Background

Michael and Teresa are empty nesters with two adult children. Michael works in management at a utility company, Teresa works in healthcare administration, and they live in Southern California. They have been consistent savers, with most of their wealth in retirement accounts, but they felt uncertain about how to transition from saving to spending, especially with Social Security, Medicare, and taxes in the mix.

Client Need

They wanted a clear, fiduciary retirement plan that answered three questions:
1. When can we retire, and what income can we safely live on?
2. How do we reduce taxes in the years leading up to retirement and after?
3. How do we align our plan with our values, including generosity and faith-based investing?

Initial Complimentary Consultation

We started by listening to their goals, timelines, and concerns, then walked through our approach as a fee-only fiduciary advisor focused on comprehensive planning and ongoing guidance, not product sales.

Because values mattered to them, we also discussed how Palo Seco can incorporate a Christian stewardship lens, while serving anyone with excellence and genuine care, regardless of faith background.

Planning and Implementation

Palo Seco Wealth Management built a comprehensive, fiduciary retirement plan for Michael and Teresa that integrated retirement income planning (Social Security timing, withdrawal strategy, and spending guardrails), investment management using a long-term, diversified passive approach aligned to risk and time horizon, and proactive tax planning focused on tax-efficient distribution sequencing and major-decision tax impact. The plan also addressed Medicare and healthcare cost planning, reviewed insurance and risk management gaps that could derail retirement, coordinated key estate planning priorities like beneficiary designations and legacy goals, and implemented faith-based investing through custom portfolio screening to align investments with personal convictions, resulting in a clear retirement roadmap designed to adapt as markets and life circumstances change.

Planning and Implementation

Michael and Teresa left with a clear retirement roadmap, a portfolio aligned to their risk level and values, and a practical plan for taxes, healthcare costs, and estate priorities. Most importantly, they gained a process they could stick with as life and markets change, with ongoing reviews to keep the plan aligned over time.

If you are within 5 to 10 years of retirement and want a clear plan for retirement income, investments, and taxes, schedule a call and we’ll map your next steps with a fiduciary, goals-driven approach.

Background

Anthony and Jenny have 2 children ages 15 and 10. Anthony is a Field Supervisr for a Utility company and Jenny is a Medical Assistant. They live in a suburb of Los Angeles. They attend church and have a busy schedule with the kids' activities.

Client Need

Anthony and Jenny reached out to Palo Seco Wealth Management because they are not sure if they are on track for retirement which is still some time away but they wanted help getting a plan in place to ensure that they had sufficient money on which to retire. 

Initial Complimentary Consultation

I held an initial complimentary consultation with Anthony and Jenny and discussed with them how my firm is different from most since it approaches planning from a Christian perspective. I asked them about their experiences with money since these shape many of our money beliefs and whether they currently applied biblical principles to their views on money. They answered that they were familiar with staying out of debt (and that they needed help with that) as well as giving by setting money aside systematically. The conversation continued with both spiritual truths as well as practical solutions we would implement if they chose to hire us. They decided to move forward and hired us.  

Planning and Implementation

Once I had gathered all their financial documents and knew their goals and personal convictions, I built a financial plan that identified several blind spots in their protection planning, estate planning, tax planning and investment planning. Additionally, we unlocked their retirement plans so that they can now give a small portion (half of our fee .35%) to the ministries they support. They now get to add to their Kingdom investments that are eternal. In their case, they had $560,000 in retirement accounts, so they are giving an additional $1960 a year to their church for Kingdom work.