FOR PRE-RETIREES AND BUSINESS OWNERS IN THE TRIANGLE
A plan.
Not a stack of products.
For everything you’ve been working toward.
A written plan for the chapter you’ve been working toward. Clear, coordinated, and built around your life.
45 minutes · Complimentary · The first step of every plan
THE HONEST STARTING POINT
Most people don’t have a plan.
They have pieces.
By the time someone sits down with us for the first time, they’ve usually been collecting financial products for two or three decades. What they don’t have is a single document that ties them together. A plan they can actually follow.
WHAT MOST PEOPLE SHOW UP WITH
A pile of accounts and uncertainty.
- A 401(k) at work, an old IRA somewhere, maybe a Roth started years ago
- An annuity from one advisor, an investment account from another
- Life insurance bought twenty years ago for reasons no one quite remembers
- A vague plan to claim Social Security “around 65 or 67”
- No clear picture of what retirement actually costs
- Worry, but no framework for what to do with it
WHAT YOU WALK AWAY WITH
One document. One direction. One conversation that keeps going.
- A clear answer to “how much can we actually spend in retirement?”
- A decision on when to claim Social Security, with reasons behind it
- A tax strategy that follows you across decades, not tax seasons
- A plan for healthcare, Medicare, and long-term care that’s been thought through
- A coordinated view of every account, every policy, every decision
- Confidence built on numbers, not on hope
WHAT CHANGES FOR YOU
By the time we’re done, you’ll know.
Not a binder of generic content. Clear answers to the questions that have been keeping you up at night.
- How much you can actually spend in retirement without running out, turning your accounts into a paycheck that lasts thirty years. (Retirement income strategy)
- When to claim Social Security, and how to coordinate it across both spouses to maximize lifetime benefits. (Social Security claim strategy)
- How to keep more of what you’ve earned by managing taxes across decades, not just at year-end. (Multi-year tax planning)
- Whether converting some pre-tax savings to Roth makes sense for you, and if so, exactly when and how much. (Roth conversion roadmap)
- What to do with required withdrawals from retirement accounts so they don’t push you into a higher tax bracket. (RMD strategy)
- How to navigate Medicare, and how to avoid the income-based premium surcharges that catch most retirees off guard. (Medicare & IRMAA planning)
- What happens if you or your spouse needs long-term care, and how to fund it without derailing the rest of the plan. (Long-term care strategy)
- Whether your investments actually match the income you’ll need. Not just chasing returns, but built around your retirement paycheck. (Investment strategy aligned with income plan)
- Which accounts to consolidate, simplify, or retitle so your financial life isn’t scattered across six custodians. (Account consolidation review)
- Whether your beneficiaries and estate documents still make sense, and what needs updating before life forces the question. (Beneficiary & estate review)
- Whether your insurance is doing what you think it’s doing, and whether you’re paying for things you no longer need. (Life & disability insurance review)
- A clear schedule for revisiting all of this, because life changes, and your plan should change with it. (Annual reviews)
For business owners: the question most have never been able to answer
Most owners have never had any honest number put on what their business is actually worth. We use BizEquity to give you a complimentary estimate that anchors the rest of the plan: when to exit, how to time retirement, what taxes to expect, what your succession actually looks like.
Without that number, every other decision is a guess. With it, the plan becomes real.
Important: a BizEquity estimate is not a formal business valuation. A formal valuation is conducted by a qualified or accredited appraiser following the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) and is typically required for a third-party sale, an estate filing, a divorce proceeding, or similar legal use. The BizEquity estimate is a planning tool — useful for shaping conversations and modeling scenarios, not for transactions or legal filings. When a formal valuation is needed, we’ll refer you to qualified appraisers.
THE PLAN, PRICED PLAINLY
A flat fee. Credited back when you engage us.
A one-time fee for the plan itself. If you engage us afterward to manage your investments, the planning fee is credited toward your first year of management, so the work is honored without anyone paying twice.
Different advisors at Redwood Financial Network serve different segments. The flat-fee planning model below is specific to the work I do for pre-retirees and business owners in the Triangle.
