Who We Serve · Pre-retirees
You're within a few years of retiring, with real savings behind you. We help you turn that into a plan for income, taxes, and timing — so the decision rests on numbers you can see, not a hunch.
How we help
You've saved for decades. The question now is whether it's enough — and how to turn it into steady income while managing the risk of running out. We model your spending, taxes, and the order you draw from each account, so you can decide when you're actually ready to retire. No plan can remove market risk or guarantee an outcome, but a clear one lets you see the tradeoffs before you commit.
In retirement, the sequence you tap your 401(k), IRA, Roth, and taxable accounts can shape both your lifetime tax bill and how long the money lasts. We map a withdrawal order around your spending, required minimum distributions, and tax bracket, then revisit it as the rules and your life change. This is planning, not a promise — actual results depend on your individual circumstances and future tax law, and this is not tax advice.
The years right before retirement are when the biggest tax decisions get made — Roth conversions, when to claim Social Security, how to bridge to Medicare before 65. As a fiduciary, we help you weigh them against your whole picture, in plain English. What actually makes sense depends on your individual circumstances, and none of this is tax advice; we coordinate with your CPA so the plan and the return line up.
Before you hand in notice, we model different market paths, spending levels, and start dates to see where the plan holds and where it strains — including sequence-of-returns risk, the danger of a weak market early in retirement. The point is to make the tradeoffs visible so you can choose with your eyes open. All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal, and no plan can guarantee a result.
We're fee-only: our compensation is the fee you pay us, with no commissions, no proprietary products, and no referral fees. Near retirement that matters, because the guidance on Social Security timing, rollovers, and annuities comes without a sales incentive behind it. You get the reasoning in plain English and one coordinated view of your whole picture.
Where we focus
We model your spending, taxes, and account-by-account withdrawals to build an income approach designed to seek to last through a long retirement.
Roth-conversion analysis, tax-loss harvesting, asset location, and withdrawal sequencing, designed to seek to reduce your lifetime tax bill depending on your individual circumstances and subject to IRS rules such as the wash-sale rule, coordinated with your CPA — this is not tax advice.
Globally diversified, low-cost portfolios matched to your goals, time horizon, and comfort with volatility, and rebalanced with an eye on taxes.
A candid look at your health, life, and long-term-care coverage — including the gap before Medicare at 65 — to surface gaps and overlaps.
Questions
It depends on your spending, other income like Social Security or a pension, your taxes, and how long the money needs to last — there's no single number that answers it. We build a plan around your actual expenses and model different market and longevity scenarios so you can see whether the numbers hold and where they strain. All investing involves risk, and no plan can guarantee you won't outlive your assets.
There's no universal order — it depends on your tax bracket, required minimum distributions, Roth balances, and how long the money must last. Often it means blending taxable, tax-deferred, and Roth withdrawals to manage your bracket over time rather than emptying one account first. We map a sequence for your situation and coordinate with your CPA; this is planning, not tax advice, and the answer changes with the rules and your life.
The window between retiring and the start of RMDs and Social Security is often when conversions get the most attention, because your income — and bracket — may be temporarily lower. Whether they help depends on your current and expected future tax rates, your other income, and how the tax is paid, so it isn't right for everyone. We model conversions against your whole picture and work with your tax professional; this is not tax advice.
There's no single right age — claiming as early as 62 locks in a smaller benefit, while waiting toward 70 increases it, and the tradeoff depends on your health, other income, marital status, and how it fits your withdrawal plan. As a fiduciary, we help you weigh the timing against your whole picture, including how it interacts with Roth conversions and taxes. We earn nothing based on when you claim.
SCN Capital is a fee-only fiduciary Registered Investment Adviser based in San Clemente, serving pre-retirees across Orange County, California, and the U.S. A fee based on assets under management is worth weighing against what it buys — coordinated income, tax, and investment planning from an adviser paid only by you, with no commissions or product sales. Whether it makes sense depends on your situation, which a short, no-obligation conversation can help you judge.
Important disclosures. The information on this page is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not investment, tax, or legal advice, nor a recommendation to buy or sell any security or to adopt any investment strategy. Model portfolios and strategy descriptions are general and illustrative; a client's actual portfolio is personalized and will differ based on individual circumstances.
All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Diversification and asset allocation do not ensure a profit or protect against loss, and past performance is not indicative of future results. Tax-management techniques such as direct indexing and tax-loss harvesting depend on individual circumstances, are subject to IRS rules (including the wash-sale rule), and may not benefit every investor. SCN Capital does not provide tax or legal advice; please consult your qualified tax professional.
A short, no-obligation conversation to walk through your income, taxes, and timeline — and to see whether we're the right fit.
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