, and tolerance for investment risk. The objective is to pursue sustainable long-term growth while helping reduce unnecessary exposure to risk.

Efficiency in Investing

At Public Retirement Planners, our goal is not simply to chase the highest returns. Instead, we focus on achieving the best return for the level of risk taken.

A helpful way to think about this is fuel efficiency in a car. Two vehicles may travel the same distance, but one uses far less gasoline to get there. Investing works in a similar way. Our objective is to build portfolios that aim to generate strong long-term returns while using risk as efficiently as possible.

This approach emphasizes:

• Broad diversification across asset classes
• Careful management of investment costs
• Appropriate allocation between growth and stability assets
• Ongoing monitoring and rebalancing

Investment Selection: How We Choose Investments

Public Retirement Planners provides investment management that includes portfolio construction, asset allocation, and periodic rebalancing. As fiduciaries, we select investments based on the best interests of our clients. Our approach emphasizes diversified portfolios and investments that generally have low operating costs.

Investment portfolios may include:

• Index funds and Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)
• Individual stocks
• Fixed-income securities
• Cash equivalents
• Options

Each client receives a written Investment Policy Statement (IPS) that outlines investment objectives, risk tolerance, financial goals, time horizon, and income needs. Buy and sell decisions are made by Public Retirement Planners in accordance with the IPS and in the best interest of the client.

Our investment management fee is 1% annually of assets under management, and it appears as a clear dollar amount on your monthly Charles Schwab statement. Performance reports are provided by the account custodian, and periodic portfolio reviews are conducted with your financial planner.

How Investment Management Fits Into Your Financial Plan

Investment management is only one part of a comprehensive financial strategy. Effective financial planning considers your entire financial picture, including investments, taxes, insurance coverage, estate planning, and retirement income strategies.

A knowledgeable Certified Financial Planner™ professional understands that decisions in one area of your finances can affect others. At Public Retirement Planners, investment management is integrated into a broader financial planning process designed to support long-term financial security.

Insurance and Annuity Planning for Retirement

Insurance and annuities are vital components of a comprehensive financial plan. At Public Retirement Planners, we help clients evaluate the type and amount of coverage that best fits their financial goals, retirement plans, and family needs.

Our strategies are designed to protect against financial risks that could disrupt your retirement, including:

• Loss of income or premature death
• Unexpected healthcare costs
• Long-term care expenses

Because we operate as independent advisors, we are not limited to a single insurance company. This allows us to evaluate a wide range of policies and annuity products to find the solution best suited to your specific situation.

Reviewing Existing Life Insurance and Annuities

Many individuals own policies purchased years ago that no longer align with their current goals. For example, an older cash-value life insurance policy may be underperforming, or an annuity may carry high fees that are no longer justified by its benefits.

In many cases, these existing assets can be repositioned to better address your current priorities. For clients over age 50, we frequently evaluate whether older policies can be transferred into strategies that address long-term care expenses—often without triggering current income taxes.

The Strategy of Repositioning Assets

Depending on your circumstances, it may be possible to transfer the value of an existing policy into a more suitable strategy through a tax-free exchange. This allows assets originally intended for one purpose (like death benefit protection) to be redirected toward a more pressing need (like long-term care) while preserving your retirement nest egg.

Common Questions: Insurance, Annuities, and Long-Term Care

Do I still need life insurance after age 60?

It depends on your goals. By age 60, many people find their mortgages are paid off and children are independent, reducing the need for traditional income replacement. While a policy may still serve a purpose for estate planning or final expenses, the bigger risk at this stage is often the potential cost of long-term care rather than premature death.

What should I do with an old life insurance policy?

Policies should be reviewed periodically. If a policy has become expensive to maintain or is no longer necessary, we can evaluate if the value can be “exchanged” into a different type of coverage. For example, an older policy might be better utilized to help cover future long-term care costs.

What can I do with an old annuity?

An older annuity should be reviewed to see if the fees and features remain competitive. If the contract no longer fits your retirement income strategy, the assets can often be transferred to a more appropriate strategy without immediate taxation through a tax-free exchange.

Can life insurance or annuities help cover long-term care costs?

