Who Creative Planning Works With Every Day

Recent retirees leaving the workplace

The biggest adjustment for recent retirees is turning off automated contributions and setting up an ongoing income stream. Selling shares during an early market dip can permanently impair a portfolio, which is why a static percentage withdrawal often breaks down.

Our team builds a flexible guardrails withdrawal strategy that adjusts your distributions as market valuations rise or drop. Instead of locking into one rigid dollar amount, you know exactly when spending can safely increase or when discretionary expenses should pause.

We also coordinate healthcare rules before Medicare Part B standard premiums rise, such as watching Medicare IRMAA 2026 tiers ($218,000 for married couples filing jointly, based on 2024 returns) so uncoordinated distributions do not trigger premium surcharges.

• Replacing corporate paychecks with monthly distributions sent to your checking account.
• Sequencing withdrawals between taxable, tax-deferred, and Roth balances to manage annual tax brackets.
• Coordinating Social Security claiming decisions before age 70 to maximize survivor and lifetime payouts.

Pre-retirees inside five years of the exit

Pre-retirees are actively testing whether their nest egg can support their target lifestyle. The focus changes from maximum asset accumulation to structuring capital for upcoming cash flows.

At Creative Planning, we review your final working years to capture last-minute savings allowances while drafting your written plan. For example, for tax year 2026, savers age 50 and older can direct $32,500 into employer plans through the $8,000 catch-up contribution.

We look closely at upcoming 401(k) rollovers, employer stock concentrations, and multi-year windows for Roth conversions before required minimum distributions begin.

• Stress-testing projected spending against historical market downturns.
• Arranging a cash and short-term reserve to cover your initial two years of retirement expenses.
• Evaluating whether to leave 401(k) assets in an institutional plan or roll them to an IRA.

Engineers and analytical professionals

Engineers, developers, and technical leaders appreciate verifiable numbers over generic slogans. They often hold detailed spreadsheets tracking every tax lot, cost basis detail, and vesting schedule.

They partner with Creative Planning because our flexible spending rules rely on objective thresholds, not gut feelings. When equity values cross predefined upper or lower bounds, distributions adjust automatically based on clear criteria.

We handle the ongoing maintenance of rebalancing, tax-loss harvesting, and tracking complex tax rules so analytical professionals can step away from daily management without surrendering rigor.

DIY investors ready to delegate

Managing personal finances is engaging during the accumulation phase when the core task is buying broad index funds and rebalancing annually. It becomes much more burdensome when distributions, Medicare rules, and estate strategies enter the picture.

Former DIY investors come to our team when monitoring multi-account portfolios stops being an interesting weekend project. They want to free up their time while knowing an experienced advisor is overseeing trade executions and withdrawal sequences.

No investment portfolio is guaranteed, and a portfolio can fall in value, sometimes for years. Having a disciplined framework relieves you from having to evaluate asset allocation choices during every market correction.

Other investors seeking structured planning

While most of our clients belong to these groups, Creative Planning is open to anyone seeking disciplined portfolio management and tax-smart distribution advice. The firm maintains a client minimum of $500,000 in investable assets.

As of 10/5/2026, Creative Planning serves 560,000 clients and manages $4.5 billion in client assets. Advisory fees are set out in a written agreement before any work starts, giving you total transparency on every line item.

We work with clients in all 50 states via phone and scheduled video conferences, anchored by our primary office at 539 11th Avenue South, Naples, FL 34102.