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Retirement tax questions
My advice is to a financial planner who is either a CFP ("certified financial planner") who works a lot with retired people or a CFRA ("certified retirement financial advisor"). Those credentials mean something. Any one else can say they are financial advisor/planner, but they may not know anything.
I also recommend that you favor using someone who charges you for the advice they give you, a "fee-based planner." They might charge $500 or $2000 but you know they won't be trying to steer you to investments that they get a cut of.
If you don't want to pay out of pocket but prefer the cost to be hidden in investment fees, then as was suggested above stay clear of advisors trying to sell you annuities. They get big commissions and annuities are usually bad unless you make tons of money or are worried about outliving your assets because of likely above average longevity. Also it would be a big plus if the advisor was a "fiduciary." A fiduciary is legally required to act in your best interests. Most advisors are not fiduciaries and are held to a lower standard (their own commission interest,etc.)
You could also start with a company like Vanguard and see what they can do for you. I like them (but do not work for them) because they are the only big investment company that is owned by its mutual investors. They are low cost and can hook you up with a CFP.
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