Who we serve
Your firm works almost entirely with people connected to Colorado universities and schools. Here are the three groups who come to Larkspur most often.
Professors and staff getting close to their Rule of 90 date. The question is always the same: when exactly should I retire, and what does waiting actually cost or gain?
Administrators offered an early-retirement incentive with a short deadline. They need the PERA option election explained plainly before the window closes.
Principals and district administrators on the same PERA system, usually retiring a few years before Medicare. Their biggest worry is the healthcare bridge to 65.
This quiz is educational and not personalized advice.
This is a short, guided conversation about your PERA timeline, your 403(b), and your healthcare bridge to 65. It tells you what questions still need answers before you set a retirement date.
How it works
University retirement has a lot of moving parts. This is the order we work through them, explained like a good professor would, not a sales pitch.
Step 1
We lay out your PERA pension and 403(b) or 401(a) side by side, so you can finally see the whole picture in one place.
Step 2
We look at your retirement date and your PERA option election together, since one decision shapes the other.
Step 3
We turn your pension, savings, and any consulting income into a plan for monthly cash flow, plus a plan to cover healthcare until Medicare starts.
Step 4
We sit down and explain every piece in plain language, no jargon, until you feel steady about the decision.
I spent nine years inside a university benefits office watching smart people make avoidable retirement mistakes because nobody translated the system for them.
Every service here supports the same goal: helping university employees retire with a clear plan. We are not stock pickers, and we do not chase returns.
We walk through your PERA option choices line by line, so you understand what each one means for you and for the people who depend on you.
We look at your university retirement accounts alongside your pension, so every piece works together instead of sitting untouched.
We help you weigh the calendar against your benefits, so you retire on a date that makes sense for your life and your paycheck.
We map out how to cover healthcare in the years before Medicare starts, so a gap in coverage never becomes a gap in your plan.
For clients who keep consulting or teaching part-time after they retire, we build an income plan that accounts for that extra earning.
We do not pick stocks or chase hot funds. If that is what you want, we are not the right fit. We build plans, not trades.
It depends on your birth date, years of service, and how close you are to that Rule of 90 threshold. Sometimes waiting a few months adds a meaningful amount to your monthly benefit for life. We look at your specific PERA statement and walk through the numbers so you can see the real tradeoff before you decide.
Your 403(b) does not automatically move anywhere when you retire. You choose whether to leave it with the current provider, roll it into an IRA, or take distributions. Each option affects taxes and how the money works alongside your PERA pension. We help you compare them in plain terms.
This is one of the biggest gaps professors face, since Medicare does not start until 65. Options include COBRA, a marketplace plan, or sometimes a retiree plan through the university. We map out the cost of each bridge option against your retirement budget so there are no surprises.
This comes up more than people expect. The answer depends on your PERA benefit, your 403(b) balance, and your other fixed costs in retirement. We build a full income plan first, then test whether the cabin fits inside it. Sometimes it does. Sometimes it needs a small adjustment elsewhere.
Fee structures vary by firm. Some charge a flat planning fee, some charge a percentage of assets managed, and some do both. When you talk with any advisor, ask directly how they are paid and whether they are a fiduciary. That answer tells you a lot about how they will treat your money.
A fiduciary is required to put your interests ahead of their own when giving advice. That means recommendations should be based on what fits your situation, not on what pays the advisor more. Ask any advisor you are considering whether they act as a fiduciary at all times, not just some of the time.
No sales pitch. No obligation. Just a plain conversation about where you stand and what your options look like. You will hear from one of us within one business day, whichever lane you choose below.
Pick a day and time that works for you. A short conversation, no obligation attached.
Schedule a ConversationPrefer to write first? Tell us a little about your situation and we will follow up. You will hear from one of us within one business day.
