The Holistic Planning Revolution ™
A message from our Founder Don Chamberlin.
In 2001, a major change took place in my financial career which began in 1985 – the stock market dropped for the 2nd year in a row! This caused me to be fed up with the advice my broker dealer firm was giving and the solutions the Wall Street pundits were suggesting. Breaking from the norm, I left my brokerage firm behind and embarked on the founding of Chamberlin Group, a Tax and Financial Planning firm to help better educate St. Louis families on key retirement topics and how to plan for possible negative economic circumstances. In our 2nd year (2003) we began doing tax preparation and giving tax advice along with focusing on ways to be prepared for the next market correction which took place in 2008.
Again in 2011, we made another leap founding Prosperity Capital Advisors with 4 other likeminded Tax advisory firms throughout the country. Our goal was to take the message of Holistic Planning across the USA – bringing increased confidence to Americans as they create a fun and vital retirement.
Today we continue to lead the Holistic Planning movement helping St. Louisans by starting with fee-based and balanced advice that can be implemented by each individual, their Holistic Advisor or Chamberlin Group. We let you choose. If you have reached your retirement summit or just want to plan for that day in the future – I promise you will find our approach unique, refreshing and fun!
All the best to you and your family for well-planned and well lived retirement years.
Don Chamberlin
Tax Management Journey ®
Because of the amount of taxes you will owe over your lifetime, National IRA expert Ed Slott calls IRA’s and 401(k) “the Retirement Tax Time Bomb”! Yet the majority of professionals at banks, investment and insurance firms ask you to consult your Tax Advisor before taking their professional advice. Taxes could be one of your highest expenses in retirement! We feel taxes should be properly integrated into a total Holistic Plan – educating you about your options now and for the future. At The Chamberlin Group, not only do we prepare over 1,500 tax returns per year – we proactively meet with you to locate areas to optimize your taxes. The difference is: we not only have tax preparers to complete your 1040 in the spring, our tax advisors can help with tax reduction strategies year-round.
Social Security Consultant Program
The Social Security Consultant Program was established to help those nearing Social Security age to overcome the #1 problem with this government program – COMPLEXITY.
We start with education in a public classroom followed up by an analysis of your Social Security amounts at different ages. Options are developed so you can make educated decisions based not only on Social Security values (which only covers 38% of retirement income across America) but on the total income available to you from all sources and the amount of taxes you will need to pay.
Investment Audit ®
Investment Audits are designed to determine the amount of volatility (or risk) that each individual is willing to endure.
You may have completed something like this online or through a financial institution. That is good experience. We look at taxes and fees because they can be a substantial drain on your assets.
Our approach is different in that the Bucket Planning Process ™ requires different volatility tolerance analysis for your income (Soon Bucket) and Growth (Later Bucket). With this information we can plan your income, taxes and fees for a longer term in retirement like an architect.
Do I need a Trust or Not?
This is a very frequent question at The Chamberlin Group.
The concept involved is how do you pass on assets to future generations efficiently and outside of probate court.
Although there are ways to avoid probate court we find a discussion of trust to be helpful in considering your planning options.
We use local attorney’s in our office to educate you to determine what is best for your family.
Don’t put this off! Having a proper and up to date estate planning strategy is essential to your future.
Health Care Costs
After running out of money in retirement, this is the second biggest concern in retirement we see at Chamberlin Group.
As a true fee-based holistic planning firm, we have healthcare and Medicare subject matter experts on staff who can help you access your healthcare choices and analyze cost both short and long term.
