A framework for bringing retirement decisions into one coordinated plan
The 7 Pillars Planning Framework™
Retirement planning often involves more than one important decision at a time. Income, investments, taxes, healthcare, risk, long-term care, and legacy goals may each deserve thoughtful attention, but they are rarely independent of one another. The 7 Pillars Planning Framework™ reflects how KFP thinks about retirement planning: as a set of interconnected decisions that are best considered together rather than in isolation:
A thoughtful framework for bringing your retirement vision, income, investments, taxes, and other decisions into relationship with one another.
This framework helps organize those relationships into one coordinated planning approach. It is designed to bring greater clarity to the financial questions that often become more important as retirement approaches and unfolds.
A thoughtful framework for bringing your retirement vision, income, investments, taxes, and other decisions into relationship with one another.
This framework helps organize those relationships into one coordinated planning approach. It is designed to bring greater clarity to the financial questions that often become more important as retirement approaches and unfolds.
How KFP Thinks About Retirement Planning
1. We encourage the use of our no-cost Retirement Profiler to gain the bigger picture of what retirement looks like for you. It helps us to have a perspective on your lifestyle, goals and purpose in retirement before we begin the planning process. The Retirement Profiler gives us the opportunity to create a retirement plan that best supports the retirement vision you created and the "Planning First" philosophy at KFP.
2. At KFP, we follow our 7 Pillars Retirement Planning® process to provide a written plan that provides you with the analysis results, strategies and steps to implement your retirement plan. The written plan includes an executive summary with action plan. The analysis results show projections of your Retirement Paycheck, how long your assets may last, a recommended investment portfolio and other highlights. The written plan is your roadmap. To learn more about retirement paycheck, visit our Income Planning page.
3. Our planning process and written plan includes a retirement portfolio design with careful consideration to your risk tolerance, retirement paycheck considerations, and other factors that make investing during retirment different than pre-retirement. We follow our 7 Pillars Investment Planning® methodology, including a bucket strategy and a core+satellite design integrated with your personal investing values. To explore further, visit our Portfolio Design for Retirement page.
4. The plan can be implemented by you, KFP, or another advisory firm. If you contracted us for Ongoing Support, we work with you to implement the initial plan and review it with you on a periodic basis. The Client Planning Hub provides you with convenient access to all our retirement planning tools and data. Ongoing Support gives your plan the best chance to succeed over the long-term.
2. At KFP, we follow our 7 Pillars Retirement Planning® process to provide a written plan that provides you with the analysis results, strategies and steps to implement your retirement plan. The written plan includes an executive summary with action plan. The analysis results show projections of your Retirement Paycheck, how long your assets may last, a recommended investment portfolio and other highlights. The written plan is your roadmap. To learn more about retirement paycheck, visit our Income Planning page.
3. Our planning process and written plan includes a retirement portfolio design with careful consideration to your risk tolerance, retirement paycheck considerations, and other factors that make investing during retirment different than pre-retirement. We follow our 7 Pillars Investment Planning® methodology, including a bucket strategy and a core+satellite design integrated with your personal investing values. To explore further, visit our Portfolio Design for Retirement page.
4. The plan can be implemented by you, KFP, or another advisory firm. If you contracted us for Ongoing Support, we work with you to implement the initial plan and review it with you on a periodic basis. The Client Planning Hub provides you with convenient access to all our retirement planning tools and data. Ongoing Support gives your plan the best chance to succeed over the long-term.
The Foundation: 7 Pillars Retirement Planning®
At the center of this approach is 7 Pillars Retirement Planning®, the broad structure KFP uses to organize the major areas of retirement planning. It provides a practical way to evaluate the parts of retirement that often need to work together within one coordinated plan.
• Income Planning
• Investment Planning
• Tax Planning
• Risk Analysis
• Healthcare Planning
• Long-Term Care Planning
• Estate and Legacy Planning
• Investment Planning
• Tax Planning
• Risk Analysis
• Healthcare Planning
• Long-Term Care Planning
• Estate and Legacy Planning
Together, these seven areas help bring shape and structure to the broader retirement picture. To see how this broad structure is applied in practice, visit our Retirement Planning Services page.
A Planning Approach Designed to Bring Clarity and Coordination
The purpose of this framework is not to make retirement planning feel more complicated. It is to bring greater clarity, structure, and thoughtful coordination to the decisions that often matter most. For those who value a planning approach that is personal, fiduciary, and attentive to the bigger picture, The 7 Pillars Planning Framework™ helps show how the pieces fit together.
Under one framework, financial decions can be made in relationship to one another. A choice about Social Security may affect taxes. A withdrawal strategy may influence portfolio design. Healthcare costs, long-term care considerations, and legacy goals may all shape how a retirement plan needs to function over time.
Through the 7 Pillars Retirement Planning® process, clients can visually "see" how the financial components interact with one another. Example videos of our planning software are on our Retirement Planning Videos page.
Under one framework, financial decions can be made in relationship to one another. A choice about Social Security may affect taxes. A withdrawal strategy may influence portfolio design. Healthcare costs, long-term care considerations, and legacy goals may all shape how a retirement plan needs to function over time.
Through the 7 Pillars Retirement Planning® process, clients can visually "see" how the financial components interact with one another. Example videos of our planning software are on our Retirement Planning Videos page.
Explore Whether This Planning Approach is a Good Fit
Schedule a ConsultationIf you would like to explore whether this planning approach may be a good fit for your situation, we invite you to schedule a no-charge, no-obligation consultation—a chance to get acquainted and decide whether it makes sense to take a next step together.