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We primarily work with individuals and families whose financial lives have become too complex to manage one decision at a time. That often includes people approaching retirement, retirees, professionals in their peak earning years, business owners, and families navigating a significant financial transition.

Our clients are generally looking for more than investment management. They want help coordinating retirement income, taxes, investments, estate considerations, insurance, charitable planning, and other important decisions.

Our work is most valuable when there are several decisions to coordinate and an ongoing planning relationship would be helpful.

The terms are often used interchangeably, but the services can be quite different.

Some financial advisors primarily focus on selecting and managing investments. A financial planner should look more broadly at how investments fit alongside retirement income, taxes, Social Security, pensions, insurance, estate planning, charitable goals, and major life decisions.

At Apricity Advisors, investment management is part of the relationship, but it is not the entire relationship. We begin with planning so that the portfolio can support the client’s broader financial life.

*Financial planning is for advisory clients only.

Comprehensive planning brings the major areas of your financial life into one coordinated process. Depending on your circumstances, this may include:

• Retirement income planning
• Investment strategy
• Tax-aware planning
• Social Security and pension decisions
• Medicare and healthcare planning
• Insurance and risk management
• Estate planning coordination
• Charitable giving
• Business and real estate transitions
• Family and legacy planning

Not every client needs help in every area at the same time. The goal is to identify which decisions matter now, which ones are approaching, and how those decisions affect one another.

*Financial planning is for advisory clients only. Neither Apricity Advisors nor &Partners renders legal or tax advice. Please consult your tax or legal advisors before taking any action that may have tax consequences.

Ongoing planning may be helpful when your decisions have become interconnected or the cost of an avoidable mistake has increased.

Common signs include approaching retirement, managing several retirement accounts, holding a concentrated investment or real estate position, considering the sale of a business, dealing with changing tax circumstances, navigating an inheritance or estate plan, or trying to coordinate multiple professionals.

You do not need to have every detail organized before speaking with an advisor. In many cases, organizing the financial picture is the first part of the planning process.

*Financial planning is for advisory clients only.

The first conversation is intended to determine whether there is a good fit on both sides.

We will ask about what prompted you to reach out, the decisions you are facing, and what you would like your financial life to look like. We will also explain how our planning process works, how we serve clients as a team, and what an ongoing relationship may involve.

There is no expectation that you arrive with a perfectly organized financial plan. Bringing a general understanding of your accounts, income, goals, and current concerns is usually enough to begin.

Retirement planning is most useful when there is still time to make thoughtful adjustments. For many people, the five to ten years before retirement are especially important because decisions about savings, taxes, Social Security, pensions, healthcare, debt, and investment risk begin to converge.

Starting earlier can create more choices, but it is rarely too late to improve the plan. Even someone close to retirement can benefit from understanding projected income, spending needs, tax exposure, and the tradeoffs involved in different retirement dates.

There is no single savings target that applies to everyone. The amount you need depends on your expected spending, retirement age, lifestyle, healthcare costs, taxes, Social Security, pensions, other income sources, and the length of time your assets may need to support you.

We generally begin with the life you want to fund rather than an arbitrary account balance. From there, we can estimate future income needs, test different assumptions, and determine whether your current resources are reasonably aligned with your goals.

A useful retirement projection considers more than your current account balance. It should evaluate your savings rate, investment allocation, future spending, inflation, taxes, Social Security, pensions, healthcare costs, and the possibility of living longer than expected.

It should also test less favorable circumstances, such as a market decline near retirement, higher expenses, or an earlier-than-planned retirement.

Being “on track” does not mean predicting the future precisely. It means understanding the range of possible outcomes and knowing which adjustments could improve the plan.

A personalized plan begins by organizing your financial information and defining what retirement means to you. That may include when you would like to stop working, how you expect to spend your time, where you plan to live, what support you may provide to family, and which goals are most important.

The plan then connects those goals to projected spending, income sources, investments, taxes, healthcare, insurance, and estate considerations. It should identify decisions that need to be made now as well as decisions that can wait.

Because circumstances change, a retirement plan should be reviewed and adjusted over time rather than treated as a one-time calculation.

A retirement income plan should identify where your income will come from, when each source should begin, and how withdrawals will be coordinated.

That may include Social Security, pension income, retirement accounts, taxable investments, business or real estate income, and cash reserves. The plan should also consider taxes, required distributions, inflation, healthcare costs, investment risk, and unexpected expenses.

The objective is not simply to produce income for the first few years of retirement. It is to build a flexible approach that can support changing needs over the course of retirement.

The best claiming age depends on your broader financial circumstances. Important considerations include your health, expected longevity, marital status, work plans, other income, tax situation, and whether delaying benefits would provide meaningful protection later in life.

