Everything on this page is reviewed with you over Zoom — or by phone if you prefer. Tele-Wealth planning, no office visit required.
Your retirement is missing a leg.
Retirement was designed to stand on three: Social Security, a pension, and your own savings. Your parents retired on all three. You were handed a 401(k) and told good luck — and every bill you have to pay now rides on a balance that moves every single day.
About 3 minutes. No account numbers, no obligation, nothing signed on the first call.
12+ years each
Retirement & income planning experience
3,000+
Retirement income strategies reviewed
$3 billion+
Retirement assets analyzed
Each of our Experts brings at least 12 years of successful college funding and retirement planning experience, beginning with A+ Rated Carrier Training.
How retirement was supposed to work
Three legs. Most people are standing on two.
Leg one — Social Security
Still standing
Inflation-adjusted, guaranteed for life, and for most households it covers roughly a third to a half of essential expenses. Real, but never designed to carry the whole stool.
Leg two — the pension
Missing for most
The leg your parents retired on. Private-sector pensions were replaced by 401(k) plans, which shifted every market risk, every longevity risk, and every withdrawal decision onto you.
Leg three — your savings
Standing, but moving
Your 401(k), IRA, and brokerage. It can grow beautifully and it can fall 30% in a year. Leaning the grocery budget against it is what makes retirement feel unsteady.
What a missing leg actually costs
A wobbly stool doesn't just feel unsteady. It changes how you live.
- Essential bills — mortgage, food, utilities, insurance — end up funded by an account balance that changes every day.
- Sequence-of-returns risk hits hardest in the first five years of withdrawals, exactly when a missing leg is most expensive.
- Retirees under-spend out of fear, sacrificing the years they are healthiest enough to enjoy the money.
- Every market headline becomes a personal financial event instead of background noise.
Rebuilding the third leg
You can build your own pension from the money you already saved.
No employer required. A portion of a 401(k) or IRA can be converted into contractual income that arrives every month for as long as you live — whether the market is up 30% or down 30%. The work is sizing it correctly.
Total the bills that must be paid
Housing, food, utilities, insurance, healthcare, transportation. Not travel, not gifts — only the non-negotiables. This is the number the third leg has to hold up.
Subtract the guaranteed income you already have
Social Security at your chosen filing age, any pension, any annuity income already in place. What remains is the exact size of your missing leg, in dollars per month.
Rebuild only that leg — and leave the rest invested
A portion of your 401(k) or IRA is converted into contractual lifetime income sized to that gap. The remainder stays invested for growth, liquidity, and legacy.
Guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance carrier. Product features, caps, participation rates, surrender schedules, and withdrawal rules vary by contract and are reviewed with you in writing before any decision. This page is education, not a recommendation.
60-second income gap check
How big is the gap between your bills and your guaranteed income?
Six questions. No contact details, no account numbers — your result appears right here on the page.
0 of 6 answered
1. When does your retirement paycheck need to start?
2. How much of your essential monthly bills are covered by guaranteed income today?
Social Security, pensions, and any annuity income you already own.
3. Do you have a cash buffer for a down market year?
4. Do you know the withdrawal rate your savings can support?
5. How is your money split across account types?
Pretax 401(k)/IRA, Roth, and taxable brokerage.
6. Has anyone mapped Roth conversions or RMDs for you?
Your information stays private
We never sell your information. It is used only to prepare your review and to match you with a licensed Expert.
No obligation, ever
The review and your Retirement Income Score are free. There is nothing to buy and no commitment to move any money.
You control the contact
We ask for account numbers only if you choose to move forward, and you can ask us to stop contacting you at any time.
By submitting a form you agree that My IRA Hero and the licensed Expert matched to you may contact you by phone, email, or text about your request. Message frequency varies; consent is not a condition of purchase. Reply STOP to opt out. See our Privacy Policy and SMS Terms. Educational information only — not tax, legal, or investment advice.
Is a retirement income plan right for me?
- How do I know if I need a written income plan?
- If you are within about ten years of drawing from your savings, or already drawing, you need one. The decisions that matter — which account to withdraw from first, when to claim Social Security, how much to keep in cash — all interact, and guessing at them is what shortens the money.
- Do I have to buy a product to get the plan?
- No. The framework on this page is built from your own numbers first. Whether any guaranteed-income vehicle belongs in it is a separate question answered after the plan is written, and only for the portion that must cover essential bills.
- What if most of my money is in a pretax 401(k) or IRA?
- Then tax sequencing is likely your biggest lever. Roth conversions in low-income years and smoothing future RMDs can change your lifetime tax bill materially — but only if they are scheduled before the RMD years begin.
- Can this be done without meeting in person?
- Yes. Every plan is built and reviewed by video or phone — Tele-Wealth planning — with your numbers on screen as we build them. Nothing is signed on the first call.
General education, not a recommendation. Suitability depends on your accounts, age, tax bracket, and income timeline.
Straight answers before you book
What is the missing leg of the retirement stool?
