How to Find a Financial Advisor for Retirement

When exploring financial advisors, you want to be sure you can trust their advice. Working with a fiduciary, which means the advisor is legally required to act in your best interest, is a step in that direction¹.

Sometimes, a financial advisor’s designation describes their fiduciary status. Certified Financial Planners (CFPs), for instance, are held to a fiduciary standard by the CFP Board. Registered investment advisors (RIAs) owe a legal fiduciary duty to their clients in two ways: providing advice in their client’s best interest and putting their client’s interests over their own.

But finding one doesn’t mean your research stops there. Other questions to ask a potential advisor include:

• Are you a fiduciary at all times, or only when providing investment advice?
• Is your fiduciary duty limited to certain accounts or services?
• Are you acting as an investment adviser, broker, or both?

NerdWallet’s Advisors Match tool includes fiduciary advisors, including some who hold these credentials.

Disclosure: NerdWallet Advisors Match includes financial advisors who are fiduciaries, including some who hold CFP® credentials. However, not all Participating Firms are fiduciaries, and not all financial professionals hold CFP® credentials. Depending on your circumstances, you may be matched with a financial services provider that is not subject to a fiduciary standard or a financial professional who does not hold CFP® credentials.

You’ve decided you want help with retirement planning. The next step is identifying what that help looks like, which narrows down the list of potential financial advisors to the ones who offer what you want.

Ways to work with financial advisors include:

• Help with a single problem, or ongoing advice over the long term.
• A written financial plan you carry out yourself.
• Active management of your investment accounts.
• Help with specific retirement decisions, like whether it’s possible to retire early or how to balance ongoing financial obligations while saving for the future.

Many financial advisors will provide all of these services and more.

Advisors charge in different ways based on the services provided. Common setups include:

• A flat fee for a written financial plan or set duration of advisory services.
• An hourly rate.
• A retainer or subscription.
• A percentage of assets under management (AUM).

When it comes to AUM fees, the average is around 1% per year². When considering an advisor’s fees, don’t forget to consider the value the advisor adds. On top of investment management, their services may also include comprehensive financial planning, tax efficiency, estate planning, and much more.

The value of a financial advisor may outweigh the cost, depending on the services provided and your individual circumstances. A financial advisor can help anticipate potential pitfalls and maintain your financial plan, helping you stay on track for your future.

Maxing out a pre-tax 401(k) offers you key tax breaks in the present³, but could leave you with a snag in the future: How should you plan withdrawals in retirement? That question could become even more crucial once you hit age 73 or 75 (depending on when you were born), when required minimum distributions come into play⁴. Even if you don’t need the money, withdrawals from pre-tax accounts are taxed as ordinary income and potentially affect Medicare premiums⁵.

Grappling with those sorts of decisions is much easier with a financial advisor guiding you. Planning retirement goes beyond selecting investments. A financial advisor who specializes in retirement can look ahead and plan:

• Roth contributions above the income limits, through backdoor or mega backdoor strategies.
• Roth conversions, and in which years to do them.
• Setting an order for withdrawing from pretax, Roth and taxable accounts.
• Scheduling required minimum distributions from pretax accounts.
• Medicare’s income-related charges.

NerdWallet Advisors Match can get you matched with up to three financial advisors—within minutes. These professionals may be able to help you plan for the retirement you envision, offering guidance based on your financial goals and needs.

1. 

   Answer a few questions: It only takes a few minutes.

2. 

   Get matched with an advisor: We’ll match you with up to three financial advisors.

3. 

   Work toward your money goals: Connect with your advisor and start making progress.

Participating firms serve clients in all 50 states. Wherever you are, advisors are available to connect with you.