By: Alyssa Ochss | C&G Newspapers | Published March 6, 2026
METRO DETROIT — Many things come with aging including a need to take a closer look at your finances.
Here’s some advice from experts when retirement age approaches.
Julie Lobaza is the vice president and a wealth manager at Rochester Wealth Strategies located on Main Street in Rochester. She helps clients who are within 10 years of retirement or have over $500,000 in investible assets.
“At that point, we think they need a little bit more than your normal guidance,” Lobaza said.
In the first meeting, Lobaza and her team of advisers gather information by asking questions about the clients’ financial status, assets, expenses, current income and more.
They then work with the client to make a financial plan.
“It’s usually determining, let’s say, if somebody wants to retire at a certain age, then we take that and we can calculate their probability of success based on their current expenses, their current assets and anything they project out that they’re going to continue to contribute to a 401(k), IRAs,” Lobaza said.
From there they determine when a client can retire based on his or her current lifestyle. A Social Security analysis shows a client what it would look like to take the benefit at various ages.
Lobaza said clients usually have a lot of questions about Social Security, 401(k)s and Medicare. The most common question is usually when they can retire.
She can also point out areas in a will or in estate documents that need to be revisited based on their current situation and other factors.
Clients should bring statements about investments, Social Security, any information about IRAs or Roth IRAs, and other accounts to the planning sessions.
“So we can kind of see where things are, which buckets they’re in, and what kind of holdings they’re in,” Lobaza said. “A lot of times, people think because they have a bunch of different holdings that they’re diversified. However, a lot of times with that, sometimes those holdings are actually invested in the same companies.”
Lobaza completes a stock holdings report to show where her clients’ money and their investments lie.
“Maybe they think they’re invested a certain way but really we can dig down deep,” Lobaza said. “And if we look across all their accounts, we can give them a better idea of exactly what they’re actually invested in.”
There are many types of retirement plans.
Two of these are individual retirement accounts, commonly known as IRAs, and Roth IRAs. According to the Internal Revenue Service, an IRA is a tax-deferred account that investors can access without penalty at age 59 1/2. The funds then simply become taxable income. Contributions made to a Roth IRA are made after taxes, meaning the money that is invested grows tax-free. As such, tax-free contributions can be withdrawn without penalty at any time, while any accumulated earnings from those contributions can be withdrawn without taxes or penalties at age 59 1/2 as long as the first contribution to the account was made at least five years prior to the withdrawal. There are other guidelines and considerations that a financial adviser can explain.
A retirement 401(k) fund is often set up through an employer. According to the IRS, employees can contribute a portion of their wages to it and sometimes employers can match their contributions at varying amounts. These funds become taxable at the time of retirement. If someone leaves a company and they have a 401(k) through it, these funds can be accessed at age 55.
“In some cases, it makes sense to keep some of your money or the money you’ve accumulated in your 401(k) if you think you’re going to retire before 59 1/2,” Lobaza said.
She suggests that clients talk to their families about finances so they aren’t caught off guard should something happen to them.
“A lot of times we’ll offer to clients, if they would like to have a meeting including all their family members, you know, we can facilitate that to at least give them an idea, and it’s up to that individual client if they want to talk amounts or just if they want to talk about how things will be divided from a percentage standpoint,” Lobaza said.
She said it is a good idea to make sure everyone is on the same page. She also said they make sure clients know who the beneficiaries are on each account.
“We’ll review that with them every year and we want to change those designations, we can help them through that process,” Lobaza said.
Lobaza wants clients to remember she’s there not just for investments, but for the whole picture.
“We’re looking at Medicare. We’re looking at Social Security. We’re looking at your investments. We’re looking at where you should pull out your money first versus later. We’re also looking at tax efficiency, which is a very big topic,” Lobaza said. “You know, how can you go through retirement in the most tax-efficient way possible?”