tehrileyfactor

The choice is about when income tax is paid—and how the contribution fits your cash flow.

Keeping the plan, using a new plan, choosing an IRA and cashing out solve different problems—and create different trade-offs.

Get beyond a good first impression with questions about work, costs, responsibility and follow-through.

Verify the exact person and firm through official records, then ask clear questions about what you find.

Translate percentage fees into dollars, separate recurring and one-time costs, and identify what the quote leaves out.

Start with the decisions you need help making, then choose a service and price that fit the work.

Assign your cash a job: regular withdrawals, known purchases and unexpected expenses.

Compare the tax cost and purpose of each dollar instead of following a fixed taxable-then-IRA-then-Roth rule.

Compare the benefit with the years you must bridge, your work plans and the income a surviving spouse may need.

A savings balance is only one part of the answer. Build a plan you can explain, fund and adjust.