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San Diego Retirement Planner 2026: Flat Fee & AUM Costs

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Updated June 28, 2026. Quick answer (2026): A San Diego retirement planner or fee-only financial advisor should quote the planning cost in annual dollars before you compare it with an AUM percentage. Use this guide to sanity-check flat annual, retainer, hourly/project, and portfolio-based quotes before you book an intro call.

This page is for San Diego, La Jolla, Del Mar, Encinitas, Carlsbad, Coronado, Poway, and nearby Southern California households comparing flat-fee retirement planning, fiduciary advisor pricing, biotech, healthcare, defense, military retirement, business-owner income, RSUs, stock options, taxable accounts, real estate, charitable giving, and California tax assumptions, Social Security timing, Medicare/IRMAA, Roth conversions, RMDs, taxable withdrawals, and written planning scope before booking an intro call.

This page is not a directory or ranking of advisors; it is a fee-first checklist for comparing written proposals.

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Flat fee retirement planner San Diego: what ‘flat fee only’ usually means

  • Flat annual fee: one stated yearly dollar amount for an agreed planning scope, meetings, written deliverables, and support rules.
  • Project or hourly fee: a fixed project quote or hourly cap for a narrower decision, such as a rollover review, retirement-income checkup, Medicare/IRMAA second opinion, equity-comp review, military-retirement review, business-owner review, or tax-aware withdrawal plan.
  • Not AUM-only: compare the flat quote against any portfolio-percentage quote in dollars, then confirm fiduciary status, compensation, implementation help, and ongoing support rules.

San Diego fee sanity-check table

Advisor quoteExample cost in dollarsWhat to confirm before an intro call
Flat annual planning$6,000–$15,000/yearMeetings, written deliverables, renewal terms, implementation help, tax coordination, and what becomes hourly.
Monthly retainer$500–$1,250/month, or $6,000–$15,000/yearService calendar, response time, cancellation terms, and whether investment management is included.
Hourly or project planning$300–$600/hour, or $2,500–$10,000+ per projectNot-to-exceed cap, written deliverable, timeline, and whether follow-up questions are included.
AUM comparison1.00% on $1,000,000 = $10,000/yearBreakpoints, fund/platform costs, overlay fees, tax work, and whether planning scope is comparable.

Calculator line: Run the same quote through the Financial Advisor Fee Calculator, then compare percentage-based proposals with the Flat Fee vs AUM Break-Even Calculator.

Retirement planner San Diego: what to compare before an intro call

Good proposals should make it clear whether the work includes retirement income, Social Security timing, Medicare/IRMAA, Roth conversions, RMDs, taxable withdrawals, pensions, military retirement, old employer plans, employer equity, taxable brokerage sales, business-owner planning, real estate, charitable giving, home-equity decisions, investment policy, estate basics, and coordination with your CPA or attorney.

Local planning prompts for San Diego

For San Diego households, the useful first-call question is how the advisor coordinates retirement income, biotech or healthcare compensation, defense or military benefits, RSUs or options, taxable investments, real estate, charitable giving, healthcare timing, Roth conversions, RMDs, and possible relocation in one written plan.

  • If we have old employer plans, pensions, military retirement, RSUs, stock options, deferred compensation, private-company equity, or a taxable brokerage account, how are rollover timing, withholding, diversification, and withdrawal sequencing modeled?
  • If business income, rental property, private-company equity, consulting income, medical-practice income, defense contracting income, or a future liquidity event is part of the plan, what is included before liquidity, succession, or diversification decisions?
  • If home equity, a second home, relocation, a move out of California, or family-support decisions could affect the plan, how are housing costs, cash reserves, healthcare costs, and portfolio withdrawals compared?
  • How would you coordinate Medicare IRMAA, Roth conversion windows, Social Security timing, RMDs, taxable withdrawals, charitable giving, military or pension income, and federal/California tax assumptions year by year?

Quick refresher before your call: Retirement Tax Windows · RSUs: Sell-to-Cover vs Net Shares.

Copy/paste questions for a San Diego advisor intro call

  1. Are you a fiduciary at all times for this relationship? Please answer yes or no in writing.
  2. What is my total first-year cost in dollars, including planning, investment management, platform, fund, hourly, referral, and product costs?
  3. Is this quote flat annual, monthly retainer, hourly/project, AUM, fee-only, fee-based, commission, or a blend?
  4. What written deliverables will I receive, and what topics are outside the quoted scope?
  5. What would make the price change after the intro call?

Nearby Southern California comparison: Compare this San Diego quote with the Orange County Coast advisor fees hub when Orange County, Irvine, Laguna Niguel, home equity, taxable investments, or retirement-income planning overlap.

Nearby coastal comparison: Compare this San Diego quote with the Coastal San Diego advisor fees hub when the search crosses La Jolla, Del Mar, Encinitas, Carlsbad, home equity, taxable investments, or retirement-income planning.

Methodology

  • We convert advisor quotes into annual dollars so flat fees, retainers, hourly/project work, and AUM percentages can be compared side by side.
  • We do not rank advisors, sell directory placement, publish fake reviews, or claim that one fee model is best for every household.
  • This page was materially reviewed on June 28, 2026. Fee examples are educational ranges, not personalized financial, tax, legal, or investment advice.

Editorial standards: Editorial Policy

North County San Diego guides

Compare San Diego advisor-fee quotes with North County San Diego flat-fee retirement planner guides in annual dollars when the search includes coastal, inland, military, biotech, healthcare, or retirement-relocation planning.

New North County guides

Existing San Diego Metro routing

Southern California county guide routes

Use these Southern California county, metro, and subcluster guides when an advisor search crosses Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County, Ventura County, home equity, employer equity, entertainment income, business-owner planning, California taxes, and retirement-income timing.

San Diego coastal fee route

San Diego households can compare San Diego County advisor fees, San Diego Metro advisor fees, North County San Diego advisor fees, Oceanside retirement planning fees, and Carlsbad retirement planning fees.

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