Daniel Okafor, CFP®
Founder & Lead Planner
Nine years in university administration before founding Larkspur to translate PERA, TIAA and healthcare choices into one plan.
11
Years in Fort Collins
$140M
Assets under management
3
People
11 years serving Fort Collins and Northern Colorado
Your firm works almost entirely with one community. Here are the questions that bring people through the door.
Deciding when to retire and how waiting a few months changes the PERA number for life.
Sorting the incentive offer against PERA and 403(b) options before the window closes.
Same PERA system, same questions: option elections and the healthcare bridge to 65.
10 questions · 3 minutes
This quiz is educational and not personalized advice.
Your result
The pieces are not yet joined up, which is the usual position and a very fixable one. The order matters more than the speed: spending first, then income, then tax.
Most of the structure is there. What is usually left at this stage is timing and tax: when to claim, what to draw first, and how to bridge to sixty-five.
On these measures you are in a position to choose your date rather than have it chosen for you. The work from here is maintenance and tax sequencing.
Retirement from a university career has a dozen moving parts. This is how they come together, one step at a time.
We lay out your PERA pension, 403(b) and any TIAA accounts so you can see the whole picture at once.
We test retirement dates against your Rule of 90 and PERA option elections to see how each choice plays out.
We turn those pieces into a monthly income plan and a healthcare bridge that carries you to 65.
We plan retirements. We don't pick stocks or chase returns.
We walk through every PERA option election and what each one means for your monthly benefit and your family.
We bring your retirement accounts into one plan alongside PERA, instead of leaving them to sit on their own.
Rule of 90, early-retirement incentive windows, sabbatical timing. We help you pick the date that works.
Retiring before Medicare eligibility raises real questions. We build a plan to cover the gap.
Bring your PERA questions, your 403(b) statements, whatever you've got. You will hear from one of us within one business day.
Talk through your situation ›Send your question by email. It goes straight to the team.
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Testimonials shown on this website are from current clients. No compensation was provided for them, and they are not a guarantee of any future result. No material conflicts of interest exist in connection with them.
Founder & Lead Planner
Nine years in university administration before founding Larkspur to translate PERA, TIAA and healthcare choices into one plan.
Investment Strategist
Builds the income and tax plan behind each retirement, sequencing withdrawals across PERA, 403(b) and personal accounts.
Client Service Manager
Runs onboarding and the annual review calendar, so you always know what happens next.
Answers to the retirement questions we hear most from Northern Colorado educators.
CSU retirees often hold a PERA benefit, a 403(b), sometimes a 401(a) or TIAA contract, and personal savings.
Daniel Okafor · September 5, 2026
For CSU faculty and staff on the PERA defined-benefit plan, retiring a few months before or after a threshold like the Rule of 90 can change a lifetime.
Daniel Okafor · September 5, 2026
The gap between a CSU retirement and Medicare at 65 is the cost that stops the most retirements. The three routes retirees use.
Daniel Okafor · September 5, 2026
It depends on your birth date, years of service, and how the extra months affect your monthly benefit for life. Small waits often add real money over a 30-year retirement. We run the numbers on your specific timeline before you decide.
Your 403(b) does not automatically combine with PERA. You choose how and when to draw from it, and that choice affects your taxes and how long the money lasts. We help you sequence withdrawals across PERA, your 403(b), and personal savings.
This is the gap most professors worry about most. There are a few bridge options depending on your situation, and the right one changes your retirement date math. We walk through the choices before you commit to a timeline.
Book time on Daniel Okafor's calendar or send a short note about where you are in the process.
You will hear from one of us within one business day.