Every engagement begins with a complimentary 45-minute conversation. If it’s a fit, we send the engagement letter after.
STANDARD HOUSEHOLD PLAN
Pre-Retiree Plan
For households within 5–10 years of retirement
$2,500
One-time, flat fee
WHAT YOU WALK AWAY WITH
- The first conversation & a written engagement
- A complete picture of your finances on one page
- Strategies for income, taxes, Social Security, healthcare, and required withdrawals
- A review of your investments, beneficiaries, and insurance
- A walkthrough meeting where we present the plan to you
- A written plan document and a clear playbook for what to do next
- One revision round within 90 days, in case life changes
Credited toward year-one management fees if you engage us for ongoing investment management.
COMPLEX HOUSEHOLD PLAN
Business Owner Plan
For owners thinking through their next chapter
$5,000
One-time, flat fee
WHAT YOU WALK AWAY WITH
- Everything in the Pre-Retiree Plan
- A complimentary estimate of what your business is worth (BizEquity)
- A review of how you’re paid and how your business is structured
- A framework for succession or exit when you’re ready
- Owner-specific retirement vehicles modeled and explained
- A tax strategy that coordinates your business and personal life
- Direct coordination with your CPA and attorney
Credited toward year-one management fees if you engage us for ongoing investment management.
GENUINELY COMPLEX SITUATIONS
Custom-Quoted Plan
For households whose situation goes meaningfully beyond the standard tiers
From $7,500
Quoted during the first conversation
When this is the right fit
- Multiple business entities or holding-company structures
- Significant equity compensation (RSUs, ISOs, NSOs, performance shares)
- Multi-state tax situations or planned relocations
- Blended families, special-needs planning, or complex estate situations
- Real-estate-heavy balance sheets or concentrated positions
- Situations requiring deep coordination with multiple outside professionals
We’ll size the work honestly during the first conversation and quote a flat fee before any commitment. The same credit-toward-management-fees structure applies.
We charge a fee for the plan because we believe the plan is what changes your retirement, not the products inside it. That conviction is the whole reason we do this work.
HOW IT WORKS
Three meetings. One plan.
A clear path from first conversation to a written plan you can act on.
Every engagement begins the same way — with a 45-minute conversation, no documents required.
i.
The first conversation
We talk about where you are today, where you want the next chapter to take you, and what’s been weighing on you. No financial documents, no homework. If we both want to move forward by the end of the call, the engagement letter goes out that day.
You’ll leave with clearer thinking and an honest read on whether we’re the right team for your needs.
Time
45 minutes · complimentary
ii.
Building your plan
Once we’re engaged, we collect your full financial picture and build the plan around it. You’ll have a single point of contact, a clear list of documents to send, and regular updates as we go. We model multiple scenarios so you see real tradeoffs. Not one path, but the path that fits your life.
You’ll start to see your financial life on one page for the first time. Most people find this stage clarifying in ways they didn’t expect.
Time
2 – 6 weeks
iii.
Walking through it together
We meet to present the plan in person. You’ll leave with a written document, a clear set of action items, and a real decision in front of you: implement on your own, or engage us to manage it as a partnership.
You’ll know exactly what to do next, and who’s doing it. The work that started as “where do we even begin” becomes a plan you can follow.
Time
90 minutes
FIT MATTERS
Who this is for.
This is a fit if you are…
- Within 5–10 years of retirement and ready to make real decisions
- A business owner thinking about your next chapter: exit, succession, or scaling back
- Ready to invest in a plan because you take the next 20–30 years seriously
This isn’t a fit if you are…
- Earlier in your career and just starting to save (we’ll connect you with another advisor on our team who specializes in wealth-building)
- Looking for a single product, not a comprehensive plan
- Hoping the plan will tell you what you already wanted to hear
QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
The things people actually wonder.
Why charge a planning fee if you also manage investments?
Because the plan is the value. If we only charged for managing assets, we’d be telling you the plan is free, and we don’t believe that. The plan is the most important deliverable we produce, and we charge accordingly.
