Defined benefit plans: someone else carries the risk.
Most Americans only have a 401(k) — a defined contribution plan, where you bear the market risk, the longevity risk, and the drawdown decision. A defined benefit plan flips that: the sponsor promises a specific monthly check for life and carries the investment and longevity risk. For the right client, layering a DB plan on top of everything else is the single highest-value planning move we make.
Public-sector DB (CalSTRS, CalPERS, LAPD, LAFD). If you’re a teacher or public employee, you already have one — and the election you make at retirement (Unmodified, Option 2W, Option 3W, Option 4, lump-sum) is a one-time, irreversible decision worth six or seven figures of lifetime income. Our pension-max framework compares the spread between the maximum benefit and the joint-survivor benefit against the cost of a term life policy replacing the same survivor income. Done right, it can add $100K+ of lifetime income to the household.
Private-practice / business-owner DB. If you’re a high-income professional — doctor, dentist, attorney, consultant — a cash-balance plan layered on a 401(k) lets you deduct $200K–$350K per year pre-tax (age-dependent, actuarial). For a 50-year-old in the 37% bracket that is $75K–$125K a year in federal tax savings alone, while building a guaranteed income stream. We coordinate with your TPA on the actuarial projection and integrate it with the rest of the plan.
Same advisor, three clients — the center rotates the strategy.
| Client | Goal | Timeline | Strategy rotates to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teacher, 38 | House down payment + long-horizon wealth | 3 yrs (house) / 27 yrs (retire) | HYSA + short Treasuries for the house fund; a passive dividend portfolio for the CalSTRS-supplement bucket, distributions reinvested for 25+ years. |
| LAPD, 54 | Retire at 57 with $8K/mo for life | 3-yr decumulation start | Pension election (Option 2W/3W joint-survivor vs. Unmodified + life insurance) + pension max + bond ladder + 70/30 portfolio for the taxable supplement. |
| Doctor, 42 | $5M at 65 + kids’ college | 23 years | Cash-balance DB plan (~$200–300K/yr deductible contributions) + aggressive 529 + backdoor Roth + 90/10 equity. |
Three clients, one advisor, three entirely different plans — and the only inputs that changed were the goals and the dates. That’s why the first meeting is about the center of the map, not about products.
Start where every plan should start.
Fifteen minutes. You bring the three numbers that actually decide your retirement — the date, the monthly figure, and what you already have — and we tell you whether they fit. Most people find out in the first ten.
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