How to Best Plan for Retirement
A virtual-only, independent financial services firm focused on guiding individuals in turning their savings into sustainable income throughout retirement.
Retirement income planning is a part of financial planning that focuses on managing your spending, investments, risks, and taxes to ensure you have enough money to cover daily expenses throughout retirement. It aims to help you maintain your desired lifestyle, leave a financial legacy for your family or community, and keep funds available for unexpected costs that may arise during retirement.
Many financial planning firms emphasize building retirement savings, but the real challenge begins once it’s time to turn those savings into a sustainable income. Ensuring steady spending power throughout a potentially long retirement, while managing risks, requires specialized expertise. At Mark Sharp Retirement, we focus on this critical phase—offering our clients the benefit of our unique experience, skills, and training to help them confidently navigate the complexities of retirement income planning.
- As an empty nester, your financial focus is now fully on securing your future.
- You’re about to retire or have recently retired and you need expert assistance with income generation, tax strategies, and comprehensive investment management.
- You’re facing challenges in your investment, retirement, or tax planning that need to be addressed before you can fully enjoy retirement.
- You’ve built your nest egg and now need a clear strategy for how to draw from it in retirement.
- You value a collaborative approach, preferring to delegate financial decisions to trusted experts while you focus on enjoying retirement with peace of mind.
- You are specifically seeking ongoing, relationship-based planning support rather than one-time or project-based work.
- You’re early to mid-career, with retirement still far in the future.
- Your primary concern is saving for retirement, rather than focusing on how to spend in retirement.
- You have financial needs related to young family planning, college savings, debt management, student loans, special-needs planning, stock options, or alternative investments.
- You prefer a self-directed approach and feel confident in creating and executing your own financial solutions without ongoing professional advice.
- You’re exclusively seeking one-time or project-based work.
Several pricing options are available. Click here to learn more.
No, we can work with clients in Portland and nationwide as a virtual-first financial services firm. Using the latest technology, we provide seamless service wherever you are—all we ask is that you're comfortable with virtual meetings.
In most cases yes.
Our fee-only model means we do not accept commissions from third parties for the financial products or services we recommend. Instead, we are compensated directly by you, our client, ensuring we remain an objective partner in your financial planning decisions. Our fees are always transparent and clearly outlined before we begin working together.
At Mark Sharp Retirement, we act as fiduciaries for our clients, meaning we are ethically obligated to prioritize your interests above our own in all financial decisions.
The CFP® designation signifies a high standard of expertise, ethics, and professionalism. While many may call themselves "financial planners," as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, I have undergone extensive training, met strict experience requirements, and am held to rigorous ethical standards. To learn more about what it takes to become a CFP® professional, click here.
The RICP® designation offers in-depth training on creating holistic and integrated retirement financial plans. A Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP®) specializes in retirement income planning, guiding retirees and those nearing retirement on how to sustainably manage and spend their accumulated assets. To learn more about what it takes to become an RICP® professional, click here.
The WMCP® designation equips professionals with deep expertise in developing comprehensive investment strategies. A Wealth Management Certified Professional (WMCP®) focuses on investment planning and management, assisting retirees in creating goal-oriented investment plans while managing behavioral challenges, wealth transfers, and assets to optimize financial outcomes. To learn more about the path to becoming a WMCP® professional, click here.
An Enrolled Agent is a federally licensed tax practitioner, authorized by the IRS, with expertise in tax law, tax preparation, and tax planning. It is the highest credential awarded by the IRS. To learn more about what it takes to become an Enrolled Agent, click here.
Additionally, we belong to the Fee-Only Network, a group of financial planners vetted to meet NAPFA’s rigorous standards for fee-only compensation and ethical responsibility.
We are also part of the Garrett Planning Network, a community of advisors providing accessible financial advice to people from all walks of life—without minimum account requirements, commissions, or long-term commitments. As fiduciaries, we are committed to always putting our clients’ best interests first.
Great! Schedule a discovery call here. We look forward to speaking with you!