The pension. Retirement was designed to stand on three legs — Social Security, an employer pension, and personal savings. Pensions have largely been replaced by 401(k) plans, so most people entering retirement today are balancing a lifetime of income on two legs, and one of them moves with the market every day.
Can I really build my own pension from a 401(k)?
Yes, in effect. A portion of a 401(k) or IRA can be rolled into a contract that pays a defined monthly amount for as long as you live, backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing carrier. It is not literally an employer pension, but the function — income that arrives whether markets rise or fall, and that does not stop while you are alive — is the same.
How much of my savings would this involve?
Usually only the slice needed to cover essential bills that Social Security and any existing pension do not already cover. The rest stays invested for growth, liquidity, and legacy. We show you both sides of that split before anything is recommended.
Is the first call a sales pitch?
No. The 15 minutes covers your essential monthly expenses, the guaranteed income you already have, and the gap between them. If the gap is small, we say so. Nothing is signed on the first call and no account numbers are required.
Do I have to meet in person?
No. Every review is Tele-Wealth — Zoom or phone, whichever you prefer, with your numbers on screen as we build them.
Pick your time
Book your free 15-minute Tele-Wealth call
A Retirement Expert matched to income planning totals your essential bills, subtracts the guaranteed income you already have, and shows you the exact size of your missing leg — in dollars per month. No account numbers, no obligation, nothing signed on the first call.
We don't randomly assign you to whoever is available. We review your questionnaire answers and match you with an experienced Fiduciary Retirement Specialist who can best address your situation — then they stay with you from there.
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How we vet our bench
Five checks before your Expert ever calls you.
Retirement decisions are long-term commitments. The professional you meet with should be held to a long-term standard. Every Expert we assign has cleared all five of these before an introduction is made.
01Active state license, verified
Every Expert holds a current life and health insurance license in the state where you live. We confirm the license before any introduction is made — you are never handed to someone who cannot legally advise you where you are.
0212+ years of retirement planning experience
We work with specialists, not generalists. Each Expert brings at least 12 years of successful college funding and retirement planning experience, beginning with A+ Rated Carrier Training.
03Background and disciplinary screening
Every Expert is screened against public regulatory and complaint records. Prior disciplinary action, a license suspension, or an unresolved client complaint disqualifies a professional from our bench.
04Best-interest standard
Recommendations must fit your financial situation, your timeline, and your goals — not the highest-commission product available. Anything discussed is disclosed to you in plain language first.
05Annual re-verification
Vetting is not a one-time check at onboarding. Licensing and disciplinary records are re-verified every year, and any Expert whose record changes is paused from assignment while we review.
No cost, no obligation: your analysis and 15-minute Tele-Wealth call are free. Your information is never sold, and you are introduced to one matched Expert — not auctioned to a list of them.
Client stories
Families who rebuilt the third leg
“For the first time in 20 years, someone actually returned my calls the same day. We rolled over both old 401(k)s and finally understand our income plan.”
“My previous advisor gave me a template. My IRA Hero gave me a plan for my life — including a tax strategy no one had ever mentioned.”
“They said no to a product that would've paid them more, because it wasn't right for us. That's when we knew we'd found the right team.”
Testimonials reflect experiences shared by clients and family members; individual results vary and are not a guarantee of future outcomes. Names shortened for privacy.
The Advisors We Recommend All Work With Top-Rated Insurance Companies
Carrier logo scrolling playing.
- Allianz Life
- Corebridge Financial
- EquiTrust Life
- Global Atlantic
- North American
- Pacific Life
- MassMutual
- American Equity
- Mutual of Omaha
- Symetra
- Jackson National
- Protective
- Transamerica
- Securian Financial
- Ameritas
- Equitable
Disclosure: Carrier names and logos are shown for identification and reference purposes only. Their appearance here does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation, sponsorship, or approval of My IRA Hero, its advisors, or any strategy discussed on this site, and it does not imply any affiliation, partnership, or agency relationship with these companies.
Results are not guaranteed. Nothing on this page is a solicitation for any specific product, a projection of future performance, or a promise of any particular outcome. Product availability, features, riders, and rates vary by carrier, state, age, health, and suitability, and are subject to change and underwriting approval. Any guarantees are backed solely by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. My IRA Hero does not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice; consult your own qualified professionals.
Go deeper
The math behind the third leg.
Lifetime Income & The PILL Framework
Which retirement risks must be insured and which can stay invested — the framework behind the third leg.
See the frameworkYour Four 401(k) Options
Leave it, roll it, cash it out, or move it — side by side, with the tax consequence of each.
Compare the optionsThe Three Types of Annuities
Fixed, fixed indexed, and variable in plain English — including which ones carry no annual fee.
Read the comparisonSocial Security Timing
Your filing age sets the size of leg one for life. See how the claiming decision reshapes the rest.
Review the rulesThe Happy Factor
Why retirement satisfaction tracks income certainty far more closely than it tracks net worth.
Watch the trainingThe 5-Step Income Framework
Withdrawal order, Social Security timing, and tax sequencing — the full written plan this page feeds.
See the stepsFree 15-min Tele-Wealth call — Zoom or phone, no obligation.
Book now