Do You Need a Financial Advisor After You Retire?

Retirement changes how people think about money. While income may shift from a paycheck to Social Security, pensions or investment withdrawals, financial decisions don’t stop. A financial advisor can help retirees manage withdrawals, balance risk in their portfolios, plan for taxes and support long-term goals like estate planning or charitable giving. Whether you need one depends on how comfortable you are making these decisions and how complex your finances are after you stop working.

If you’re interested in working with a financial advisor when you retire, connect with an advisor for free.

What Can a Financial Advisor Do for You?

A financial advisor helps you organize, manage and plan your finances so that you can reach your goals before and during retirement. Their role can vary depending on your needs, but generally, they provide guidance in areas such as:

• Budgeting and cash flow management
• Investment planning and asset allocation
• Retirement income planning
• Setting and tracking financial goals
• Risk management and insurance planning

While some advisors may offer tax planning insights, like how withdrawals or investments could affect your tax bill, they typically do not prepare taxes or provide accounting services. Instead, they often coordinate with accountants or tax professionals when clients require specialized advice.

Ultimately, a financial advisor focuses on your overall financial picture, helping you align your resources with your long-term objectives. For many retirees, this includes managing retirement accounts, adjusting investment strategies and maintaining financial stability throughout retirement.

How Your Finances Change in Retirement

For most households, financial goals in retirement shift from accumulating assets to spending and managing them. In other words, you no longer actively earn new money regularly. Instead, you live off a portfolio of savings and assets that you built up over the years.

Beyond this, retirement comes with an entire basket of its own financial considerations and concerns. Most households no longer have dependents, so at retirement age, it’s unlikely that you will have to worry about caring for minor children, college tuition or elderly parents. However, you will need to begin planning for your own long-term expenses.

In particular, a few financial concerns are common to retirement, which include:

• Growing healthcare expenses
• Potential long-term or residential care costs
• Increased costs of living while on a fixed income
• Sequence risk (having to withdraw assets in a down market)
• Life expectancy and portfolio duration
• Estate planning

These aren’t issues unique to retirement, nor will every retiree have to manage them. But they are common.

A core issue surrounding finances in retirement is flexibility. Once you shift from earning new income to living off your portfolio, it becomes much harder to change your financial footprint. In your working years, it’s much easier to recover from an unexpected expense or save up toward a new goal. In retirement, that’s more difficult. Managing this is critical to a successful retirement.

Do You Need a Financial Advisor in Retirement?

The answer to this question, of course, depends. Many people think of their financial advisor as someone who helps them save up for retirement. Once they retire, in this view, the advisor’s job is done. In reality, retirement often introduces a different set of financial decisions rather than ending them.

This can be more or less true depending on how you have structured your portfolio. For example, a retiree might build an income-based portfolio that generates payments from annuities and long-term bonds. This retirement account would function like an indefinite income and would need much less investment management in retirement as a result, though decisions around taxes, withdrawals and account coordination still apply.

On the other hand, a retiree might have a portfolio built around capital assets. This portfolio would likely capture more growth during retirement, but since it would only generate money by selling assets, the portfolio would need much more active investment management, along with careful withdrawal timing and tax planning.

The nature of your portfolio can go a long way toward determining the importance of ongoing advice. A portfolio that needs more active management will generally benefit from more advice in retirement, but even simpler portfolios can require guidance on taxes, healthcare costs, income sequencing and estate considerations.

Beyond that, a good way to consider this is cost. Can you afford to continue working with your financial advisor? If so, this is probably a good relationship to maintain. Many of the issues around day-to-day finance will only get more important in retirement.

Advisors typically charge a fee that’s based on a percentage of your assets under management (AUM). According to Kitces, a typical fee schedule starts at 1% on the first $2 million in AUM and then drops to 0.9% on the next $3 million, 0.75% on the next $5 million and 0.60% on assets that exceed $10 million. ¹

Finding a Financial Advisor for Retirement

Choosing the right financial advisor in retirement starts with identifying someone who understands income planning, withdrawal strategies and how to make assets last. Retirees should look for an advisor who specializes in retirement planning rather than accumulation, since the focus shifts from growing wealth to managing it sustainably.

Credentials like the Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®), chartered financial consultant (ChFC) and retirement income certified professional (RICP) can also provide confidence that an advisor has specialized training in retirement issues.

Fee structure is another key consideration. Many retirees prefer fee-only fiduciary advisors, who are legally obligated to act in their clients’ best interests and don’t earn commissions from selling products.

Online matching tools like SmartAsset, professional associations and referrals from trusted sources can help narrow the search. Once you’ve found a few potential candidates, schedule introductory meetings to discuss your goals, risk tolerance and income needs. The right advisor will take time to understand your situation and build a plan that supports both your lifestyle and peace of mind throughout retirement.

When You May Not Need a Financial Advisor in Retirement

Some retirees have income sources that cover most or all routine expenses. Social Security, a pension or annuity payments may provide steady cash flow that reduces the need for ongoing portfolio management. When spending needs are predictable and largely met without selling investments, financial decisions tend to be more limited.

A retirement portfolio built for simplicity can also reduce the need for regular advice. Households that rely on broad index funds, maintain a fixed asset allocation and rebalance infrequently may face fewer day-to-day decisions. In these cases, investment oversight often becomes more mechanical than strategic.

Tax situations in retirement also vary widely. Retirees with one or two account types, modest taxable income and straightforward withdrawal patterns may face fewer planning issues. When required minimum distributions, capital gains and Social Security taxation are already familiar, outside coordination may be less relevant.

Personal comfort with financial management plays a role as well. Some retirees prefer to monitor balances, track spending and manage withdrawals on their own. If you already review your finances regularly and feel confident making adjustments, ongoing advisory support may feel redundant.

Finally, some retirees choose limited or occasional help instead of a full-time advisory relationship. Hourly consultations or one-time reviews can address specific questions without committing to ongoing fees. This approach may fit retirees who want periodic guidance while retaining direct control over their finances.

Bottom Line

Most people think that their financial advisor’s job is done once they help them retire. In fact, it’s often just getting started as you’ll still have plenty of financial decisions and investments to make. As you try to navigate the financial ups and downs of retirement it could be just as important to have an advisor at your side as it was when you were working and preparing for the big change.

That’s where ongoing guidance can come into play. Brandon Renfro, CFP®, RICP, EA says: “Not everyone needs a financial advisor in retirement, but a retirement-focused financial advisor can offer expertise for navigating a wide array of financial issues. They can also take the hassle out of doing it all yourself, allowing you to focus on other things.”

Brandon Renfro, CFP®, RICP, EA, provided the quote used in this article. Please note that Brandon is not a participant in SmartAsset AMP, is not an employee of SmartAsset and has been compensated. The opinion voiced in the quote is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations.

Financial Advising Tips

• Getting help to manage your money can be important when you’re thinking about retirement. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
• Don’t forget that your financial advisor is key to helping you set up that retirement account in the first place.

Photo credit: ©iStock.com/fizkes, ©iStock.com/JackF, ©iStock.com/gpointstudio