When can I actually stop?
We build a month-by-month picture of income and spending from the day you leave work, then test three retirement ages against it. You see the earliest date that still holds up after a bad first decade in the markets.
Retirement planning for people who are tired of acronyms · Tucson, Arizona
Plan the years you have been saving up to enjoy.
Seabird Retirement Studio helps people in their forties, fifties and sixties work out when they can stop, what they will live on, and which decisions are worth losing sleep over. We replace the thick brochure with a one-page plan you can pin to the fridge.
The first conversation is free and lasts forty minutes.
Four questions every retirement has to answer
Most people can answer one or two of them. We work through all four so that nothing important is left to luck.
Where will the money come from?
Social Security timing, workplace pensions, IRAs and any part-time income are sequenced so you draw from the right pot first. Small changes in order can add years to how long savings last.
What if health changes the plan?
We set aside a care reserve, check Medicare gaps and write down who makes decisions if you cannot. It is an uncomfortable page to write and a relief to have finished.
What do I want to leave behind?
Whether it is a house, a donation or simply a tidy set of instructions, we help you name it early and review it with a solicitor you trust.
Retirement is a decade of decisions, not a single date
This is how a typical client's plan unfolds as they get closer to the day. Ages are examples; yours will be your own.
- Age 50
Find the real number
Gather statements from every old employer, add up what you hold, and set a target income in today's money.
- Age 55
Tidy and consolidate
Combine scattered accounts, check fees and make sure beneficiary forms still name the right people.
- Age 62
Choose the claiming strategy
Compare claiming Social Security now, at full age, or at seventy, using both partners' records.
- Age 65
Switch on the income
Medicare begins, withdrawals start in a set order, and the plan is reviewed every spring after that.
What might steady saving become?
Choose a monthly amount and how long you have. The figure assumes a steady five percent a year after fees, which markets will not deliver in a straight line, so use it to compare options and not to promise yourself anything.
Illustrative pot at retirement$90,576before tax and inflation
Sample arithmetic at a constant 5% annual return. Investments can fall as well as rise. Not personal advice.
Turn this into a real planSeabird by the numbers (sample figures)
- Households with a written plan
- 1,420
- Average time a client has been with us
- 11 years
- Say they sleep better after the first review
- 96%
- Minutes for an average annual check-in
- 38
Clients who now answer the question at parties
“I was convinced I would work until seventy-two. Seabird showed me a plan where I stop at sixty-five with room to spare, and I cried in the car afterwards.”
“My husband and I disagreed about everything money-related. The one-page plan became the thing we both signed, and the arguments stopped.”
“Sorting four old workplace pensions took one afternoon. Nobody had ever bothered to explain which one to draw on first.”
Composite quotes from fictional clients.
Questions people ask in their fifties
Am I too late to start?
Rarely. If you are fifty-eight with little saved, we focus on working a few extra years, delaying benefits and trimming the biggest expenses. The plan will be honest about trade-offs rather than cheerful.
Do you sell investment products?
No. Seabird charges a planning fee only, and we do not take commissions, so there is nothing to push you towards.
How often do we meet?
Twice a year before you retire and in spring each year afterwards, with phone calls whenever something changes.
Can my partner join the conversation?
Please bring them along. Joint plans work best when both people have seen every page, even the awkward ones.
Pick the date, then plan backwards.
Tell us when you would like to stop. We will show you what it takes to get there and what it costs if you go sooner.
Tell us about your timing
Share a few details and a planner will phone you for the free first chat. Whatever you type here stays inside your browser tab.