Five Questions to Ask a Financial Advisor Before You Retire

If you expect to retire within the next five years, now is a reasonable time to begin interviewing financial advisors.

You do not have to make an immediate decision. The purpose is to understand your choices before retirement decisions become urgent. Interviewing several advisors also helps you compare their services, costs, planning processes, and communication styles.

Ask each advisor the same five questions.

1. Will you act as a fiduciary at all times?

A fiduciary is required to put a client’s interests ahead of their own when providing advice.

Do not stop with a simple yes. Ask whether the advisor acts as a fiduciary during every part of the relationship and whether there are circumstances in which a different standard applies.

The answer should be direct and understandable.

2. How are you compensated, including investment, planning, product, and custodial costs?

The advisory fee may be only one part of the total cost.

Ask about financial-planning fees, investment-management fees, fund expenses, insurance or product compensation, trading expenses, and custodial charges. You should understand what you will pay, who receives it, and what services are included.

The lowest-cost advisor is not automatically the best choice. However, costs should be transparent enough for you to evaluate the services you are receiving.

3. What specifically will you complete before my retirement date?

Retirement planning should produce more than a projection showing that you have a reasonable probability of success.

Ask what the advisor will help you complete before your final paycheck. This might include organizing retirement accounts, estimating expenses, reviewing insurance, establishing cash reserves, evaluating pension choices, preparing for healthcare costs, and developing a process for portfolio withdrawals.

Listen for specific actions, responsibilities, and timing.

4. How do you evaluate Social Security, Medicare, taxes, cash reserves, and portfolio withdrawals together?

These decisions are connected.

A Social Security decision can affect taxes and portfolio withdrawals. Medicare premiums can be affected by income. A tax strategy can influence where retirement income should come from. Cash reserves may reduce the need to sell investments during an unfavorable market.

The advisor should be able to explain how these pieces will be evaluated as one retirement-income system, not as a collection of unrelated decisions.

5. May I review your Form ADV, Form CRS, and a sample retirement-planning process?

Form ADV and Form CRS provide information about an advisory firm’s services, fees, conflicts of interest, disciplinary history, and business practices.

Reviewing a sample planning process can also help you understand what working with the advisor will actually look like. You should know what information will be collected, what analysis will be completed, how recommendations will be explained, and how frequently the plan will be reviewed.

Ask the Same Questions and Compare the Answers

Try to interview at least three advisors and ask each one these same five questions. Consistent questions make the differences easier to recognize.

Pay attention to more than credentials or investment performance. Look for someone who asks thoughtful questions, explains tradeoffs clearly, and connects your retirement income needs with Liquidity, Safety, and long-term Growth.

The objective is not simply to find someone who can propose a portfolio. It is to find an advisor whose process can help you organize the decisions that must come together before and throughout retirement.

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