Client Profile

Meet Jennifer and Mark Thompson

A 55-year-old VP of Marketing and her husband, a successful environmental consultant. With combined assets of $3.5 million including Mark's business worth about $1 million, they represent the self-made success story common among Willow Creek clients. Although they saved diligently throughout their careers, they felt uncertain about putting all the pieces together as they look toward retirement.

The Challenge

The Thompsons came to Willow Creek Wealth Management through a trusted friend, facing several retirement planning decisions:

• Scattered Investment Approach: Jennifer's $1 million 401(k) and Mark's $400,000 IRA were invested without a cohesive plan, with investment choices that hadn't been reviewed in years
• Business Exit Questions: Mark needed to determine the optimal timing and method to sell his consulting firm for maximum value while minimizing taxes
• Income Planning: With Jennifer earning $300,000 annually and Mark's business generating $200,000-$300,000 per year, they needed to figure out how to replace this income and fund their lifestyle once they retire
• Family Responsibilities: Planning for potential care costs for aging parents while also wanting to help future grandchildren with college expenses
• Tax Concerns: Understanding how to withdraw money from different retirement and savings accounts in a way that wouldn't create unnecessary tax bills

Despite their financial success, they recognized the need for expert guidance as they transition into the next chapter of their lives.

Our expert team guided the Thompsons through our comprehensive, goals-based planning process:

Investment Coordination

We reviewed and restructured their retirement accounts, creating a unified investment approach matching their 10-year timeline to retirement. This included rebalancing their investments, eliminating overlapping funds, and making sure Jennifer was optimizing her retirement savings.

Business Exit Strategy

We developed a multi-year plan for Mark to transition his business, evaluating different options like selling to his management team or to an outside buyer that would give him the best after-tax financial outcome for he and Jennifer.

Retirement Income Planning

We created a step-by-step approach for taking money from their accounts in retirement, including opportunities to convert some traditional retirement money to Roth accounts during lower-income years, and coordinating with Social Security benefits and required minimum distributions.

Family Planning

We helped them balance retirement security with their desire to support family members and charitable organizations, establishing education savings strategies that protect both their financial independence and the legacy they want to leave.