Are You on Track for the Retirement You Want?

A complimentary 20-minute retirement readiness assessment for Foreign Service officers

In this complimentary call, we'll discuss your retirement goal and take a high-level look at the factors that matter most, including your pension, TSP, savings, timeline, and expected income needs.

You'll leave with a clearer understanding of:

  • Whether your current direction appears broadly aligned with your retirement goal
  • The key factors that may affect when or how you retire
  • Important questions or potential gaps that may deserve further attention
  • Whether it makes sense to continue the conversation with our firm

No obligation to become a client.

Schedule Your Retirement Assessment Schedule Your Foreign Service Retirement Assessment
Ways to Work Together

Three ways to get started

From comprehensive year-round planning to a focused, one-time engagement.

  • Ongoing Planning

    Comprehensive year-round planning
    $3,000–$10,000 per year
    Billed quarterly; based on the scope and complexity of your situation, not the size of your accounts.
    • Regular meetings, proactive outreach, and implementation support
    • Includes the Foreign Service Cashflow System™, a framework for coordinating your income, spending, savings, and major financial decisions
    • Planning support through every season of your career or retirement

    See example fees by career stage below.

    Discuss Ongoing Planning

  • Annual Checkpoint

    A complete financial review each year
    $1,200–$2,500 per year
    Based on planning complexity, not account size.
    • Built around a comprehensive annual review
    • Update your priorities, recommendations, and next steps
    • Email access throughout the year for questions that arise between reviews
    Discuss the Annual Checkpoint

  • One-Time Engagement

    A complete financial plan for a specific planning season
    $2,400–$5,000 per plan
    Based on planning complexity.
    • Typically completed over three to six months
    • Includes discovery, analysis, recommendations, and a plan review
    • Implement the plan on your own timeline
    Discuss a One-Time Engagement

A one-time onboarding fee may apply to Annual Checkpoint and Ongoing Planning engagements, depending on complexity. Any applicable fee will be confirmed in your written proposal before you begin.

How We Work Together

From first assessment to first plan.

Initial onboarding usually takes six to eight weeks, depending on how much ground there is to cover. Every meeting is virtual and scheduled with your time zone in mind.

  1. Retirement Readiness Assessment

    20 minutes · Complimentary

    A focused conversation for Foreign Service officers who want a clearer sense of whether they're moving toward the retirement they want.

  2. Discovery Meeting

    45 minutes · Complimentary

    A deeper conversation about your goals and priorities: where you are in your career, what you want the next few years to hold, and what you want your finances to make possible.

  3. Become a Client

    Engagement begins

    If we decide to work together, we'll finalize the advisory agreement, select the appropriate engagement, and formally begin working together.

  4. Guided Onboarding

    Advisor-led process

    We'll lead the process, keep everything organized, and make onboarding as seamless as possible. You'll know what we need, what happens next, and where we are in the process.

  5. Plan Review

    60 minutes

    We'll walk through your initial financial plan, including our recommendations, the reasoning behind them, and the actions needed to move forward.

  6. Implementation

    Putting the plan into action

    The recommendations become reality: accounts organized, TSP allocation updated, savings structure established, and other decisions put into action.

  7. Ongoing Planning

    Season by season

    The plan is built during onboarding. The real value comes from keeping it current as your career, assignments, income, family, and goals evolve.

Steps 1–5 establish the plan for every engagement. One-Time Engagements conclude after the Plan Review, ready for you to implement on your own timeline. Annual Checkpoint engagements are built around one comprehensive financial review each year, with year-round access by email. Ongoing Planning provides regular meetings, proactive outreach, and implementation support throughout the year.

A Year with FSO Wealth

What ongoing planning actually means.

Your plan is revisited throughout the year as opportunities arise, decisions need to be made, and circumstances change.

You won't wait until something goes wrong to hear from us. Your planning relationship follows the rhythm of your year.

  1. January

    Your Tax Planning Letter

    We'll outline the tax forms and planning items to expect.

  2. Spring

    Planning Meeting

    We'll review the previous year and make key planning decisions for the year ahead, including:

    • TSP contributions and allocation
    • Savings and cash reserves
    • IRA contributions
    • Roth conversion opportunities
    • Other priorities specific to your circumstances

  3. Summer

    Check-In and Focused Review

    We'll check your progress and take a deeper look at one important area of your plan. The focus may include cash flow, retirement income, benefits, investments, or another priority that deserves attention.

  4. Fall

    Planning Meeting

    We'll review your portfolio, address year-end tax planning, prepare for Open Season and benefits decisions, and discuss tax law changes that may affect your plan.

    You'll leave knowing what needs to happen before December 31.

