Should You Hire a Retirement Financial Planner?

Planning for retirement usually starts off simple — plugging numbers into a retirement calculator only takes a few minutes — but it can grow more complex as your retirement date gets closer. Consider your assets and financial situation, then Social Security benefits and uncertainty about your portfolio, and it might seem helpful to get a second opinion from an expert so you can cruise into your later years with some peace of mind.

Enter a retirement financial planner — a financial advisor who specializes in helping clients plan for retirement. They help with creating retirement savings and investment strategies designed with your retirement goals in mind. Later in retirement, they can also help figure out a withdrawal plan while accounting for factors such as Social Security, Medicare, and required minimum distributions.

5 signs you should consider hiring a retirement financial planner

If some of the situations below apply to you, a retirement financial planner might be helpful.

1. You have money in a lot of places, or you have complex finances. Add on multiple income streams, equity compensation, alternative investments, and inheritances, and all of it can make retirement planning harder to do. 

2. You pay a lot of taxes or are worried about taxes in retirement. A retirement advisor can help with Roth conversions, tax-efficient investing, and allocating assets among retirement and investment accounts. 

3. You’re not sure you’re saving enough. A retirement planner can model multiple scenarios and identify gaps specific to your circumstances. 

4. You just made or are about to make major life changes. Marriage, divorce, inheritance, job changes or selling a home can make it difficult to know how your retirement will be affected. 

5. You haven’t done any estate planning. Part of retirement planning could be deciding how you want your assets to be distributed after you die.

How much does a retirement financial planner cost?

The cost of working with a retirement financial planner depends on their fees, the services you need and how complex your finances are. Price matters, but so does what you need.

If you're in or near retirement and you just want a check-up or one-time plan from an advisor, you might consider working with someone who offers that service for a flat fee. For example, you may pay a couple thousand dollars, depending on the complexity of your financial situation, but in exchange, you'll get a roadmap you can follow on your own with no additional costs.

» Read our deep dive into financial advisor fee structures

The downside is that you don't get ongoing hand-holding or guidance to help you stay on track — or get back on track, if things go sideways. That can happen quickly, especially in the early days of retirement while you're still figuring things out. The risk is compounded by the stock market — volatility or a downturn early on can quickly get you off course.