Retirement Planning
in Barrington, IL.
Retire when you want, not when you have to.
Retirement isn't a number, it's a feeling. It's the morning you wake up and realize you don't have to be anywhere. The Tuesday you spend with your grandkids instead of in a meeting. The trip you book without checking your balance first.
At our firm, we've helped hundreds of families across Chicago's Northern Suburbs turn that feeling into a plan. Since 1977, our family has guided yours through one of life's biggest transitions, from earning a paycheck to living on your own terms.
What this looks like in Barrington.
Barrington's distinctive character, equestrian estates, a charming historic downtown, and a community that straddles four counties, attracts business owners, executives, and professionals who have built careers across the broader Chicago market and chosen Barrington for its space and quality of life. Retirement planning here requires accounting for the community's relatively higher property taxes given its location in Cook County for most residents, and a lifestyle with significant maintenance costs for large properties.
The county details.
Cook County's property tax rates, averaging 1.8-2.3% of assessed value, among the highest in the nation, are the single largest variable in most North Shore retirement budgets. A home assessed at $900,000 in Northbrook, Glenview, or Wilmette can carry an annual tax obligation of $16,000-$22,000 that persists through retirement unless the home is sold or downsized. Illinois partially offsets this with one of the most retirement-friendly income tax structures in the country: Social Security, IRA distributions, and pension income are entirely exempt from state income tax, leaving the property tax burden as the primary financial challenge to plan around.
Why Barrington.
Barrington sits at the intersection of four counties (Cook, Lake, Kane, and McHenry), which creates unique property tax and estate planning considerations depending on where exactly a client lives. Many Barrington clients are business owners or executives with above-average wealth and a strong desire to remain in the community, which makes income planning around local cost of living a priority.
Things Barrington families ask.
Down the shore.
Talk to a Barrington
advisor.
One free conversation about retirement planning, at your kitchen table, our Evanston office, or a video call.