Glow does pre-retirement financial planning for people within ten years of retirement, usually with $1 million or more saved, who want a plan instead of a guess.
You have retired exactly zero times. Every big money decision before this one had a safety net, and the net was time. A bad stretch in the markets, a move that did not pan out, you had years to work and save your way through it.
Retirement takes the net away. You get one attempt, and you find out whether you were right about a decade later, when working your way back is off the table.
“I don’t want to work five years longer than I have to. I also really don’t want to run out at 85.”
That is the fog.
The decisions ahead of you have an order, and most of them have a date. The Retirement Decision Timeline puts them on one line, from about ten years before you retire to five years after, so you can see what is coming, when each one comes due, and which ones are quietly happening right now, whether or not you are ready for them.
Drag your retirement age and watch which decisions move with it, and which ones do not budge.
Educational illustration, not individualized advice. Assumes birth year 1960 or later (RMDs begin at 75; if born 1951–1959, RMDs begin at 73). Figures reflect 2026 rules.
You have run the money for thirty years. There are old 401(k)s from jobs you barely remember, a couple of IRAs, some company stock, and a spreadsheet you half trust. On the surface it looks organized. Underneath, you are not sure any of it is coordinated, and you are quietly tired of being the only one holding the whole thing.
You asked your 401(k) provider a real question, something like how much to convert to a Roth this year, and you got a generic reply that did not fit your situation. You are capable of doing the homework. You just want someone to look at your whole picture and tell you the right order to do things in.
A birthday landed, or the market dropped, or someone close to you went through a hard financial stretch. "I'll get to it eventually" stopped feeling good enough. Now you want to know, in plain numbers, whether you could stop working sooner than you assumed, and what it would take to get there.
Sometimes one person has carried the money for decades and is quietly worn out from being the one who decides. The other has been happy to leave it alone and is not fully in the loop. That gap is normal, and it has a cost. Money talks turn into money arguments, so you both start avoiding them.
One of you wants to hand in a notice. The other hears that and pictures running out. Underneath, you want the same thing, to feel heard and land on the same page. A lot of what I do is give that conversation a structured, calm place to happen, with real numbers on the table.
Glow is not the right fit for everyone, and it is fairer to say so now. See yourself in one of these folks? Then Glow is probably not the right fit, and that is okay.
You want someone to beat the market and trade on every headline. I am calm on purpose, so we would wear each other out.
You want one plan, in one binder, on one shelf, never opened again. My plans get updated as your life and the rules change, so I would keep calling.
You came to buy a shiny annuity or an insurance product. I do not sell those, so you would leave empty-handed and a little let down.
You want to sit across a real desk in a local office. I work over video from wherever you are, usually in better chairs.
You want the cheapest option, full stop. Glow charges a flat fee for real coordination, a fair price but never the lowest.
You keep your financial life in a shoebox, a few browser tabs, and your memory, and you would like to keep it that way. Getting organized is step one with me, so I would need you to open the box.
See no one you recognize here? Then we will likely get along. See if Glow is a fit.
The big ones cluster in your late 50s and 60s: when to claim Social Security, how to handle Roth conversions, how to bridge health insurance before Medicare, and how to turn savings into income. They affect one another, so the order matters. Some decisions have fixed windows; others move depending on your unique situation. There is no one-size-fits-all answer, which is why Glow provides personalized, ongoing financial planning.
Medicare's income-based surcharge (IRMAA) uses your tax return from two years earlier, so the income you report at 63 helps determine what you pay starting at 65. That two-year lookback surprises a lot of people. Planning your income in those years is one of the things we look at together. It also does not stop at 65: each year's premium is based on your income from two years earlier.
The useful window usually opens when your income drops, often after you stop working, and starts closing once required minimum distributions begin. Those lower-income years are frequently when conversions make the most sense. The exact timing depends on your situation, which is part of what I map out.
That is common, and it is one of the things I am most useful for. I give you a structured, calm setting to work through it with real numbers instead of guesses. The goal is for both of you to feel heard and to end up on the same page.
You are just as welcome. Single pre-retirees face all the same decisions and usually have no built-in second opinion. Having someone who knows your full picture is just as valuable when you are planning solo.
Maybe not, and I will tell you honestly if that is the case. Many of my clients are capable DIYers who simply reached a point where the decisions got more complex and the stakes got higher. The value is making sure nothing important gets missed when it is hardest to undo.
Take the free Retirement Readiness Check, or if you would rather just talk it through, see whether Glow is a fit.
Book a free intro call and get a clear read on where you stand, with no pitch.
See if Glow is a fit