Your Questions Answered

Finding a trustworthy, loyal financial guide to help you plan for your future can be intimidating. You deserve someone on your side, who can answer your questions, help keep your money secure, and help you make informed decisions.

To help you make the transition into retirement, we’ve gathered answers to the questions we hear most often from our clients, so you can prepare for your future with open eyes and determine whether or not we’re the best fit for you and your family’s financial needs.

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WHAT IT’S LIKE WORKING WITH DALE BUCKNER, INC

1. What do your services cost?

We use a tiered fee schedule with percentages based on the net worth of the assets under management as shown in the table below. Our fees are paid every quarter in advance, so it’s one percent per year or it’s ¼ percent per quarter (or every 90 days).

Fee discounts to our most successful clients start once they invest $500,000 or more.

When you do better, we do better and vise versa. This puts your family's interests on the same side of the table as the firm's interest. We believe it’s a win/win.

Assets Under Management Fee
$50,000 - $99,999 1½%
$100,000 - $499,999 1%
$500,000 - $999,999 .75%
$1,000,000 - $ 2,499,999 .60%
Above $2,500,000 .50%


We also aggregate family accounts. For example, a husband and wife with 4 accounts each worth $500,000 can combine them to get lower fees on $2,000,000.

2. What can I expect from the initial consultation?

We give complimentary consultations free without measure, as much and as many as needed to make sure we are doing what is in the best interest of our new friend and client. During our talk, we’ll get down to your needs, goals, and risk tolerances so you can make informed decisions about your finances going forward.

We are happy to have in-person meetings, phone conversations, or zoom/facetime meetings with clients around the world—depending on your needs and schedule. And you will never get a bill for a consultation. 

We look forward to taking the time to get to know you and your financial needs whether you work with us right now, in the future, or never. 

3. Why should I work with you over all the other financial advisors? Should I give you all my money or work with multiple advisors?

Trust is important to us. We take the time to get to know everyone we talk to, so we can build the relationship from the ground up, no matter how long it takes. We want you to feel like you can ask us questions, access your money whenever you need it, and live your dream retirement.

To do so, Brett and Dale make sure you understand your options and act accordingly for your needs. Dale’s been doing a call-in radio show for over 25 years, so he can explain the complex financial planning concepts in an easy to understand method, either in plain English, or Spanish, as he’s bilingual.

And, if we’re your sole-financial-guide, not only will we protect your money and help you make informed decisions, but you’ll save on our fees because of the tiered fee schedule we use. 

4. How will you help me achieve my dream retirement?

We’ve helped people retire in Mexico, Anacortes Island, Washington, all over the United States and most of all, the Panhandle of Texas. If you can dream it, we can help you step-by-step in reaching your retirement goals by creating a custom plan that balances your goals with your risks.

Most of all, we help retirees stay retired, often on an increasing income because it’s much more fun to spend more once you get into enjoying retirement. 

5. How will you preserve my principal?

We can show you investments that have the right combination of principal protection and risk for your risk tolerance, so you can sleep soundly at night knowing you’ll never have to worry about running out of money.

When it’s appropriate and needed, we invest your assets in principal guaranteed investments. 

Planning for Retirement

6. When do I need to start planning for retirement?

The truth is you should be working on retiring from the day you take your first job, but we won’t hold it against you if you’re just starting now.

We work with everyone, from people who are entering the workforce to people whose boss told them they’re retired today. Both are rewarding in their own way.

In general, we recommend you start working with a financial guide about 5 years before you plan on retiring. Consider spending the last two years of your working life in a “trial retirement” so you can prepare yourself with what’s to come.

If you’re nearing retirement, get in touch with a financial advisor as soon as possible to find out your options. We’re always available for a complimentary consultation.

7. What should my retirement plan include?

Your retirement plan should include a disciplined savings plan, an emergency fund, a debt liquidation plan, risk protection with life insurance, an estate plan with a will, power of attorney and medical powers of attorney.

Of course, solid professional advice helps to achieve all these goals, especially if they feel overwhelming to complete on your own, or you’re worried about something falling through the cracks. We recommend having a team of professionals on your side, including a CFP®, CPA, and attorney. 

8. What’s the biggest mistakes I need to look out for when planning for retirement?

As far as we see it, there are five major mistakes people make when planning for retirement:

  • Not starting to plan and save early enough
  • Being too conservative with your investments
  • Going into debt with unnecessary major purchases, like houses and cars
  • Thinking you can go it alone and not taking the necessary steps to protect your money and assets or plan for the unexpected
  • Stressing about what happens when your paychecks stop coming and falling for “get rich quick” or pyramid marketing schemes

It’s important to consider all of these when making a plan and hiring an advisor. Remember, retirement can last 25 years or more these days, so earning 0-1% won’t cut it if you want to have enough money to survive. Don’t purchase beyond your means. And, make sure you work with someone who knows how to minimize the amount of taxes you’ll have to pay. 

9. What if my family and I can’t agree on our goals or risk tolerance?

 We find that disagreements are usually the result of a misunderstanding. When everyone is on the same page and understands the financial concepts at play, goals and risk tolerances typically realign. However, there are often two right answers for every family, so we can custom-fit each spouse’s retirement for them.

All of our clients are different and not everyone gets the same answer. We diversify your retirement solution, lower your risks, and help you maximize your return, to help you live your dreams worry-free. 

10. What happens if I get sick or need to go on disability?

We can recommend quality insurance programs that can give you and your family substantial income should you become sick or disabled, and pay tax-free cash directly to your family should you die from an illness or accident. 

What You Can Expect From Your Money Post-Retirement

11. Can I expect to make money after I retire?

It depends on your situation, but most of our retirees can continue to save and grow their nest egg during decades of retirement. 

12. Will I have access to my investments when you’re managing them?

We understand how important liquidity is and make your money as accessible to you as possible. In most cases, there’s no cost to invest up front, no cost to buy and move your investments around inside your account, and no cost to liquidate and cash-out or take regular income.

When liquidity isn’t an issue, we look at appropriate investments with income-guarantees.  

13. What can I expect after retirement? Will I be able to live my preferred lifestyle?

 Whether you choose to stop working altogether, or are part of the 38% who will choose to continue working post-retirement, we want you to expect to have a rising income. We’ll help you and your heirs receive a solid check from social security and manage all your other assets, including your individual or employer-sponsored qualified retirement plan.

We often help people spend as much if not more during retirement than they did while working.

14. How can I pay less taxes so I get to keep more of my money?

With proper planning and following our sound financial principles, you can pay less taxes during your working career and less taxes during retirement. Social security can be tax-free for many families with proper planning.

To get these and other benefits, all you have to do is book your complimentary consultation. We are passionate about helping you pay the least tax legally possible and work with over 100 CPAs and enrolled agents to do so.  

15. How do I pass on my estate and legacy so that my family receives the maximum returns?

We often work with multi-generational families and have helped so many couples retire happily, pay for their children’s education, and even set their grandchildren—and great-grandchildren—up for financial success.

We try to help pass on your values and legacy to the next generation and, when appropriate, can set up a trust fund for special needs or irresponsible family members.

We consider it an honor to work with you and your heirs to secure your assets and enjoy the money you worked so hard for. 

A Retirement that Works for You and Your Dreams

If you’re overwhelmed with planning for retirement alone and you don’t know who to trust to guide you, Dale Buckner, Inc is here to serve you.

We take the time to learn about you and your family’s needs, so we can better help you achieve your personal and financial goals.

Book a consultation today to find out how we make it possible for you to live your dream retirement.

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