5 of the Top Financial Advisor Companies for Retirees: Well-Known Fiduciary Firms to Consider

What services should retirees expect from a financial advisor?

Financial advisors can offer a wide variety of services, including comprehensive financial planning and asset management. They can also advise on the specific needs of retirees. If you’re retired or planning to retire soon, look for an advisor who can help you with:

• Retirement income: A financial advisor can help you manage your retirement accounts in a way that minimizes the taxes you pay and ensures you have enough savings to last your full retirement. They can also advise on when to start claiming Social Security benefits.
• Tax planning: Many financial advisors offer tax planning advice, which can be particularly helpful for retirees with higher net worths who want to optimize their investments and charitable giving, reduce taxes on their estates and ensure they’re taking advantage of tax deductions available to retirees.
• Your estate plan: If you haven’t already, you’ll need to get your estate plan sorted out once you enter retirement to ensure your assets are distributed according to your wishes after you die. A financial advisor can help you shape your estate plan and determine how to minimize taxes when passing your wealth to the next generation. Some firms also have in-house attorneys who can draft estate documents. 
• Insurance needs: A financial advisor who is well-versed in the needs of retirees can help ensure you and your assets are protected by insurance. This includes analyzing your health insurance, long-term care and life insurance needs and helping you navigate finances before and after getting Medicare. “With [pre-Medicare] couples paying anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000 a month for healthcare, that’s a big chunk coming out of their nest egg,” Henrich says. “So how does [your advisor] address that?”

How to evaluate an advisor’s track record and credentials for retirement planning

Interview the financial advisors you’re considering hiring and ask about their experience working with retirees, the strategies they use for clients similar to you and what qualifications or credentials they have. You might even consider hiring a professional who specializes in working with people who have retired.

You should also ask if the advisor is a fiduciary—and if they’re always held to that standard. Fiduciary financial advisors are required to put your best interests ahead of their own. Registered investment advisers (RIAs) are legally required to act as fiduciaries, but some professionals are dual-registered and don’t always have to meet this standard. You can also ask a prospective advisor if they’re willing to sign a fiduciary oath. 

You can also look at an advisor’s credentials to better understand their background. One of the most popular credentials is the certified financial planner (CFP) designation, which signifies that the professional has completed rigorous education and experience requirements. A large portion of the CFP exam is dedicated to retirement savings and income planning. CFPs are also held to a fiduciary standard by the CFP Board, which issues this credential.

A few retirement-specific credentials exist as well, though they aren’t as common as the CFP designation. Two examples of these include retirement income certified professionals (RICPs) and retirement management advisors (RMAs).

What fee structures work best for retirees, and how to avoid conflicts

All advisor-client relationships involve some conflicts of interest, but some fee structures have more inherent conflicts than others. 

Advisors who earn commissions have a conflict of interest because they make money when you purchase financial products (like insurance) from them, incentivizing them to recommend products that earn them more money.

Experts often recommend working with a fee-only financial advisor because they don’t earn commissions, so there are fewer potential conflicts. However, that doesn’t mean there are no conflicts of interest when you work with a fee-only advisor. For example, a fee-only advisor who charges an assets under management (AUM) fee benefits when you invest in a portfolio they manage, rather than put that money elsewhere, like toward a home purchase, giving them an incentive to advise you to keep your money invested.

In addition to AUM fees, advisors can also charge flat fees, hourly fees, retainers or subscription-based fees. In general, AUM fees can be more affordable for those with lower account balances, while those with high balances might pay less with a flat-fee structure. 

For example, say you have $1 million in assets, and you can either hire an advisor who charges a 1% AUM fee or one who charges a $15,000 flat fee. With the 1% fee, you’ll pay only $10,000 a year, less than the $15,000 flat fee. Alternatively, if you have $5 million in assets, the 1% fee would mean paying $50,000 a year. In that case, the flat fee would be cheaper.

How to choose a financial advisor who fits your retirement needs

When choosing a financial advisor, start by ensuring that they have the experience and credentials to meet your needs. This might mean seeking out advisors who are CFPs or have retirement-specific designations, depending on what expertise you are looking for. You can search online for highly-rated firms or ask friends and family for recommendations.