  5. November & December

    Implementation

    We'll help put key year-end decisions into action, which may include:

    • Roth conversions
    • Tax-loss or gain harvesting
    • TSP election updates
    • Open Season and benefits elections
    • Charitable giving before year-end
    • Planning for an upcoming PCS

  6. Anytime

    Bigger Questions

    Some decisions can't wait for the next scheduled review. A PCS, home purchase, career opportunity, growing family, or unexpected change may require timely guidance.

    When something significant happens, you'll have someone who already understands your broader financial picture, and can give the decision the time and attention it deserves.

Book Your Retirement Readiness Assessment
Fees

What Ongoing Planning Costs

These examples assume the full planning calendar described above. Ongoing Planning is provided for a flat annual fee, billed quarterly. Your fee is based on the scope and complexity of your situation, not the size of your accounts.

No AUM percentage. No commissions. No product sales.

The examples below represent four households at different points in a Foreign Service career. Your exact fee will be provided in a written proposal before we begin, so you'll know precisely what the engagement includes and what it costs.

  • Example Household

    Early Career

    $3,000 per year
    Billed quarterly at $750

    You're building a financial foundation, with the TSP likely serving as your primary long-term asset. Planning focuses on getting that foundation right: investment allocation, contribution strategy, allowances and differentials, savings structure, and future goals such as buying a home or rental property.

    The goal is to establish a strong foundation that future decisions can build upon.

  • Example Household

    Mid-Career

    $4,800 per year
    Billed quarterly at $1,200

    Your TSP has been growing for several tours, and your financial life is becoming more complex. Education, property purchases, home leave, and other competing goals all need to fit within the same plan.

    You may also be considering investments outside the TSP or wondering whether excess cash should be put to better use. Planning brings those decisions together into one coordinated strategy, so you can move forward confidently instead of guessing which goal should come first.

  • Example Household

    Late Career

    $6,500 per year
    Billed quarterly at $1,625

    You're approaching a major transition and want to understand whether you're ready, what still needs attention, and what another tour could mean for your plans.

    Planning focuses on coordinating your pension, TSP, other savings, real estate, and college funding so you can understand your options and make the transition on your own timeline.

  • Example Household

    Retirement

    $10,000 per year
    Billed quarterly at $2,500

    The regular paycheck has stopped, and you now need to create a reliable income strategy from your accumulated resources.

    You may be deciding when to claim Social Security, how much to withdraw from the TSP, and how those decisions affect your tax situation. Required minimum distributions may also be approaching, making each withdrawal decision more interconnected.

    Planning focuses on creating a sustainable income strategy while coordinating taxes, estate planning, and the needs of the people who depend on you.

These examples are intended to show how Ongoing Planning may be priced, not to create a fixed menu of packages. Every engagement is scoped individually.

Some households combine elements from more than one career stage. Tandem couples, families with significant real estate, and households approaching retirement may bring additional complexity. That is exactly what the Retirement Readiness Assessment and written proposal are designed to clarify.

Book Your Retirement Readiness Assessment

How Does a Flat Annual Fee Compare?

Many advisory firms charge a percentage of assets under management. Under that model, the annual fee is based on the value of your investment accounts. As the portfolio grows, or as additional money is added, the dollar amount of the fee generally grows as well.

The table below illustrates what a percentage-based fee would equal at different portfolio values:

Portfolio value At 1% per year At 1.25% per year
$250,000$2,500$3,125
$500,000$5,000$6,250
$750,000$7,500$9,375
$1,000,000$10,000$12,500
$1,500,000$15,000$18,750

Rates vary by firm and may decrease at higher asset levels. Some firms also establish a minimum annual fee. For example, a firm charging 1% with a $4,000 minimum would collect $4,000 on a $250,000 portfolio, an effective rate of 1.6%.

FSO Wealth uses a different structure: a flat annual fee based on the scope and complexity of your planning relationship, rather than the size of your accounts.

A note about comparisons

Fees, services, and engagement structures vary from firm to firm. A percentage-based fee may include investment management, financial planning, or both. The examples above are intended to show how the pricing models work, not to suggest that every firm provides the same service for the same fee.

Retirement Readiness Assessment

Are you on track for the retirement you want?

A complimentary 20-minute conversation for Foreign Service officers.

We'll discuss your retirement goal and take a high-level look at the factors that shape your options, including your pension, TSP, savings, timeline, and expected income needs.

You'll leave with a clearer understanding of:

  • Whether your current direction appears broadly aligned with your retirement goal
  • The key factors that may affect when or how you retire
  • Important questions or potential gaps that deserve further attention
  • Whether it makes sense to continue the conversation with FSO Wealth

No preparation is required, and there's no obligation to become a client.

Schedule your assessment below.