What Fee-Only Retirement Income Planning Costs in Southern NH, and What Moves the Fee
Fee-only is a compensation model, not a price. Here is how the four billing structures work, what makes the fee larger or smaller, how to compare it with a product-based model, and the single number to ask for before you commit.
How does fee-only retirement income planning work in southern New Hampshire, and what does it cost?
Fee-only means the adviser is paid only by the client, through a percentage of assets managed, a flat planning fee, an hourly rate or a retainer, with no commissions or product payments. What moves the fee is the scope of the planning and the assets managed, not the products chosen. The cost to ask for is total cost as a single figure: the advisory fee plus the internal expenses of the investments used and any custody or platform charges, which the firm's Form ADV Part 2A must disclose.
How fee-only planning is billed.
Four ways a fee-only adviser can charge. All four are published in Form ADV Part 2A before you sign.
| Structure | How it works | What it tends to fit | What to ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of assets managed | An annual percentage of the assets the adviser manages, usually billed quarterly from the account, often on a tiered schedule | Ongoing management plus planning in one relationship | Which assets count, and does the percentage step down as assets grow? |
| Flat planning fee | A fixed price for a defined scope of planning work, agreed before it begins | A one-time or periodic plan without ongoing management | What is in scope, and what happens when my situation changes? |
| Hourly | Billed for time as questions arise | Specific, bounded questions | What is the estimate for my situation, and who tracks the hours? |
| Retainer | A fixed periodic fee for ongoing access and planning, independent of assets | Households whose complexity is not proportional to their account size | What does the retainer include, and what is billed separately? |
Each structure carries its own conflict, and a fee-only adviser has to disclose it. An asset-based fee rises with assets under management, which can color advice about paying off a mortgage, delaying Social Security or spending down an account. A flat or hourly fee has no such pull but can make ongoing attention feel like a meter running. None of these is wrong. The point of fee-only is that the only conflict left is the one in the fee itself, and it is disclosed in writing.
Scope and assets, not products.
Three things change a fee-only fee. None of them is which investment you buy.
Scope of the planning
Income sequencing alone is one job. Income plus Social Security timing, tax sequencing, the workplace-plan decision, healthcare, long-term care and estate coordination is six. A household with a pension election, a business interest, a two-state tax question or a care event on the horizon takes more hours to plan than a household with one 401(k) and Social Security.
Assets under management, where the fee is asset-based
A percentage fee scales with the account. Many schedules step down as assets rise. Ask for the schedule, which Form ADV Part 2A publishes, and ask which assets are included; some firms charge on everything they advise on, others only on what they directly manage.
The internal cost of the investments
This is not the adviser's fee, but it is part of what you pay. Funds carry expense ratios; some share classes carry sales charges. An adviser selecting from the whole market can usually hold the same strategy in a lower-cost share class than a platform-limited one. Ask what the investments cost internally and whether a lower-cost version of the same holding exists.
Then ask for the number that combines all three: total cost, as a single figure, for a household like yours. If you cannot calculate what you will pay before the first meeting ends, that opacity is itself the finding.
Fee-only against the alternatives.
The question is not which is cheaper on the invoice. It is what each one is paid for.
A commission-based model can look free on paper because the compensation is built into the product: a sales charge inside a fund, a commission inside an annuity or a policy. The cost is real; it is just not a line item, and it is paid once per transaction rather than every year. For a single, well-defined product need with no ongoing planning wanted, that can be the simpler way to pay. Ask for the commission in dollars.
A fee-based model charges client fees and can also receive commissions, so the household may pay both. It can suit someone who wants planning plus access to specific insurance or annuity products through one person, provided the split incentive is understood and the question of which standard applies when the product is sold has been answered in writing.
Fee-only tends to fit when the decisions interact over decades and the household wants one person paid for advice rather than transactions. The value is coordination: Social Security timing, withdrawal order, taxes, Medicare thresholds and estate documents settled together, by someone with no product reason to prefer one answer. Whether that is worth the fee depends on how many of those decisions your household actually faces. The honest answer for a simple picture may be that it is not.
Why the location changes the planning scope.
Geography is one of the three things that moves the fee, because it moves the complexity.
New Hampshire has no broad-based income tax and does not tax retirement withdrawals, pensions or Social Security; its interest and dividends tax was repealed effective January 1, 2025. Massachusetts taxes most withdrawals and private pensions at its state rate. A household with a foot on each side of the line has a planning question that a single-state household does not, and it belongs in the scope conversation before the fee is quoted. Confirm current rules with your CPA.
