"We're not stock pickers and we're not for people chasing returns. If someone wants to trade or wants the hot fund, we're a bad fit. We're planners."
That is not a slogan. It is how Larkspur decides who to work with, and it is why every plan starts with your pension and your paperwork, not with a portfolio pitch.
The Process
This is what happens, step by step, when someone like Professor Susan sits down with us. No jargon, no rush, just the math laid out plain.
We map your PERA milestones against your actual birthday and service years, so you can see exactly when Rule of 90 or another threshold arrives for you.
We put a dollar figure on waiting. If four more months adds real money to your monthly benefit for life, we show you that number before you decide anything.
We compare your PERA option elections side by side in dollars per month for life, so the tradeoffs are visible instead of buried in fine print.
We plan the years between your retirement date and Medicare eligibility, so healthcare coverage is settled before you turn in your keys.
This quiz is educational and not personalized advice.
Every fall, Larkspur hosts a Retiring from CSU seminar that walks through PERA options, healthcare timing, and the retirement paperwork in plain language. It fills up each year, so if you are two to seven years from retiring, this is the natural next step.
Because that is not what retiring CSU faculty need. Your real decisions are about PERA elections, 403(b) rollovers, and healthcare timing. Stock picking adds risk without solving those problems. We are planners, not traders, and we built this firm around the choices that actually change your retirement outcome.
Larkspur Wealth Planning is a registered investment adviser. As an RIA, we have a duty to act in your best interest. We do not sell products or earn commissions on what we recommend. Ask us directly about our fee structure during a conversation, and we will walk through it in plain terms.
Your PERA benefit is set by a formula, not the market. The choices that move your outcome are things like your retirement date, your Rule of 90 timing, and which payment option you choose. Getting those decisions right can matter more over 30 years than chasing an extra point of return.
PERA benefits often grow the closer you get to a milestone like Rule of 90. Depending on your specific numbers, waiting a few extra months can raise your lifetime monthly benefit. We cannot promise a figure for your situation since PERA rules can change, but we can run your numbers and show you what waiting is actually worth.
Our founder spent nine years inside a university benefits office and saw smart people make avoidable mistakes because no one translated the system for them. That experience became Larkspur Wealth Planning in 2015. We focus on CSU faculty and administrators because we know this exact retirement, not because it is the only kind we could serve.
Probably not. If you want to pick stocks or move in and out of the market based on where it is headed, you will likely find our approach too slow. We work best with people who want a steady plan for retirement income, PERA elections, and healthcare, not a trading strategy.
Retiring from a university career only happens once. You deserve a plan built by someone who has walked through it before, not a guess. You will hear from one of us within one business day.
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