A retirement income plan that puts your Social Security, your accounts, and your taxes on one page.
At Piedmont Capital Advisors, we build one plan that covers when to claim Social Security, how to sequence withdrawals across your accounts, whether a Roth conversion makes sense in a given year, and what required minimum distributions will look like once you turn 73, so the pieces work together instead of against each other.
Piedmont Capital Advisors is an independent, fiduciary firm in Kernersville, North Carolina. Jacob Rice holds the RICP® designation, the credential built specifically for retirement income planning, and as a fiduciary, he’s legally required to act in your best interest. Your plan should come from your goals, not your age. A default that fits a typical 75-year-old might not fit you.
What a retirement income plan covers
These are the pieces we bring together to turn your savings into steady, tax-smart retirement income:
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Social Security timing
Compare what you'd receive claiming at different ages between 62 and 70, and how that choice affects your spouse's benefit if you're married.
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Required minimum distributions
Map which accounts you'll be required to draw from starting at age 73, and in what order, so the withdrawal doesn't push you into a higher bracket than it needs to.
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Roth conversions
Look at whether converting some of your traditional IRA or 401(k) to a Roth, in a given year, lowers your lifetime tax bill.
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Withdrawal sequencing
Decide which account funds which year of retirement, taxable, tax-deferred, or Roth, based on your tax picture, not a generic rule of thumb.
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Tax strategy on income
Coordinate how your Social Security, RMDs, and any conversions interact in the same tax year. We work with your CPA to make sure we're all on the same page.
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Ongoing portfolio management
Keep the investment mix lined up with the income plan itself, on an open platform, so you're not paying for a portfolio built for someone else's timeline.
Why choose Piedmont Capital Advisors for retirement planning
Jacob spent nearly ten years at one of the largest financial companies in the country, where he could only recommend that company’s own investment products. He left to build an independent firm so he could recommend whatever actually fits your situation: funds from Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, or anywhere else, chosen on cost and track record rather than who manufactured them. He also carries a fiduciary duty to act in your best interest, so that choice is a legal obligation, not just a preference.
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How we'll work together to build your plan
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Fact-find
We ask about your accounts, your Social Security situation, and what you actually want retirement to look like.
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Case prep and analysis
We pull the actual statements for every account, run the Social Security numbers, and check whether a Roth conversion fits your tax situation.
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The written plan
We put your Social Security timing, RMDs, and withdrawal order in writing, across one to three meetings, so you can see how the pieces fit before deciding anything.
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Implementation
We handle the account changes, the conversions, and the paperwork that puts the plan into motion.
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Ongoing review
We check in on the plan quarterly or annually, sooner if a tax law change or your RMDs starting calls for it.
Who This Is For
This is the right place to start if you’re within about ten years of retirement or already there, and you want a plan that covers Social Security, RMDs, Roth conversions, and withdrawal order together, instead of a formula based on your age.
It’s also the right place to start if you already have an advisor but have never seen your retirement income mapped out in writing. We’ll review it and give you a second opinion. Sometimes that confirms your plan already works, and other times we can show you a better approach.
What families say about Retirement Planning.
Build a retirement income plan around your whole picture
Talk to us about your Social Security, your accounts, and your taxes together. The first conversation costs nothing.
Common questions
What does "fiduciary" mean?
It means Jacob is legally required to act in your best interest, so recommendations are based on what's right for you and what fits your goals. Not every advisor has to meet that standard.
When should I take Social Security?
It depends on your health, your other income, and whether you're married, since a spouse's benefit can be affected by when you claim. Guessing wrong has a real cost, so this is usually one of the first things we map out together.
What do I do about my required minimum distributions?
Starting at 73, the IRS requires you to withdraw a set amount each year from certain accounts, whether the market is up or down that year. We'll help you decide which account to draw from, and in what order, well before that deadline arrives.
Is a Roth conversion right for me?
Sometimes. It depends on your current tax bracket, what you expect it to be later, and how much you're converting in a given year. We'll walk through your specific numbers rather than give a blanket answer.
What if I already have an advisor?
That's a common reason people call. We give second opinions regularly, and if your current arrangement is working, we'll say so. If not, we'll be clear about what a stronger plan looks like.
How long does it take to build the plan?
Usually one to three meetings to build and present it, then reviews quarterly or annually depending on your needs.