Once you have identified some candidates, interview them. Some questions to consider asking a prospective advisor include:

• Do you always act as a fiduciary?
• Do you earn commissions?
• What services do you offer?
• What is your investment philosophy?
• How will we communicate?
• How often will we meet?
• How do you tailor your strategy to meet retirees’ needs?

During the interview, you should also consider whether you get along with the advisor and like their communication style. It’s important that you feel comfortable with your financial professional and have a good rapport since they will be managing your finances.

You can also check to ensure they’re properly registered and whether they have a history of discipline or regulatory actions on Finra’s BrokerCheck website or the Securities and Exchange Commission’s investment Adviser Public Disclosure website.

What questions should retirees ask prospective advisors?

Henrich recommends asking financial advisors questions to better understand which factors they prioritize when creating a plan, not just how they build the plan and what goes into it. “A lot of people who come into my office have worked with other outfits that seem to get the investment component and what income they can draw off of it—and that’s it,” he says. According to Henrich, a comprehensive plan should also include components that address the unexpected. To ensure your advisor will implement additional strategies, ask:

• How do you address future inflation in your financial planning? 
• How do you handle survivorship for married couples?
• How will my portfolio be adjusted for risk when I get closer to retirement?
• How can you ensure I don’t outlive my retirement savings?
• What is your experience with long-term care planning?

In Henrich’s experience, many clients prefer to work with an older person because they feel more comfortable working with someone in a similar stage of life. If that’s something you prefer, he recommends asking prospective advisors what their succession plan is for their clients if they plan to retire soon. “A lot of offices have other financial advisors available, so the obvious answer would be to [transfer them] to someone else in the office. But there are still a lot of offices with just one or two advisors,” he says. “So a succession plan is [important] to ask about.”

What type of financial advisor is best for retirees?

The best type of financial advisor for anyone, including retirees, is one that has expertise and experience specific to your situation. You’ll likely want to work with someone who is a fiduciary and has extensive knowledge of different retirement plans, retirement income strategies and, possibly, estate planning.

CFPs are often considered the gold standard in financial planning, and anyone with the CFP designation has been tested on their thorough knowledge of retirement planning. RICPs and chartered retirement planning counselors are also uniquely qualified to help people with their retirement financial planning.

Though it’s possible to find an advisor who acts in your best interests while also earning commissions, many investors prefer fee-only advisors to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.

Methodology

Buy Side analyzed some of the largest and most well-known independent RIA firms and scored those firms based on their fees, credentials, customer support, available services, portfolio construction and account minimum. These factors were weighted based on WSJ reader surveys regarding what they considered most important. 

Then, we took the highest-scoring firms and evaluated their retirement, estate, tax and insurance planning services—all of which are important for retirees. We also prioritized firms that offer easy, frequent access to dedicated advisors or advisor teams. 

FAQ

What minimum asset requirements should I meet when choosing a retirement advisor?

Minimum asset requirements vary by advisor, so you should look for an advisor whose requirements you meet. Some don’t have any minimum, while some require $100,000 or more. 

Should I choose a fee‑only advisor for retirement income planning?

Fee-only advisors often have fewer conflicts of interest compared to advisors who earn commissions. If minimizing potential conflicts is important to you, you should seek out an advisor who is solely paid by their clients and doesn’t earn commissions selling financial products.

How often should a retiree review their financial advisor relationship?

It’s generally recommended to meet with your advisor once a year to review your finances and make adjustments to your plan, though you can meet more often if you prefer. When the time for your regular meeting comes, you can also evaluate whether you feel like they’re still the best fit for you or if it would be worth changing financial advisors.

Can an advisor help with required minimum distributions and legacy planning?

Yes, financial advisors who offer retirement income planning services should also be able to help you determine your required minimum distributions to avoid tax penalties. Additionally, advisors who work with higher-net-worth retirees often have services to help their clients plan their legacy and ensure their wealth is passed on in accordance with their values.

What questions should I ask to confirm that a retirement advisor is a fiduciary?

You can ask your advisor directly if they’re a fiduciary, and if they are, whether that’s always the case. For example, RIAs are fiduciaries, but if they’re dually registered as a broker, they might not always be held to that standard depending on the role they’re filling. You might consider asking your advisor to sign a fiduciary oath stating that they’ll always act as a fiduciary when working with you. You can also ask about their fee structure and whether they earn commissions. Earning commissions could introduce a potential conflict of interest into the relationship, since the advisor benefits from selling you certain financial products.