Who We Serve

Retirement Planning for LGBTQ+ Clients,
Educators, and Retirees

Not every financial advisor is the right fit for every client. We've built Sailwinds around the belief that depth beats breadth, and that the clients we serve best are the ones whose lives and goals align with what we do exceptionally well. We work with retirees and pre-retirees who want a coordinated, tax-focused plan, a real relationship with their advisor, and the confidence to live well in retirement.

We specialize in helping retirees and pre-retirees with $500,000 or more in investable assets bring income, taxes, investments, Medicare, and long-term planning into one cohesive strategy. Within that, we have developed expertise in serving three groups: members of the LGBTQ+ community, higher education professionals, and individuals and couples navigating the full complexity of retirement income planning.

Why Specialized Retirement Planning Matters

Retirement planning is not one-size-fits-all. The financial decisions facing a retired professor with a pension are different from those facing an LGBTQ+ couple without children, and both differ from the challenges faced by individuals transitioning from full-time work into retirement income for the first time.

Retirees and Pre-Retirees

We work with clients already in retirement who are looking to optimize their financial situation, as well as those who are 5 to 10 years out from retirement who want to get their strategy right before the transition. We create a personalized retirement income plan using The Bucket Plan® holistic planning process that helps to grow and preserve your wealth while accounting for risk. The output is a plan that factors in the Five Pillars of Holistic Wealth Management — financial planning, asset management, tax management, protection planning, and legacy planning – tailored to your financial reality and long-term goals.

LGBTQ+ Individuals and Couples

This is not a niche we serve from the outside. Bernie Strout, our founder, is a member of the LGBTQ+ community and has been an advocate within it for decades. She co-founded the Gay Pride Business Network in Asbury Park, New Jersey, in 2005, driven by the conviction that LGBTQ+ individuals deserve trusted spaces in commerce and financial life. That commitment has never wavered.

LGBTQ+ clients, particularly those without children, face planning challenges that most advisors are simply not equipped to navigate. Here are some things our firm is well versed in that others may miss:

Partner protection strategies when legal structures are less straightforward
Estate planning without children, including charitable giving and beneficiary planning
Navigating benefits, titling, and inheritance rules that were not designed with same- sex couples in mind
Long-term care planning and partner care strategies, which tend to be a higher priority for our LGBTQ+ clients than legacy transfers
The emotional and planning realities faced by couples who have had to be especially deliberate about legal protections throughout their lives

Professors and Higher Education Professionals

Educators, professors, and academic staff face a retirement landscape that is more complex than most. The standard planning playbook often doesn't apply, and generic advice can lead to costly mistakes.

We have deep experience helping higher education professionals, particularly those in New Jersey's public college system, navigate the rules that govern their financial lives.

Where we add the most value for educators:

Pension system navigation, including the unique rules of New Jersey's public college retirement structure, where accessing certain retirement funds can trigger a formal change in employment status
Coordination between pension income, 403(b) or 457 plans, and personal savings
Later retirement timelines, which often change how Social Security, Medicare, and withdrawal strategies need to be sequenced
Social Security optimization for professionals with non-traditional earnings histories
Tax planning around pension income, which requires a different approach than planning around portfolio withdrawals

Is Sailwinds the Right Fit?

The more complex your financial life becomes, the more important it is to have a coordinated retirement plan built specifically around your circumstances rather than a generic template.

The best way to find out if we’re the right fit is to have an honest conversation. We'll ask about your goals, your current financial picture, and what you're hoping a planning relationship looks like. You'll get a clear sense of our process and whether our approach matches what you're looking for.

Book a Complimentary Strategy Call

Frequently Asked Questions About Who We Serve

This approach is especially valuable for individuals and couples with multiple income sources, growing tax exposure, pension complexity, or long-term care and legacy considerations that need to work together cohesively.
Absolutely. Many of our LGBTQ+ clients are single individuals, and planning without a partner or children raises its own set of important questions around legacy, long-term care, and beneficiary decisions. We are well-versed in building plans that reflect those realities.
Significantly, in some cases. Public college pension systems, particularly in New Jersey, have specific rules around when and how you can access retirement funds without triggering a formal change in your employment status. We have deep experience navigating those rules and coordinating them with your full financial picture.
Yes. While many of our current clients are already in retirement, we work with pre-retirees who are typically five to ten years out and want to begin structuring their tax strategy, income plan, and asset positioning well before they stop working. Starting early creates significantly more planning flexibility.
We welcome it. Holistic planning works best when your advisors are coordinated, and we are comfortable collaborating with your CPA, estate attorney, or other professionals to ensure everything is aligned. We can also help connect you with specialists if gaps exist in your current advisory team.
Yes. While we are based in Woodbridge, NJ, we serve clients virtually from Maine to Florida. Many of our clients have moved or split time between states in retirement, and our planning process is fully built for remote and virtual relationships.

Ready to See How It All Fits Together?

Every situation is different. Schedule a conversation and let's explore how holistic, tax-focused planning could work for your retirement.