The five years before retirement are when the biggest decisions get made.
We work with people over 50 who are within five years of retirement, with a minimum of $500,000 in investable assets.
The five years leading up to retirement are crucial for finalizing strategies and making key decisions. As you transition from wealth accumulation to retirement income, when you claim Social Security, how you’ll cover health insurance before Medicare, and how you’ll draw income all need to get worked out before you retire, not after.
Retirement isn't one decision. It's dozens of them, and some can't be undone.
People approaching retirement have done the hard part. They saved consistently, made smart career choices, and built something real. What gets complicated now is turning all of that into a plan that works, one that coordinates your pension, Social Security, investments, and taxes into income that lasts as long as you need it to.
When can you retire?
There's no single answer, it depends on your savings, income sources, and spending goals. We run Monte Carlo simulations against your numbers to give you a clear sense of your probability of success, whether that's this year, next year, or further down the road.
Are you managing your tax bracket, or just your investments?
Your investments should move in step with your income needs, your taxes, and your goals, not sit in a separate lane.
The services that matter most in this window.
Retirement Planning
Retirement isn’t one decision. It’s dozens of them, and they all need to fit together.
Tax Minimization Strategies
Taxes are one of the largest expenses you’ll face, in your working years and in retirement.
Investment Management
Managing investments well takes more than picking good funds.
Estate Planning
A poorly built estate plan doesn’t just cost money. It costs family relationships too.
$1 million or more? You get a dedicated team.
A coordinated plan across investing, retirement, tax, and estate planning, backed by a dedicated team of advisors, paraplanners, and specialists.
Hear from people who've been through the process.
The Google reviews above may be from current or former clients, or individuals who are not clients of Bernicke Wealth Management (“BWM”). Reviewers have not been compensated or received any material incentives for providing a review. No material conflicts of interest have been identified within these reviews. BWM’s Eau Claire office has maintained an “Excellent” 5-star rating on Google since October 16, 2021.
Reviews Disclosure
Questions people ask before their first call.
It starts with a call, we'll walk you through how we work and figure out together whether we're a good fit. From there, we match you with an advisor based on your location or what your situation calls for. Your advisor gets to know your full picture, your family, your goals, and what's keeping you up at night, then lays out a full analysis of where you stand before bringing it together in a recommendation meeting with a clear path forward. From there, we're with you year after year, reviewing and adjusting as life changes.
There's no single best age for everyone, it depends on your health, other income, spousal benefits, and taxes. We use Social Security planning software to model different claiming ages against your specific numbers, so you can see the dollar impact of waiting versus claiming early, rather than following a generic rule.
Yes. Roth conversion analysis is one of the core parts of our tax minimization work, looking at whether and when converting makes sense based on your income, tax bracket, and timeline.
It's part of your coordinated plan alongside Social Security and account withdrawal timing, not a separate conversation. Your income before you turn 65 may affect what you pay for health insurance, so we manage how much taxable income you draw each year to help control those costs, rather than treating your tax return and your health insurance bill as two separate things.
That's common when retirement is somewhere in the next five years but you're not sure exactly when yet. Planning during this window often makes more of a difference than waiting until your date is set. We'll help you figure out what's realistic based on your unique situation.
Ty Bernicke, CFP®, named a 2026 Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisor (awarded April 7, 2026; data as of June 30, 2025). BWM did not pay for this award but paid a fee to license the logo. Award Disclosure
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