Financial Planning for Retiring and Retired Military Officers

Yes. While we work with a range of Clients, we have particular depth in serving career military officers retiring after 20-plus years of service, as well as their families. These are Clients facing a specific set of one-time decisions, like a pension election, a Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) choice, and what to do with a Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) balance, and can benefit from planning built around a military-to-civilian transition rather than a general financial plan.

We provide financial planning and investment management built around income strategy, tax planning, Social Security planning, and estate and risk planning. For military Clients, that often includes comparing pension and SBP election options, deciding whether to keep or roll a TSP balance, and planning around a civilian paycheck when that's part of the picture. We coordinate income, taxes, and investments so they work together rather than being handled separately.

We offer both. Financial planning addresses income, taxes, and long-term goals, while investment management builds and monitors the portfolio that supports that plan. For retiring officers, the two are especially connected, since a pension election or TSP decision can change how a portfolio should be built. The same applies to a civilian or defense-contractor paycheck, which can shift how much a portfolio needs to generate versus how much it can keep growing.

A fiduciary is legally required to act in a Client's best interest, rather than recommend products that pay the advisor more. Occidental Asset Management is a fiduciary, fee-only Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), meaning we do not receive commissions or outside compensation. This applies throughout our planning, including pension, SBP, and TSP decisions, where the recommendation should reflect your situation, not a product's payout.

Occidental Asset Management is fee-only. We are paid directly by our Clients and do not earn commissions or accept compensation from outside institutions for the recommendations we make. That structure is designed to keep advice focused on your transition and your goals rather than any product sale.

Our investment approach favors diversified, research-driven strategies, with attention to cost and ongoing monitoring, rather than chasing short-term performance. For officers, that can mean building a portfolio that works alongside a pension, Social Security, and any civilian income, rather than one built around accumulation alone. Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal, and past performance does not indicate future results.

Occidental Asset Management generally works with Clients who have at least $500,000 in investable assets. For many officers, this level is reached through a combination of TSP balances, other savings, a civilian employer's retirement plan, and sometimes a spouse's retirement accounts, so it can be worth having a conversation even if your assets are spread across several accounts.

We believe we can be most effective through an ongoing advisory relationship, one in which the plan and the pension, SBP, and TSP decisions within it can be revisited as your transition unfolds and circumstances change. For that reason, we generally do not offer financial planning on an hourly or project basis.

We work with Clients both in person and remotely, with locations in Florida, Hawaii, California, Washington, and Colorado. Many of our military Clients relocate during or after their transition, so virtual meetings help us continue working together as your next assignment or job takes you elsewhere.

Yes. We offer an introductory call to discuss your situation, concerns, upcoming decisions, and whether our approach is a good match before any commitment is made. This is a chance to ask questions about the pension election, SBP, TSP, or anything else on your mind.

Occidental Asset Management has locations in Burlingame and San Francisco, California; Boulder, Colorado; Altamonte Springs (Orlando), Florida; Bellevue (Seattle), Washington; and Lihue, Hawaii. Because military officers often relocate during and after their transition, we also serve Clients nationwide through virtual meetings.

The Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) is an optional military pension election that continues a portion of your retired pay to your spouse after your death, in exchange for a reduction to your pension while you are alive. The decision is generally irreversible once made, so it deserves a close look at your other assets and income sources before you elect it. We help retiring officers weigh the SBP alongside other survivor income options, like TSP balances and life insurance, so the choice fits the bigger picture.

Whether to keep your TSP in place or roll it into an IRA depends on factors such as investment options, fees, and how the balance fits with your broader retirement income plan. Neither option is automatically better, and the right choice depends on your financial picture and the timeline for your next paycheck. We walk through the trade-offs of each option as part of transition planning.

Adding a civilian or defense-contractor salary on top of a military pension can push retiring officers into a higher tax bracket than they expect, especially in the first year of dual income. Planning ahead, through withholding adjustments, retirement account contributions, or timing decisions, can help manage that impact before it shows up at tax time. This is a common issue we help retiring officers plan for during their transition year.

Yes. Many retiring officers consider a return to aviation, a defense-contractor role, or a slower-paced position, and each option affects income, taxes, and how long a portfolio needs to last. We model these different paths against your pension, TSP, and savings so you can see the trade-offs before committing to one.