Merrimack is a good example. The town sits on the Everett Turnpike between Nashua and Manchester, and many of its pre-retirees spent careers at the large employers along that corridor or in Massachusetts, with a workplace plan from one and a pension from another. For Merrimack households weighing a financial advisor, the two-state question, the 401(k) decision and Social Security timing usually arrive together, which is the kind of retirement planning scope that makes a coordinated fee-only engagement worth its cost. KBR Retirement & Investment Solutions serves Merrimack from Londonderry, about twenty minutes east across Route 102 and Route 3, and by video.
Three mistakes pre-retirees make when choosing a retirement income adviser.
Each is structural, not a matter of style.
- Assuming every advisor is a fiduciary: the title is not regulated; confirm registration and get fiduciary status in writing
- Optimizing the portfolio instead of the plan: allocation is one of six jobs, and the other five decide whether the money lasts
- Waiting too long: the moves with the most leverage are only available while a paycheck still covers expenses
- Accepting a fee you cannot state as a single number
- Not asking who will service the relationship in year five
- Not asking whether a lower-cost share class of the same holding exists
Paid only by clients. The schedule is public.
An independent, fee-only registered investment adviser in Londonderry, New Hampshire.
KBR Retirement & Investment Solutions, LLC receives compensation only from its clients: no commissions, no trailing commissions, no revenue sharing. The fee schedule and every disclosure are in the Form ADV brochure linked from Disclosures, and total cost for your situation is stated before any engagement begins. Bernie Ross, in financial services since 1997, is the only person who advises clients, coordinating retirement income, Social Security timing, the 401(k) decision, taxes, estate documents and long-term care for pre-retirees and retirees across southern New Hampshire and northeastern Massachusetts. Nothing is recommended and nothing is sold in a first conversation.
Common questions.
What does a retirement income advisor near Nashua, NH do for pre-retirees?
Works out where each year's retirement income comes from, in what order accounts are drawn and with what tax result, and coordinates that with Social Security timing, the workplace-plan decision, healthcare and estate documents. For a pre-retiree in Nashua, Merrimack or Hudson the work also has to account for the Massachusetts line: a spouse's commute, a Massachusetts pension, or a plan to move all change the tax picture.
How far before retirement should I start planning for income?
Five to ten years before your target date. That window leaves time to model Social Security claiming, use lower-income years for Roth conversions if they fit, shift the portfolio gradually toward withdrawals and decide what to do with the workplace plan. Starting closer than that still adds direction; it simply has fewer options to work with.
What is the difference between fee-only and fee-based financial advisors?
A fee-only adviser receives compensation only from clients: a percentage of assets, a flat fee, an hourly rate or a retainer, with no commissions or product payments to the adviser or any affiliate. A fee-based adviser charges client fees and may also earn commissions. Confirm which applies in Item 5 of the firm's Form ADV Part 2A, and ask separately whether the adviser is a fiduciary at all times.
Do fee-only advisors in southern New Hampshire serve clients in Nashua?
Yes. KBR Retirement & Investment Solutions serves pre-retirees and retirees across southern New Hampshire and northeastern Massachusetts from Londonderry, in person or by video, including Nashua, Merrimack, Hudson, Hollis and Litchfield. The full service area is on the areas served page.
What should I bring to a first meeting with a retirement advisor?
Current statements for every account, your most recent Social Security statement, last year's tax return, pension or annuity paperwork, existing estate documents and insurance policies, and a rough monthly spending figure. With those in hand the first conversation can be specific rather than general, and you can ask for your total cost as a single number before you leave.
What this connects to.
Nashua, NH retirement income advisors for pre-retirees
What the transition work includes and how to evaluate the models serving Nashua.
Fee-only vs. commission-based retirement advisors
How each compensation model pulls on five retirement decisions.
How to verify a fee-only fiduciary planner
Six steps in the public record, including Item 5 of Form ADV Part 2A.
About the author
Bernie Ross is the founder of KBR Retirement & Investment Solutions, LLC, an independent, fee-only registered investment adviser in Londonderry, New Hampshire. He has worked in financial services since 1997 and personally handles the planning and services every client relationship. Read more about Bernie.
This article is general information and is not personalized investment, tax or legal advice. It does not consider your individual circumstances. Consult your CPA or attorney on tax and legal matters. Advisory services are offered through KBR Retirement & Investment Solutions, LLC, a registered investment adviser. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. See Disclosures.
Ask for the cost as one number.
Bring your statements and a tax return. The first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
