Sometimes, the biggest surprise in financial planning isn’t what can’t be done—it’s discovering what already could have been done.
Bill, a pharmacist, had spent years building his career. But after the small pharmacy where he worked was bought by a large corporation, everything changed. The culture, the systems, the personal feel—gone. What remained was a job he no longer enjoyed.
He brought his concerns to his financial advisor at the time, hoping for clarity. “Can I retire now?” he asked. “Can you show me if the numbers work—my expenses, my savings, and what income I might expect in retirement?”
The response he got didn’t give him the confidence he was hoping for: “When you’re ready to walk out the door, come to me. I’ll rearrange your portfolio to produce income.”
That didn’t sit well with Bill. He wasn’t looking for vague reassurance. He wanted a plan—real numbers, real projections, and a clear picture of what life in retirement could look like.
It wasn’t until his future wife, Amanda, suggested he meet with the team at Mission Hills Financial that things began to shift. At first, Bill declined. He said he already had an advisor and felt content enough to stay the course. But eventually, after years of feeling stuck, he agreed to sit down with Mission Hills.
Together, they completed what Mission Hills calls a Retirement Income and Tax Plan—a full review of everything Bill had saved, all his potential sources of income (like Social Security and any pension or rental income), and a detailed analysis of his retirement budget and lifestyle goals. The goal was simple: to determine if and when Bill could retire with peace of mind.
When the results came in, the Mission Hills team sat down with Bill and told him, “I’ve got good news and bad news.”
Bill asked for the good news first.
“You can easily retire. Based on what you’ve saved, and how it can be structured, your income needs can be met—comfortably—for the rest of your life. In fact, you’re likely to leave behind more money than you’ll ever need.”
Bill was thrilled. But then came the bad news.
“You could have retired four years ago,” Mission Hills told him. “If we’d done this analysis sooner, you could have left that job back when you first started feeling this way.”
It was a bittersweet moment. Relief and regret, all in one.
Today, Bill is enjoying the retirement he thought was still years away—traveling with Amanda, spending more time with family, and living with the freedom he’d unknowingly earned long ago.