Claiming at age 62 provides income sooner but generally results in a lower monthly benefit. Waiting beyond full retirement age can increase the monthly benefit until age 70. For married couples, the decision should usually be evaluated jointly because one spouse’s choice may affect the income available to the household and potentially the surviving spouse.

We view Social Security as one part of the retirement income plan rather than a stand-alone decision.

Yes. You can receive Social Security retirement benefits while working. However, if you are younger than your full retirement age and your earnings exceed the applicable annual limit, some benefits may be temporarily withheld.

Once you reach full retirement age, the retirement earnings test no longer applies. Social Security may also recalculate your benefit to account for certain benefits previously withheld and for additional years of earnings.

Because the rules and annual limits can change, the decision should be reviewed using current Social Security information and in the context of your tax and retirement plan.

A lump sum provides control over the assets and may offer greater flexibility for investing, withdrawals, and estate planning. A monthly pension provides predictable income and transfers some investment and longevity risk to the pension plan.

The right choice depends on the financial strength and terms of the pension, available survivor benefits, interest-rate assumptions, your health, expected longevity, other reliable income, investment experience, tax considerations, and how important leaving assets to family may be.

This is often an irreversible decision. It deserves a comparison that looks beyond the initial monthly payment or lump-sum amount.

Public and federal employees often have several benefit systems that need to be coordinated. These may include a pension, Social Security, healthcare benefits, accumulated leave, survivor elections, and retirement savings such as a 403(b), 457 plan, or Thrift Savings Plan.

Before retiring, it is helpful to review:

• Pension estimates and payout elections
• Survivor benefit choices
• Social Security eligibility
• TSP or other retirement-plan distribution options
• Healthcare coverage before and after Medicare
• Tax withholding and projected retirement taxes
• The timing of retirement and benefit commencement dates

Apricity Advisors has experience helping federal employees and other public-sector workers evaluate how their benefits fit into a broader retirement plan. Plan-specific rules should also be confirmed directly with the applicable retirement system.

Depending on the plan, you may be able to leave the account where it is, move it to a new employer’s plan, roll it into an IRA, or take a distribution. Each option has potential advantages and disadvantages involving fees, investments, creditor protection, withdrawal flexibility, access to institutional funds, and tax treatment.

A rollover is not automatically the best choice. Before moving an account, it is important to compare the existing plan with the available alternatives and consider any plan-specific benefits that could be lost.

When a rollover is appropriate, a direct transfer generally helps avoid the withholding and timing complications that may arise when retirement funds are paid to you personally.

Please keep in mind that rolling over your QRP assets to an IRA is just one option. You generally have four options for your QRP distribution:

1. Roll assets to an IRA
2. Leave assets in your former employer’s QRP, if QRP allows
3. Move assets to your new/existing employer’s QRP, if QRP allows
4. Take your money out and pay the associated taxes

Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages and the one that is best depends on your individual circumstances. When considering rolling over your assets from a QRP to an IRA, factors that should be considered and compared between QRPs and IRAs include fees and expenses, services offered, investment options, when you no longer owe the 10% additional tax for early or pre-59 ½ distributions, treatment of employer stock, when required minimum distributions begin and protection of assets from creditors and bankruptcy. Investing and maintaining assets in an IRA will generally involve higher costs than those associated with QRPs. You should consult with the plan administrator and a professional tax advisor before making any decisions regarding your retirement assets.

A tax-efficient retirement income strategy coordinates withdrawals from taxable accounts, tax-deferred retirement accounts, and Roth accounts rather than drawing from each account without a plan.

Depending on the circumstances, planning may involve capital gains management, Roth conversions, charitable giving, qualified charitable distributions, tax withholding, and the timing of Social Security or pension income.

The lowest tax bill in a single year is not always the best long-term result. The more useful question is how today’s decision may affect taxes over the course of retirement, including future required distributions, Medicare premiums, and the assets eventually left to family.

Required minimum distributions, commonly called RMDs, are amounts that generally must be withdrawn annually from certain tax-deferred retirement accounts after reaching the applicable starting age.

The amount is typically based on the account’s prior year-end value and an IRS life-expectancy factor. Different rules may apply to workplace plans, inherited accounts, and Roth accounts.

RMD planning should begin before the first distribution is due. Earlier decisions involving Roth conversions, charitable giving, retirement dates, and account consolidation may affect future taxable income.

Traditional and Roth IRAs receive different tax treatment.

Traditional IRA contributions may be deductible depending on your income and workplace retirement-plan coverage. Investment growth is tax-deferred, and taxable withdrawals are generally included in income.

