Retirement Planning Services in New Smyrna Beach, FL

Retirement is not one decision. It is a stack of them, and most of them are permanent. When to file for Social Security. Which account to spend first. Whether the annuity you bought nine years ago still belongs in the plan. Get the order wrong and you can hand the IRS money you never had to give up.

New Smyrna Beach Retirement Solutions is an independent practice on North Orange Street. Steven L. Rich holds the RICP, NSSA, CLTC, and CF2 designations and has spent fifteen years working with roughly 350 families, most of them here in Volusia County. There is no parent bank setting a product quota. Investment advisory services are offered through Signal Advisors Wealth, LLC, a separate SEC Registered Investment Adviser, and Steven serves as a fiduciary on those accounts.

Below are the ten areas we work in. Most clients need four or five of them working together, not one in isolation.

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Retirement Income Planning

A 401(k) balance is not an income. Turning savings into a paycheck that lasts thirty years is its own discipline, and it is the piece most people arrive without. We build a written income plan that names the dollar amount you can spend, which account each dollar comes from, and what happens to that number if the market drops thirty percent in your second year of retirement. The plan uses the BIG Bucket Framework, which splits your money into a BANK bucket for near term spending, an INCOME bucket for the predictable paycheck, and a GROWTH bucket for the years still ahead of you.

Read more about retirement income planning

Social Security Claiming Strategy

You get to make this decision once. Filing at 62 instead of 70 changes lifetime household benefits substantially, and for married couples the survivor benefit means the higher earner's filing age matters long after one spouse is gone. Steven holds the National Social Security Advisor certification and runs the claiming math across both spouses, your other income sources, and the tax treatment of the benefit itself. This is guidance on the claiming decision. Signal Advisors does not provide Social Security advice and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any government agency.

See how the claiming analysis works

Tax Efficient Retirement Strategies

Not every retirement dollar is taxed the same way. Traditional IRA withdrawals are ordinary income. Roth withdrawals are not. Brokerage gains get capital gains treatment. Social Security becomes taxable based on a formula most people have never seen. Sequencing withdrawals across those buckets, and using the lower bracket years between retirement and required minimum distributions for Roth conversions, is where the real money is.

Explore tax efficient withdrawal planning

401(k) and Employer Plan Rollovers

Leaving a job with a 401(k) behind gives you four options, and the right one depends on the fees inside the old plan, whether it holds company stock, whether you retired in or after the year you turned 55, and what the rest of your plan needs that account to do. Rolling over is not automatically correct. We walk the options, model the difference, and put the answer in writing before anything moves.

Compare your 401(k) rollover options

Investment Management

Investments come last, not first. Once the income plan names what each bucket has to do and by when, the portfolio is built to fit that job. Time horizon drives risk, not a questionnaire score in isolation. We use the Pyramid of Risk to show clients where each holding sits, and a scored volatility tolerance assessment to check that the plan on paper matches the one you can actually live with when the market moves.

See our approach to investment management

Annuity Review

Plenty of people walk in owning an annuity they cannot explain. We read the actual contract: surrender schedule, income rider, fees, and what the carrier is obligated to do versus what the brochure implied. Sometimes it stays. Sometimes it is costing more than it returns. Any income features are backed by the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance carrier. Insurance products are offered through New Smyrna Beach Retirement Solutions, not through Signal Advisors Wealth.

Get an annuity contract review

Medicare Guidance

Medicare enrollment windows are unforgiving, and the wrong move at 65 can attach a lifetime penalty to your premium. Add IRMAA, which prices your Part B and Part D premiums off your tax return from two years ago, and Medicare stops being a health decision and starts being a planning decision. We coordinate the enrollment timeline with your income plan so a Roth conversion in one year does not surprise you with a premium increase two years later.

Understand your Medicare timeline

Long Term Care Planning

Medicare does not pay for custodial care, which is the assistance most people actually end up needing. The question is whether that cost comes out of the portfolio, out of a policy, or out of your spouse's remaining lifetime income. Steven holds the CLTC designation and works through the options, including traditional policies, hybrid life and long term care contracts, and self funding with a defined carve out.

Plan for long term care costs

Estate and Legacy Planning

Beneficiary designations override your will. The SECURE Act put a ten year clock on most inherited IRAs, which can push your children's inheritance into their highest earning tax years. We coordinate titling, beneficiary forms, and the tax character of what you leave behind, and we work alongside your attorney and CPA. We do not provide legal or tax advice.

Coordinate your estate and legacy plan

Relocating to Florida

Florida has no state income tax and no state estate tax, which is a real advantage, though establishing domicile takes more than a mailing address. Northeast transplants often carry a state tax filing obligation for years after the move because they never severed residency cleanly. We handle the domicile checklist, the timing of income recognition around the move, and the property tax homestead and portability rules.

Read the Florida relocation checklist

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Questions We Get Asked Most

What does a first meeting cost?

Nothing. The first meeting includes a review of your current assets, insurance policies, and annuity contracts at no charge. You leave with our read on where the plan stands whether or not you work with us.

How is Steven paid?

Advisory accounts are billed as a percentage of assets under management through Signal Advisors Wealth. Insurance products pay a commission from the carrier. Steven walks through exactly which applies to you before anything is signed. Full detail is on our approach page.

Do I need a certain amount of money to work with you?

Most clients have between $500,000 and $3 million in investable assets, but the first conversation is free and there is no minimum to have it.

What is a fiduciary and why does it matter?

On advisory accounts, a fiduciary is legally required to act in your interest rather than sell you the product that pays best. Plenty of people selling retirement products are held to a lower standard. See what that means on your accounts.

Do you only work with people in New Smyrna Beach?

No. Clients come from Edgewater, Port Orange, South Daytona, Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, DeLand, Deltona, Orange City, Holly Hill, Palm Coast, and across Volusia County. The office is on North Orange Street in New Smyrna Beach.

The information included on this website is for informational purposes and its contents should not be construed as a recommendation. The information on this site alone should not be used in making investment decisions. Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses associated with any investment. Investment advisory services offered through Signal Advisors Wealth, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Adviser.