A teacher retires two years early

We rebuilt a thin pension plan around steady, tax-aware withdrawals and a bond ladder, so income covers essentials from day one.

A footbridge leading into a green forest

Key result

$2.4M

Retirement gap closed

Case study

Client

Public school teacher, age 61

Focus

Retirement planning

Timeline

9 months

The challenge

A long-serving teacher wanted to retire at 61 but her pension covered barely half of her yearly spending. Her savings were spread across three accounts with no plan for which to draw from first, and she worried that one bad market year early in retirement could undo everything.

Our approach

We started by separating her spending into essentials and extras. Essentials were matched to guaranteed income: her pension, a delayed-start annuity and a ladder of bonds that matures year by year. Extras were funded from a growth portfolio that she would not need to touch during a downturn.

We then mapped out the order of withdrawals across her accounts. Drawing from taxable savings first, then retirement accounts, kept her in a lower tax bracket for longer and left room for planned conversions.

The result

Her plan now covers essential costs from the first month of retirement, with a clear schedule for every account. The gap between income and spending closed by an estimated $2.4M over her planning horizon, and she retired two years earlier than she thought possible.

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