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Michael Fox Insurance
Michael Fox
Michael Fox Insurance

Michael Fox — Licensed Insurance Advisor

Michael Fox Insurance

Phone: 856-676-9358

Email: michaelfox13@gmail.com

michaelfoxinsurance.online

The Planning Process

Printed June 18, 2026

The roadmap

A clear process for retirement & insurance planning.

Seven steps, in the right order, with every guide and calculator linked exactly where it belongs. No guesswork. No skipping ahead. No selling — just a path you can follow at your own pace.

Start at step 1Or take the 2-min quiz
1
Step 1 · Start here
Get oriented — what are you actually solving for?

Before any product, any quote, any number — figure out which of the three big questions is keeping you up: income, protection, or care. Most families have all three; one is usually loudest.

What you do

  • Take the 2-minute fit quiz to see where to begin.
  • Skim the Retirement Planning Guide so the vocabulary stops feeling foreign.
  • Decide which life event (new baby, retirement in 5 yrs, parent needing care, business sale) is forcing the conversation.

Use these pages

You finish this step with

A one-sentence answer to: "The thing I most need to solve is ___."

2
Step 2 · Gather
Take inventory — what do you already have?

You can't plan around accounts you haven't named. Most people are surprised by how much (or how little) is already protected, and where the real gaps hide.

What you do

  • List every account: 401(k), IRA, Roth, brokerage, pension, HSA, cash.
  • List every policy: term, whole life, group life through work, LTC, disability.
  • Pull your most recent Social Security statement.
  • Use the confidential intake so nothing gets missed.

Use these pages

You finish this step with

A one-page picture of every dollar and every policy you own today.

3
Step 3 · Protect
Lock down income protection — life & disability first.

No retirement plan survives a death or disability that wasn't insured. Coverage is cheapest and easiest to get when you're youngest and healthiest — this step has an expiration date.

What you do

  • Run the coverage calculator to size term + permanent correctly.
  • If you already own term, check whether your conversion window is still open — most people miss it.
  • Understand living benefits (chronic & critical illness riders) before choosing a carrier.
  • If you have kids in college, lock in their insurability now.

Use these pages

You finish this step with

The right amount, structure, and carrier for your life coverage — in writing.

4
Step 4 · Care
Plan for long-term care before you need it.

Long-term care is the single biggest threat to a retirement plan. It's also the easiest to ignore until it's too expensive — or impossible — to insure.

What you do

  • Take the LTC readiness quiz.
  • Compare traditional LTC, hybrid life/LTC, and self-funding side by side.
  • Decide who would actually do the caregiving if no plan exists.
  • Submit the LTC intake while you're still in good health.

Use these pages

You finish this step with

A funded plan so a care event doesn't drain savings or fall on your kids.

5
Step 5 · Income
Build the retirement paycheck.

Saving is half the job. The harder half is turning a pile of money into a paycheck that lasts as long as you do — through bad markets, inflation, and a 30-year retirement.

What you do

  • Learn how income planning actually works, in plain English.
  • Understand sequence of returns risk — why the first 5 years matter most.
  • See whether a personal pension (annuity) belongs in your plan.
  • Optimize Social Security and pension elections.

Use these pages

You finish this step with

A written income plan: which account funds which year, and what's guaranteed.

6
Step 6 · Optimize
Cut taxes, fees, and avoidable surprises.

Two retirees with identical balances can end up with wildly different lifestyles based on tax order, fee drag, and RMD planning. This step is pure margin.

What you do

  • Run the Fee Reveal on your current accounts.
  • Look at the tax drag on your current allocation.
  • Decide whether the RMD trap is in your future — and what to do about it.
  • Explore tax-free retirement strategies beyond the Roth.

Use these pages

You finish this step with

A leaner plan — fewer fees, lower lifetime taxes, no RMD ambush.

7
Step 7 · Legacy
Settle the legacy & estate side.

The plan isn't done until the next generation can actually receive what you built — without probate chaos, family fights, or a tax bill nobody saw coming.

What you do

  • Decide between a will, a trust, or both.
  • Update beneficiaries on every account (this beats your will).
  • Consider gifting strategies — like funding a grandchild's IUL.
  • Make sure your survivor binder is current.

Use these pages

You finish this step with

A legacy your family can actually use — on the worst day, without drama.

The whole process, at a glance.

Print this. Pin it. Work it one step at a time.

  1. Step 1

    Start here

    Get oriented — what are you actually solving for?

  2. Step 2

    Gather

    Take inventory — what do you already have?

  3. Step 3

    Protect

    Lock down income protection — life & disability first.

  4. Step 4

    Care

    Plan for long-term care before you need it.

  5. Step 5

    Income

    Build the retirement paycheck.

  6. Step 6

    Optimize

    Cut taxes, fees, and avoidable surprises.

  7. Step 7

    Legacy

    Settle the legacy & estate side.

Where most people get stuck.

If any of these sound like you, jump straight to the step that solves it.

"I don't even know what I own."

Step 2 — Take inventory

"My term policy is about to end."

Step 3 — Conversion window

"A parent just needed care."

Step 4 — LTC plan

"I have savings but no paycheck plan."

Step 5 — Build the income

"My RMDs are about to hit."

Step 6 — Cut the tax drag

"I don't have a will or trust."

Step 7 — Legacy & estate

Want to walk the process with someone?

Bring whatever step you're stuck on. 15 minutes, no pitch, no pressure — just a clearer next move.

Schedule a 15-minute callSend a message

Keep exploring

Related resources worth your time

Find Your Fit Quiz

Two minutes to see where to start.

Read more

Retirement Planning Guide

Plain-English overview of the whole field.

Read more

Your First Meeting

What to expect when we talk.

Read more

Account Showdown

Every account type, compared head-to-head.

Read more
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