Transition Events

Transition Events

Preparing, planning, and developing strategies for life’s expected and unexpected changes — whether relocating to a new residence, making a career change, or navigating divorce — is central to building financial confidence and long-term security.

At Arbor Investment Advisors, our approach to transition events combines thoughtful financial planning with disciplined investment management to support you through meaningful life changes. We help you assess the financial implications of the transition you’re facing, clarify your goals, and align your plan with what matters most to you.

Retirement

Retirement is one of life’s most anticipated transitions – and one of the most financially complex.  Beyond simply leaving the workforce, retirement involves reshaping how you generate income, allocate assets, plan for longevity, and preserve your legacy. Whether retirement is years away or already here, having a comprehensive strategy brings clarity and peace of mind.

At Arbor, our retirement planning process begins with listening to understand what a fulfilling retirement looks like to you. We then combine that vision with disciplined financial planning and investment strategies that support your long-term goals.

Our approach may include:

• Mapping sustainable income streams that reflect your lifestyle goals, incorporating Social Security timing, pension options, and tax-efficient withdrawal sequencing.
• Adjusting your investment approach to balance growth, risk management, and income needs as your time horizon shifts.
• Using tools like tax-loss harvesting, Roth conversions, and efficient account distributions, we help preserve more of your wealth in retirement.
• Modeling various market and life expectancy scenarios, so your plan remains resilient through uncertainty.
• Working with your estate planning attorney to ensure your retirement roadmap aligns with estate planning goals, beneficiary designations, and intergenerational considerations.

With thoughtful planning and proactive coordination across your financial life, retirement becomes less of an unknown and more a chapter shaped by choice, confidence, and purpose.

Career Change

Changing careers — whether by choice, opportunity, or necessity — often reshapes your financial landscape. From altering income trajectories and retirement contributions to managing new compensation structures, navigating a transition in your professional life requires careful planning to protect and advance your financial goals.

At Arbor, we help clients see the full picture of how a career shift may impact their financial trajectory. Our approach combines investment insight with personalized financial planning to support your transition with confidence.

We partner with you to:

• Model the financial impact of a shift in income, benefits, or work status so you can plan with foresight.
• Consolidate retirement accounts, assess new employer benefits, and optimize contribution strategies.
• Reassess your risk tolerance and goals based on your new career path to ensure your portfolio supports both your near-term needs and long-term vision.
• If your career change affects family goals or legacy planning, we integrate those priorities into a holistic strategy.

A career change can be a catalyst for growth. With thoughtful guidance, you can navigate it with clarity, purpose, and confidence.

Relocation

Whether you’re moving across town or across the country, relocation can trigger a variety of financial considerations. A move can affect your tax obligations, retirement savings, investment strategies, cost of living assumptions, and estate considerations. At Arbor, we help clients proactively align their financial lives with their new geographic and personal landscapes.

Our process begins by understanding the why behind your move and what success looks like on the other side. From there, we tailor a financial strategy that supports both the transition and your broader goals.

From there, our role is to simplify and create clarity:

• Comparing current and future living expenses to help you budget and adjust expectations.
• Navigating potential transition in employer benefits, retirement plans, or Social Security options.
• Re-evaluating market Exposure, risk tolerance, and long-term goals to reflect changes in your personal and financial life.
• Working with your estate planning attorney to ensure your documents — wills, trusts, beneficiary designations — are updated and aligned with your new location’s laws and your family’s goals.

Relocation marks the start of a new chapter. With careful planning and a trusted partner, you can embrace new horizons while keeping your financial life aligned, secure, and forward-looking.

Divorce

Divorce is one of life’s most difficult transitions. Beyond the emotional and legal aspects, it often brings overwhelming financial questions: What will life look like on a single income? How will a settlement translate into daily cash flow and long-term goals? Will retirement plans need to change? Who can I trust to help me make the right decisions?

When someone going through divorce comes to Arbor, we begin with listening. What are their most pressing concerns? How do they feel about managing money on their own for the first time? What goals—such as providing for children, preparing for retirement, or simply regaining stability—matter most? Our first role is to understand the whole picture before turning to the numbers.

From there, our work focuses on simplifying and creating clarity:

• Analyzing proposed settlement options side by side to show the impact on both current lifestyle and long-term financial security.
• Optimizing the division of assets, recognizing the differences between taxable, tax-deferred, and retirement accounts.
• Preparing detailed cash flow projections to replace uncertainty with clear, data-driven analysis.
• Coordinating with the divorce attorney, CPA, and other trusted professionals to ensure all aspects of the financial transition are aligned.
• Assisting with account titling, QDROs, and rebuilding an investment strategy that reflects new goals, risk capacity, and risk tolerance.
• Updating estate and beneficiary designations to reflect the client’s new circumstances.
• Building a sustainable financial plan that evolves with life changes and provides ongoing guidance.

The earlier this process begins, the more options are available to bring confidence, reduce stress, and protect future security. With a trusted advisor in place, the uncertainty of divorce can give way to a sense of clarity, control, and a roadmap forward.

At Arbor, we believe divorce doesn’t have to mean financial confusion. With thoughtful planning and objective advice, it can be the first step toward a new chapter—one built on stability, confidence, and peace of mind.