Short answer: a financial advisor is usually worth it when you face decisions that are expensive to get wrong and hard to undo — when to retire, when to claim Social Security, which accounts to spend first, Roth conversions — and the fee is clearly smaller than what those decisions are worth. If your situation is simple and you enjoy the work, you may not need one.
When an advisor tends to pay for itself
- The years around retirement. Claiming ages, withdrawal order, and tax brackets interact, and a few choices made once can shape decades of income.
- Taxes on large balances. Roth conversions, required minimum distributions, and Medicare income thresholds are where planning shows up in dollars. See our tax planning page.
- Behavior in bad markets. The cost of selling at the bottom can exceed many years of fees.
- A business sale, inheritance, or the loss of a spouse. Big one-time events reward a second set of eyes.
When it may not be worth it
- Your finances are simple, you invest in low-cost index funds, and you like doing the planning yourself.
- The fee is large relative to the help, especially a percentage fee on a big portfolio with little planning attached.
- The advisor earns commissions on what they recommend, so the advice and the sale are tangled together.
How to judge value before you hire
Write down the three decisions you are least sure about. Ask each advisor how they would approach them and what it will cost in dollars per year. A good advisor should be able to point to specific, checkable work — a written plan, a tax projection, a claiming analysis — not just market returns.
We publish our fees: planning from $250/month, with optional investment management. Read why smart people hire an advisor or see how we do retirement income planning.
Schedule a complimentary consultation with Ben Loughery.
This article is for educational purposes only and is not individualized tax, legal, or investment advice. Examples are hypothetical illustrations, not actual clients, and do not guarantee any result. Lock Wealth Management is a registered investment adviser; registration does not imply a particular level of skill or training.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a financial advisor worth it for retirees?
- Often, because retirement brings one-time decisions — Social Security, withdrawal order, Roth conversions, Medicare — that interact and are hard to reverse. The value depends on the advice relative to the fee.
- Is paying 1% to an advisor worth it?
- It depends on what the 1% buys. Convert it to dollars and compare it with flat-fee planning for the same scope of work.
- Can I just use a robo-advisor?
- A robo-advisor can handle investing well and cheaply. It will not usually plan Social Security, taxes, or withdrawals around your household.
- How much money do I need before hiring an advisor?
- For flat-fee planning there is often no minimum. The better test is whether you face decisions worth more than the fee.
- Do you guarantee better returns?
- No. No honest advisor can. Planning value shows up in taxes, decisions, and avoided mistakes, which we can show you in writing.