Roth IRA contributions are made with after-tax dollars. Qualified withdrawals can be tax-free, and Roth IRAs owned by the original account holder are not generally subject to lifetime required minimum distributions.

The better choice depends on your current tax rate, expected future tax rate, eligibility, time horizon, cash flow, and broader retirement strategy. In some cases, using both account types provides useful flexibility.

A retirement portfolio should reflect the amount of risk you need to take, the amount you can afford to take, and how withdrawals will be funded during difficult markets.

That usually involves balancing growth, income, liquidity, diversification, costs, and tax efficiency. The appropriate allocation may also depend on the amount of reliable income you receive from Social Security, pensions, or other sources.

The portfolio should support the retirement plan rather than operate separately from it. As spending needs, markets, tax laws, and family circumstances change, the strategy may need to change as well.

Business-sale planning should begin well before a transaction whenever possible. The structure and timing of a sale can affect taxes, cash flow, estate planning, charitable opportunities, and the amount of risk concentrated in the business.

A coordinated planning process may include estimating the proceeds needed to support your future lifestyle, evaluating transaction scenarios, preparing for taxes, reviewing estate documents, considering charitable strategies, and developing an investment plan for the proceeds.

The attorney, CPA, transaction advisor, and financial advisor should communicate throughout the process. What happens after the sale can be just as important as the terms of the sale itself.

Neither Apricity Advisors nor &Partners renders legal or tax advice. Please consult your tax or legal advisors before taking any action that may have tax consequences.

The first step is usually to avoid making several permanent decisions at once.

Sale proceeds may need to support taxes, retirement spending, family goals, charitable giving, future business opportunities, and long-term investments. Before investing the full amount, it can be helpful to establish a secure place for near-term funds, clarify tax obligations, and create a written plan for the remaining capital.

A thoughtful transition plan can also help address the emotional shift from owning an operating business to managing liquid wealth.

A real estate transition should be considered in the context of your overall financial life. A 1031 exchange may allow an eligible investor to defer recognition of certain gains by exchanging qualifying real property, but it also involves detailed requirements, deadlines, and tradeoffs.

Before proceeding, it is important to clarify your objective. You may want continued real estate exposure, more income, less management responsibility, greater diversification, or additional liquidity.

Apricity Advisors can help evaluate how a potential exchange or sale fits with your retirement, investment, tax, and estate plans. Legal and tax requirements should be reviewed with qualified attorneys, tax professionals, and exchange specialists.

Neither Apricity Advisors nor &Partners renders legal or tax advice. Please consult your tax or legal advisors before taking any action that may have tax consequences.

A financial legacy plan begins with more than deciding who receives which assets. It considers how wealth should support the people and causes that matter to you and how those intentions will be communicated.

Planning may involve beneficiary designations, wills, trusts, insurance, charitable giving, account ownership, tax considerations, and conversations with family members. It should also address who will help manage financial matters if you become unable to do so.

Apricity Advisors works alongside clients’ attorneys and tax professionals to help ensure that investment accounts, planning decisions, and estate documents are coordinated.

A will provides instructions for distributing certain assets after death and can name guardians for minor children. Assets passing under a will generally go through the probate process.

A trust is a legal arrangement that holds and manages property according to its terms. Depending on its structure and how it is funded, a trust may provide ongoing management, privacy, probate avoidance, or additional control over how and when assets are distributed.

A trust is not necessary for everyone, and having a trust document alone is not enough if assets are never properly connected to it. An estate-planning attorney should determine which documents are appropriate. Apricity Advisors can help guide the conversation and can help coordinate account ownership and beneficiary designations with the attorney’s recommendations.

Neither Apricity Advisors nor &Partners renders legal or tax advice. Please consult your tax or legal advisors before taking any action that may have tax consequences.

Charitable planning can help you support organizations and communities that matter to you while coordinating giving with your tax, retirement, and estate plans.

Depending on your circumstances, options may include gifts of cash, appreciated investments, qualified charitable distributions, donor-advised funds, or charitable trusts. The appropriate strategy depends on the assets you own, the timing of the gift, your income, and the degree of control or flexibility you would like.

Through the Apricity Legacy Project, we help clients have more intentional conversations about generosity, family values, community involvement, and the legacy they would like to create.

During a major transition, the immediate goal is usually to create stability rather than make every long-term decision at once.

Important early steps may include organizing accounts and documents, confirming available income and cash reserves, notifying relevant institutions, reviewing Social Security or pension benefits, updating account ownership and beneficiaries, and identifying upcoming tax or legal deadlines.

Some decisions require prompt attention, while others can wait until there is more clarity. We help clients prioritize what needs to happen now, coordinate with attorneys and tax professionals, and gradually build a plan for the next chapter.