A Plan Built So Your Money Outlasts You

Saving for retirement and living on that retirement are two completely different challenges — and most financial advice is written for the first one. Scott Moffitt wrote Retirement Income Matters for the second: turning decades of savings into a reliable income stream that holds up through a long retirement.

What "Retirement Income Matters" Means for Your Plan

Scott Moffitt is the author of Retirement Income Matters, a book built around the specific financial decisions that determine whether a retirement income plan succeeds or runs short. It covers the questions most retirees don't know to ask until it's too late — and it forms the foundation of how Summit Financial Group approaches retirement planning for clients across Loveland, Symmes Township, Miami Township, Blue Ash, Milford, and the surrounding communities.

 

This isn't a general investing philosophy applied loosely to retirement. Retirement income planning is the specialty.

The Retirement Income Questions That Actually Keep People Up at Night

Most people approaching retirement share a short list of fears. Will I outlive my savings? When should I claim Social Security? What happens if the market drops right after I retire? These aren't abstract concerns — they're the specific risks that a retirement income strategy is built to address.

 

Summit's planning process works through each of these directly:

 

  • Sequence of returns risk: A significant market decline in the first few years of retirement can permanently damage a portfolio's ability to recover. Planning for this risk — not just acknowledging it — is one of the most consequential things a retirement income plan can do.
  • Sustainable withdrawal strategy: How much you can withdraw each year, and from which accounts, determines how long your savings last. There is no universal answer — it depends on your income sources, tax situation, and timeline.
  • Social Security timing: Claiming too early can cost tens of thousands of dollars over a long retirement. The right timing depends on your health, your spouse's situation, and your other income sources.
  • Tax-efficient withdrawals: Which accounts you draw from first — and in what order — has a direct impact on your lifetime tax bill. This is one of the most underplanned aspects of retirement income strategy.
  • Outliving your savings: With retirements now commonly spanning 25–30 years, income longevity isn't a secondary concern. It's the whole objective.

Scott Moffitt Has Been Answering These Questions for 30 Years

Scott has spent three decades helping pre-retirees and retirees in the Loveland area navigate the transition from saving to spending. His work has been recognized in the Wall Street Journal, US News & World Report, Consumer Reports, and Yahoo Finance — and he has built much of his practice through retirement planning seminars at Cincinnati-area universities, where he has helped thousands of families think through these decisions before they became crises.

 

Retirement Income Matters is the distillation of that experience: a resource written specifically for people who have done the saving and now need a clear, honest framework for what comes next.

A Plan That Considers the Generation Behind You

Many of the families we work with have estate plans that directly affect children who are already clients of ours, whether they've inherited assets, been named as beneficiaries, or started their own financial planning with our team. Because we often work with multiple generations of the same family, we're positioned to help you think through how your estate plan affects the people who will eventually be on the receiving end of it, not just the mechanics of the documents themselves.

What a Retirement Income Plan Covers

A retirement income strategy built at Summit typically works through the following:

1. Income Source Mapping

Every reliable income stream — Social Security, pensions, annuities, part-time work — is identified and timed to create the most stable foundation possible before portfolio withdrawals begin.

2. Withdrawal Sequencing

The order in which you draw from taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free accounts is planned deliberately to reduce lifetime taxes and extend the life of your portfolio.

3. Sequence of Returns Protection

The plan accounts for the possibility of an early-retirement market downturn, building in buffers that prevent a bad first few years from derailing a 30-year retirement.

4. Ongoing Adjustment

Retirement income planning isn't a one-time event. As markets shift, tax laws change, and your life evolves, the plan is reviewed and adjusted to stay on track.

Frequently Asked Questions About Retirement Income Planning

  • What is retirement income planning, and how is it different from general retirement planning?

    Retirement income planning focuses specifically on the distribution phase — how you convert your accumulated savings into reliable income once you stop working. General retirement planning often emphasizes accumulation: saving more, investing wisely, growing a portfolio. Retirement income planning addresses what happens after that, including withdrawal sequencing, tax efficiency, Social Security timing, and managing the risk of outliving your assets.

  • What is sequence of returns risk, and why does it matter?

    Sequence of returns risk refers to the danger of experiencing significant market losses early in retirement, while you are actively withdrawing from your portfolio. Because withdrawals lock in losses before the market can recover, a bad sequence of early returns can permanently reduce how long your savings last — even if long-term average returns look reasonable on paper. Planning for this risk is one of the most important elements of a retirement income strategy.

  • When should I start thinking about retirement income planning?

    Ideally, five to ten years before you plan to retire. That window allows time to adjust your investment mix, plan your Social Security timing, and build the income structure before you need to rely on it. That said, it is never too late to build a more deliberate plan — even if retirement is already underway.

  • How do I get a copy of Scott Moffitt's book, "Retirement Income Matters"?

    You can request a copy through our contact page, or ask about it when you call the office. Scott is happy to make the book available to families who are working through retirement income decisions and want a clear, practical framework to start from. Does Summit Financial Group serve clients outside of Loveland? Yes. Summit serves clients across the Loveland area and surrounding communities, including Symmes Township, Miami Township, Blue Ash, Milford, Montgomery, and Mason — generally within a 15–30 minute radius of the Loveland office.

Ready to Talk Through Your Retirement Income Plan?

Retirement income planning is the specialty, not a side note. If you are approaching retirement — or already there — and want a plan built around sustainable income rather than general investing guidance, Scott Moffitt would be glad to talk. Call the office directly to get started.