ROLEK RETIREMENT PLANNING

Paul Rolek holds both CFP and AIF designations, binding the firm to fiduciary standards under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and NAPFA membership requirements. This means every portfolio recommendation, insurance analysis, and distribution plan must serve the client's best interest — not a product commission structure. The firm operates as fee-only, charging directly for advice rather than accepting brokerage kickbacks.

Rolek integrates Social Security optimization as a core planning function rather than an afterthought — modeling file-and-suspend (pre-legislative changes), restricted application, and delayed retirement credit scenarios. The analysis weighs longevity risk, spousal benefit coordination, and tax torpedo considerations. The firm uses iterative software to stress-test starting ages against each client's specific health, income, and portfolio profile.

Annuity evaluation is part of the firm's decumulation toolkit, but only for base-income flooring when a retiree's guaranteed income sources — Social Security plus any pension — fall short of non-discretionary expense coverage. Rolek's fiduciary posture demands fee-based or no-load annuity products analyzed on a net-yield basis after all mortality-and-expense charges, not commissioned variable annuity contracts. The firm documents why an annuity does or does not fit before any purchase recommendation.

The practice primarily serves individuals across the Twin Cities metro and extends into western Wisconsin, with a strong preference for in-person planning sessions that allow for document review and joint decision-making. Virtual arrangements are maintained for snowbird clients who split time in warmer states but retain their financial domicile in Minnesota.

Rolek's referral ecosystem centers on estate planning attorneys and CPAs managing aging-family financial logistics — not securities brokers. This attorney-CPA-centric funnel produces clients who need technical distribution planning rather than product sales. The firm's NAPFA membership also connects it to a national peer network of fee-only advisors for practice support and specialist referrals.