Financial advisor

As I get closer to retirement – At this time, I am a full-time employee, (71) years old, but plan to work about (2) more years. I am thinking I will need a financial adviser to help me make the most out of my 401k, IRA and savings. And, provide me a map to get most out of retirement. What is a fair price/percentage to pay the adviser? I was quoted 1.5% by one group.

Thank you – Bette

Terry Says:  Well, that depends on the kind of service the “adviser” is offering.  A true “financial adviser” is a Certified Financial Planner, who would be advising you about your tax picture now and in the future, insurance, estate planning, etc.  A “financial advisor’ is just a name for someone who is registered to sell securities, and says they will advise you on your investments.  And you may not necessarily get all the advice you need, since they are typically motivated by the amount of “assets under management” they can gather — thus trying to get at ALL your money!

You say you already have an IRA and 40l(k).  So I’m betting that you have money with Fidelity or Vanguard or T.Rowe Price.  Since each of these companies offers FREE investment and withdrawal planning advice, I’d suggest you start with them.  The costs of their investment funds are less than half of one-percent, or far lower!  And you don’t pay extra for this advice if you have money with them.  Soon you are going to have to start taking Minimum Required Withdrawals (see my recent column at my website).  And to get that amount you have to at least tell one custodian how much money you have in ALL your accounts.  So thi9s is the perfect way to start a relationship with one of those custodians, about your investment/withdrawal plans.