Retire SMART Available

Clients frequently arrive at Retire SMART facing a common dilemma: they have accumulated assets across traditional 401(k)s, IRAs, and taxable accounts, but lack an operational blueprint for withdrawals that minimizes taxation. Founded in 2017 by David Brooks, the Omaha-based firm specializes in solving the structural friction points that confront pre-retirees and retirees. Rather than relying on generic asset-accumulation models, the advisory team directly addresses the two areas most frequently overlooked in standard wealth management: forward-looking tax mitigation and escalating healthcare expenses.

When evaluating a household profile at their FNB Parkway office, advisors conduct a diagnostic intake across five critical functional areas. The process examines how disparate cash flow streams—Social Security benefits, defined-benefit pensions, deferred compensation, and personal savings—interact under changing tax laws. For households facing sharp tax bracket escalation, the team calculates multi-year Roth conversion schedules, distribution timing frameworks, and tax-loss harvesting strategies designed to lower lifetime tax liabilities before Required Minimum Distributions take effect. Concurrently, advisors model out-of-pocket medical contingencies, factoring Medicare premiums and potential surcharge thresholds directly into the annual cash-flow architecture.

Because comprehensive planning cannot function in a vacuum, the firm emphasizes multidisciplinary execution. Advisors routinely collaborate with external certified public accountants and estate planning attorneys, ensuring trust structures, asset titling, and annual tax filings align precisely with the client's broader financial roadmap. This ongoing coordination replaces reactive year-end tax scrambling with proactive modeling that responds to revisions in federal and state tax codes.

For households evaluating a retirement milestone within the next twelve to thirty-six months, early alignment is essential to maximize tax positioning. Initial consultations are conducted by scheduled appointment at the firm's Omaha headquarters or via secure video conference. Prospective clients should compile their two most recent tax returns, current investment statements across all qualified and non-qualified accounts, and estimated Social Security benefit summaries prior to the intake session, which allows the planning team to produce tailored cash-flow projections within two to three weeks.