Turn Your Savings Into Income You Can Count On
Saving for retirement and living on it are two different problems. A risk-managed income plan is built for the second one.
Schedule a ConsultationThe Numbers Behind the Plan
How long a 65-year-old can now expect to live on average, according to the Social Security Administration — up from about 14 years in 1940. Your income has to last.
Morningstar’s 2026 estimate of a safe starting withdrawal rate for a 30-year retirement, with a 90% probability of success — below the classic 4% rule of thumb.
The portion of your Social Security benefit that can become taxable income, depending on your other income — which is why where your withdrawals come from matters.
When required minimum distributions begin on traditional accounts, depending on your birth year — a forced taxable income stream you can plan around.
Retirement Income Is a Different Problem Than Saving
While you work, a market drop is a setback you can ride out with new contributions. In retirement, you’re pulling money out — and withdrawing from a portfolio that has just fallen locks in losses that never get a chance to recover.
That’s called sequence-of-returns risk: two retirees can earn the same average return over 30 years and end up in very different places, simply because one hit a bad market early. A good income plan is designed with that risk in mind from day one.
The Building Blocks of Your Income Plan
- Social Security timing — when you claim can change your lifetime benefits and how much of them is taxed.
- Pensions and guaranteed income — the income floor you can count on regardless of the market, which for some households can include insurance-based strategies.
- Portfolio withdrawals — how much to draw, from which accounts, and in what order.
- Taxes — coordinating traditional, Roth, and taxable accounts to keep more of what you withdraw.
Why Risk Management Matters More in Retirement
Sandos Financial’s investment approach is built around managing downside risk. Using a weight-of-the-evidence approach, we first look at our Risk On / Risk Off indicators tied to the S&P 500 for a top-down view of the overall market, which guides when to be invested. We then review our Relative Strength & Momentum Ranking Strategy, which guides what to invest in.
For a retiree drawing income, avoiding the deepest losses isn’t just about comfort — it helps protect the portfolio that has to fund the next 20 or 30 years. No strategy can eliminate risk or guarantee results, but a disciplined, rules-based process can keep emotion out of the decisions that matter most.
See How Long Your Income Could Last
Our Retirement Income Calculator lets you enter your own Social Security estimates, savings and income goal to see how the pieces could fit together. It is an educational tool, not personalized investment advice.
Try the Retirement Income CalculatorSee How Taxes Fit Into Your Income
Withdrawals, Social Security, and Roth conversions all interact. Our Roth Conversion, QCD & Social Security Tax Strategy Tool shows how your income choices can change the tax on your benefits, and our Roth Conversions page explains when moving money to a Roth can help.
Try the Tax Strategy Tool Learn About Roth ConversionsHow We Help
Map Your Income Needs
We compare what you want to spend with what Social Security, pensions, and other guaranteed sources already cover, so you know exactly how much your portfolio has to provide.
Coordinate Withdrawals and Taxes
We model which accounts to draw from and when, with your CPA or tax preparer, to help keep the tax bill on your income as low as possible.
Manage the Risk Ongoing
We monitor the market with our Risk On / Risk Off process and review your plan regularly, adjusting as your life, spending, and the markets change.
Ready to Build Your Retirement Paycheck?
Schedule a ConsultationThis page is for general education only and is not individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. All investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal, and no strategy can guarantee results. Life expectancy figure from the Social Security Administration; safe withdrawal rate from Morningstar’s 2026 retirement income research, which relies on forward-looking assumptions that may not hold. Tax rules are subject to change. Consult your tax preparer or attorney before acting.