Retirement Planning
in Northfield, 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 Northfield.
Many Northfield residents have lived in the same home for 20-30 years and are approaching retirement with significant home equity, solid investment savings, and a strong desire to remain in a quiet, established community that has served them well. The retirement planning conversation in Northfield frequently involves the decision of whether to tap home equity or let it continue to grow as an estate asset, and how to structure investment withdrawals to sustain the Northfield lifestyle through a long retirement.
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 Northfield.
Many Northfield residents have lived in the same home for 20-30 years and face meaningful decisions about whether to age in place or downsize. We help them evaluate the tax consequences of selling appreciated real estate, plan for the healthcare costs of aging in a higher-cost suburb, and build an income plan that doesn't require leaving the community they love.
Things Northfield families ask.
Down the shore.
Talk to a Northfield
advisor.
One free conversation about retirement planning, at your kitchen table, our Evanston office, or a video call.