Yes. Many modern life insurance policies and annuities include “riders” or features specifically designed for long-term care. Repositioning existing assets into these modern contracts is a common way for retirees to protect against one of the largest financial risks to their portfolio.

Why Regular Reviews are Essential

As you approach retirement, your needs shift from income protection to asset preservation. A comprehensive review by a Certified Financial Planner™ professional ensures that your insurance, annuities, taxes, and investments are all working together.

At Public Retirement Planners, insurance and annuity planning are integrated into a broader financial process designed to help you maintain financial stability throughout your retirement years.

Insurance / Annuities / 1035 / LTC Important Considerations and Risks: The strategies described above are for informational and illustrative purposes only and may not be appropriate for all individuals. Insurance and annuity products are subject to policy terms, fees, expenses, and carrier limitations. Benefits are not guaranteed and may vary based on contract provisions and claims eligibility.  Any repositioning or exchange of existing policies, including tax-free exchanges, should be carefully evaluated, as new products may involve surrender charges, new fee structures, and different benefit limitations.  Insurance products are offered through appropriately licensed individuals. NPN: 2434535.  Guarantees are based on the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.  This content is not intended as tax or legal advice. Individuals should consult with a qualified tax or legal professional before implementing any strategy.

Retirement Plan Solutions for Employers

Public Retirement Planners helps employers establish and manage tax-advantaged retirement plans for public-sector organizations, nonprofit institutions, and private businesses. These plans allow employees to save for retirement while helping employers provide valuable benefits that support long-term financial security.

Our goal is to provide retirement plans that are easy to administer, transparent in cost, and effective for employees. We offer a full suite of plans, including:

• 457 Deferred Compensation Plans
• 401(k) Retirement Plans
• 403(b) Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plans
• SEP IRA Plans
• SIMPLE IRA Plans

Retirement Plan Quick Answers

What is a 457 Deferred Compensation Plan?

A 457 plan is a retirement savings plan commonly offered to government employees. Participants contribute a portion of their salary to a tax-advantaged account that supplements pension benefits. A key advantage is that 457 plans often allow withdrawals after separation from service without the early withdrawal penalties that typically apply to 401(k) plans before age 59½.

What is a 403(b) Retirement Plan?

A 403(b) plan is a tax-advantaged retirement plan often used by teachers, school employees, hospitals, and nonprofit organizations. These plans allow employees to make tax-deferred contributions to supplement pension benefits and Social Security.

What is the difference between a 401(k) and a 457 or 403(b)?

The primary difference is the type of employer. Private-sector businesses offer 401(k) plans, while 457 and 403(b) plans are designed for the public sector and nonprofits. Each has unique rules regarding contribution limits and withdrawal flexibility.

Which plan is best for small businesses?

Small to medium-sized businesses typically choose between 401(k), SEP IRA, or SIMPLE IRA plans. The best choice depends on company size, employee headcount, and the employer’s contribution goals.

Specialized Retirement Plans by Sector

Public Sector: Municipalities and Government Agencies

We specialize in designing and servicing 457 Deferred Compensation Plans. Public employees often rely on multiple income sources, including pension benefits, 457 savings, and Social Security. We work with municipalities to implement plans that are cost-efficient, transparent, and easy for employees to understand.

Private Sector: Small and Medium Businesses

Public Retirement Planners helps private employers establish competitive 401(k), SEP IRA, or SIMPLE IRA plans. We apply the same focus on fee transparency and simplicity to the private sector that we do for our public-sector clients, ensuring plans are valuable for employees and easy for owners to manage.

Nonprofit and Education: Schools and Charities

Teachers, school employees, and nonprofit workers often utilize 403(b) or 457 plans. We help these organizations implement programs that supplement existing pension benefits and help employees prepare for a stable retirement.

Why Employers Partner With Public Retirement Planners

Organizations work with us to ensure their retirement benefits are transparent, cost-effective, and professionally managed. Our experience across the public and private sectors allows us to design predictable, straightforward plans that help your workforce build long-term financial security.

Are you looking to implement or review a retirement plan for your organization?

Contact Public Retirement Planners today for a consultation.

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt.

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt.