Introduction to Retirement Planning for High-Net-Worth Individuals
Retirement today rarely follows a linear path. For high-net-worth individuals, especially those with more than $1 million in investable assets, the approach requires more than a standard formula. It may involve maintaining multiple residences, transitioning out of business ownership, or funding causes that matter to you.
In 2025, a few key trends are shaping the retirement landscape:
- Personalization across investment portfolios
- Expanded timelines and RMD changes under SECURE 2.0
- Greater integration of alternative assets such as private credit and real estate
- Growing interest in ESG-focused strategies and long-term planning
According to recent reports from Mercer and PwC, about 46% of high-net-worth investors are reconsidering their financial advisors. This reflects a shift toward more independent, personalized guidance.
Retirement planning is personal, and for many, it reflects more than just numbers. It’s about protecting your lifestyle, caring for your family, and creating a sense of clarity around the future. The sections that follow walk through several key areas that often matter most to the individuals and families we serve.
What Is Private Wealth Management? Why Starting Retirement Planning Early Matters
For individuals with significant wealth, retirement often doesn’t begin at a fixed age. Instead, it gradually emerges as income sources shift, lifestyle goals evolve, and personal priorities change. Still, the advantages of starting early are meaningful.
Early retirement planning provides a wider range of options. It becomes easier to adjust investment strategy, refine tax planning, and evaluate multiple scenarios before any single outcome is required.
Four reasons to begin planning earlier:
- More room for long-term growth: The longer assets have to grow, the more flexibility you have in deciding how to draw from them later.
- Tax-sensitive strategies benefit from time: Gifting plans, Roth conversions, and charitable giving strategies tend to be more effective when spread across several years.
- Lifestyle needs are more accurately forecasted: Travel, health care, family support, and legacy planning each require clear projections.
- Adjustments can be made gradually: If an initial plan proves too aggressive or conservative, small changes are easier to make when they aren’t driven by urgency.
Starting early creates space for long-term planning and allows for more tailored, tax-optimized strategies that reflect the complexity of your financial life.
Smart Retirement Savings Strategies for High Earners
For individuals earning above the Social Security wage base, conventional saving advice can seem out of step. Contribution limits, means testing, and complex tax exposure all change the approach.
Key considerations for high earners
- Maximize qualified accounts: 401(k), 403(b), and traditional IRA contributions still offer important benefits. In 2025, the 401(k) elective deferral limit is $23,000, with an additional $7,500 catch-up contribution for those age 50 and older. These tax-deferred savings vehicles remain foundational to many affluent clients’ strategies.
- Explore Roth opportunities: While direct Roth IRA contributions are restricted at higher incomes, strategies like backdoor Roths or mega backdoor contributions through workplace plans may be viable.
- Leverage HSAs: If eligible, HSAs provide a flexible and tax-efficient way to prepare for healthcare costs in retirement.
- Use taxable accounts with intention: These accounts allow for capital gain harvesting, strategic giving through appreciated securities, and more control over timing of income. Some high earners are also exploring crypto retirement allocations within their taxable portfolios.
- Be mindful of asset location: Where you hold assets matters. Tax-inefficient investments often belong in tax-deferred accounts, while long-term growth assets may be better suited for Roth or taxable accounts.
Building a Diversified Investment Portfolio for Retirement
A well-designed retirement portfolio reflects your broader financial structure, not just your age or risk tolerance. For individuals with significant wealth, this often means balancing liquidity, income generation, long-term growth, and estate priorities.
Portfolio components to consider:
- Public equities: U.S. and international equities often serve as the foundation for long-term capital appreciation
- Fixed income: Bonds provide predictable income and reduce volatility. These may include municipal bonds for tax-sensitive clients
- Cash and short-term reserves: Liquidity helps reduce the need to sell growth assets during market pullbacks
- Alternatives: Real estate, private equity, hedge funds, or structured notes may reduce correlation with public markets
- Portfolio segmentation: Dividing assets into time-based “buckets” supports more effective retirement portfolio management
Retirement plans built around thoughtful asset allocation can support a range of objectives, including safe withdrawals that preserve capital across generations.
Using Alternative Investments to Hedge and Grow
For affluent clients, traditional 60/40 portfolios may not provide enough diversification or downside protection. Alternative investments offer exposure to different sources of return and risk.
Popular alternative assets include:
- Private equity and venture capital for long-term growth
- Private credit for fixed income-style returns with unique risk profiles
- Real estate and REITs for inflation-sensitive income
- Hedge strategies including long/short equity, market-neutral, and structured notes
These tools often appeal to investors seeking broader diversification beyond public markets. With proper due diligence, they can serve as a valuable layer in a long-term retirement strategy.
Tax Optimization for Long-Term Efficiency
Managing taxes across decades of retirement can protect significant portions of your net worth. For high earners, tax advantages are especially important when planning distributions.
Key approaches include:
- Withdrawal sequencing: In general, taxable accounts first, followed by tax-deferred accounts, and Roth last.
- Roth conversions: Consider these during years when taxable income is lower, which may reduce future RMD exposure.
- Charitable strategies: Tools like qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) and donor-advised funds may help align giving goals with tax efficiency.
- Lifetime gifting: Structured gifts using annual exclusions can lower taxable estates over time.
Some investors are now layering in crypto assets to diversify holdings and explore emerging retirement planning strategies that balance innovation and control.
Managing Healthcare and Longevity Risks in Retirement
Healthcare costs and longer lifespans can place meaningful demands on a retirement plan. Many households face higher out-of-pocket expenses as they age, and some may need support for 25 to 30 years or more.
Practical considerations
- Medicare and supplements: Review Parts A, B, and D, and consider a Medigap policy to help address coverage gaps.
- Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): If eligible, contributions grow tax deferred and can be withdrawn tax free for qualified medical expenses in retirement.
- Long-term care coverage: Traditional policies and life insurance with long-term care riders can provide funding options for home care, assisted living, or nursing care.
- Budgeting for medical inflation: Health costs often rise faster than general inflation, so include conservative assumptions when modeling future expenses.
Healthcare planning is most effective when it is integrated with your withdrawal strategy, insurance approach, and estate considerations.
Social Security and Pension Coordination
Social Security and pensions may represent a smaller share of total income for high-net-worth families, yet the timing and structure of benefits still matter.
Key decisions to review
- Claiming age: Delaying beyond full retirement age increases monthly benefits. The right timing depends on health, life expectancy, and other income sources.
- Spousal and survivor benefits: Coordinating elections can support household income and protect surviving spouses.
- Tax treatment: A portion of Social Security can be taxable, depending on other income. Factor this into annual withdrawal planning.
- Pensions: Compare lump sum and annuity choices in the context of interest rates, longevity, and legacy goals.
Coordinating these benefits with portfolio withdrawals can help create more stable cash flow over time.
Legacy Planning Integration
Retirement planning and estate planning are closely connected. Many families want to support heirs, fund causes they value, and manage taxes across generations.
Core elements
- Essential documents: Wills, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives form the base of any plan.
- Trusts: Revocable trusts can support privacy and administration. Irrevocable structures may address tax, asset protection, or specific legacy objectives.
- Gifting strategies: Annual exclusions and lifetime exemptions allow for transfers during life. Thoughtful gifting can support education, home purchases, or philanthropy.
- Business succession: Owners may use buy-sell agreements, valuation planning, and liquidity strategies to support transitions.
A coordinated approach across investments, taxes, and legal structures helps align wealth with the outcomes that matter to your family.
Incorporating ESG Considerations in Retirement Portfolios
Values-based investing continues to grow in popularity, especially among clients who want their capital to reflect broader goals.
Common ESG themes:
- Reducing exposure to carbon-intensive sectors
- Supporting innovation in energy, water, and public health
- Encouraging corporate governance practices that align with long-term stewardship
These choices can be integrated into both public and private investments as part of a broader retirement planning strategy.
Integrating Technology in Retirement Planning
While retirement is a personal journey, the tools used to support it are increasingly digital. Many firms now offer access to planning software that can model multiple economic and lifestyle scenarios. These tools do not replace expertise, but they offer a way to make decisions with more clarity.
Some platforms allow for:
- Real-time projections of retirement income
- Visualization of tax impacts based on different withdrawal strategies
- Long-term care and healthcare expense modeling
Tools work best when used alongside professional guidance, not in place of it.
Ongoing Adjustments: Retirement Is Not “Set It and Forget It”
A retirement plan developed today will likely look different in five or ten years. Life evolves, and your plan should evolve with it.
When to revisit your plan
- After a major life change: Sale of a business, loss of a spouse, health event, or relocation
- Annually: To review tax strategy, investment performance, and income needs
- After policy changes: New retirement legislation may affect required distributions, contribution limits, or estate tax exposure
Revisiting your plan does not mean starting over. It’s a way to refine direction as new information becomes available.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do high-net-worth individuals plan for a secure retirement?
High-net-worth individuals often approach retirement with more diverse assets and priorities than the general population. Planning tends to include personalized income modeling, tax-efficient withdrawal strategies, alternative investment allocations, and estate integration. Risk management also plays a key role, especially for healthcare and long-term care needs.
What is the most secure retirement strategy for investors with over $1 million in assets?
Secure retirement planning for high earners typically includes tax-deferred savings, flexible withdrawal options, and a diversified asset base.
Can you retire early with $1 million dollars?
For some individuals, $1 million may support an early retirement. However, this depends on lifestyle needs, geographic location, healthcare costs, and how the portfolio is structured. For high-income earners accustomed to elevated spending, retiring early may require additional assets or modified expectations.
What are common mistakes affluent investors make in retirement planning?
One common mistake is deferring planning until retirement is near. Others include overconcentration in one asset class, overlooking tax liabilities from RMDs, failing to update estate plans, or underestimating longevity and healthcare expenses.
How often should a retirement plan be reviewed?
At minimum, a full review should occur once per year. However, reviews may also be triggered by significant market shifts, tax law changes, a business sale, or a major life event such as marriage, divorce, or the birth of a grandchild.
Your Path to Financial Security and Legacy A Retirement Plan is a Living Strategy
Retirement doesn’t always begin with a sudden shift. It often emerges gradually as work changes, family roles shift, and personal goals take shape. For high-net-worth individuals, planning for this stage requires more than a standard allocation, it requires thoughtful, ongoing design.
At Moran Wealth Management, we focus on helping clients navigate that complexity with clarity, respect, and experience. Each plan is a reflection of the person behind it.
Schedule a consultation with one of our experts today and take the first step toward securing your financial future and legacy.