I’ve already read the pricing. Why do we still need a 45-minute call before engaging?
Because what we do touches every dollar your household will rely on for the next 20–30 years, and that work doesn’t start well over an online form. The conversation is how we both make sure we’re the right fit before either of us commits time and money to something we should’ve walked away from.
It’s also genuinely the start of the engagement, not a sales pitch. If we both want to move forward by the end, the engagement letter goes out within 24 hours and the plan-build process begins.
What if I/we don’t want you to manage my investments?
That’s a real option, and we mean it. You’ll receive your full plan document and a clear implementation playbook. You can take it to another advisor, manage it yourself, or sit on it for a year and revisit. The plan is yours.
Most of our planning clients do choose to engage us for ongoing management, and that’s a partnership we welcome. But the plan itself is the deliverable. If you decide it ends there, no pressure, no awkwardness.
How is the Business Owner Plan different from the Pre-Retiree Plan?
The Business Owner Plan includes everything in the Pre-Retiree Plan, plus the additional work that owner-specific situations require: a complimentary estimate of what your business is worth, a review of how you’re paid and how the business is structured, a framework for succession or exit, owner-specific retirement vehicles, and direct coordination with your CPA and attorney.
The higher fee reflects the genuine additional complexity. Owner finances and personal finances are deeply intertwined; the plan has to handle both sides.
How do I know whether I need the Custom-Quoted Plan?
You don’t need to know in advance. We’ll size up the situation honestly during the first conversation. If your circumstances clearly fit the Pre-Retiree or Business Owner Plan, we’ll quote one of those. If your situation involves multiple entities, significant equity compensation, multi-state tax issues, blended families, real-estate-heavy holdings, or other genuine complexity, we’ll explain what’s involved and quote accordingly, always before you commit.
About the BizEquity estimate: what is it, and what isn’t it?
BizEquity is a tool that produces a business value estimate based on financial inputs and industry benchmarks. It’s a useful planning anchor. Most owners have never had any number put on their business, and the estimate gives us something concrete to model against.
It is not a formal business valuation. A formal valuation is performed by a qualified or accredited appraiser following the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), and is typically required for a third-party sale, estate filing, divorce proceeding, or similar legal purpose. We’re clear about this distinction up front; when a formal valuation is needed, we’ll refer you to qualified appraisers.
How long does the whole process take?
Roughly 4–8 weeks from your first conversation to your final plan presentation. The first conversation is 45 minutes. If we move forward, document collection takes one to two weeks; plan build takes another four to six. The plan presentation runs about 90 minutes.
We can move faster if your timeline requires it. We can also slow down if life is moving quickly in other ways.
The decisions in front of you compound, year by year. The sooner the plan exists, the more it’s worth.
ABOUT THE ADVISOR
Sunwook Jin
CFP® · CRPC® · CMFC® · EA · Managing Director
Wealth Advisor and Managing Director at Redwood Financial Network. Author of three books, including There Are No Do-Overs at Retirement. Fifteen years of work helping pre-retirees and business owners turn complexity into clarity.
Based in the Triangle, serving clients across the country through secure virtual meetings.
BEGIN HERE
Book the first conversation.
The rest follows from there.
One call. No documents. No commitment until we both decide there’s a fit.
The plan that changes the next thirty years starts with the next forty-five minutes.
Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC. The information presented on this page is for educational purposes only and does not constitute personalized investment, tax, or legal advice. All planning fees, services, and timelines described are subject to the terms of a written engagement agreement.
BizEquity business value estimates are provided as a planning tool only and do not constitute a formal business valuation. A formal valuation is conducted by a qualified or accredited appraiser in accordance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) and is typically required for a third-party sale, estate filing, divorce proceeding, or similar legal proceeding. Redwood Financial Network does not perform formal business valuations and will refer clients to qualified appraisers when one is required.
The credit of planning fees toward investment management fees is subject to the terms of the planning engagement and the investment management agreement, including minimum asset levels and time-frame conditions, all of which are documented in writing prior to engagement.
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