PlanVault is a matching service. You answer a short set of questions about your retirement situation, we identify a licensed financial advisor whose focus fits what you described, and that advisor gives you a free, no-obligation review of your retirement income timeline. PlanVault is not an advisor and gives no advice of its own.
What Are the Three Steps?
1. Answer a few questions
You tell us about your savings, your timeline, and the retirement concern that actually keeps you up at night. It takes about 90 seconds. There is no account to create and no payment details to enter.
2. Get matched
Your answers are used to identify a licensed financial advisor suited to your situation. Advisors in the network are independent professionals, not a call center reading a script. You are under no obligation to hire the person you are matched with.
3. Get a free, no-obligation review
The advisor contacts you to walk through a structured income plan: how long your savings could realistically last, when Social Security fits into the picture, and where the gaps are. If you decide it is not for you, you say so and it ends there.
Why Is This Free? What Is the Catch?
PlanVault connects you with a trusted, licensed financial advisor, at no cost to you. There is no fee, no subscription, and no payment details requested at any point in the process.
The honest answer to "what is the catch" is this: a licensed financial advisor is going to contact you. That is the whole arrangement. You answer the questions, your answers go to the advisor matched to your situation, and that advisor reaches out to arrange the review. If you do not want a phone call from a financial professional, this is not for you, and we would rather say that plainly than surprise you with it later.
What that does not include: you are never obligated to hire anyone, buy anything, or move any money. You can end the conversation whenever you want. Exactly what information is shared, and with whom, is set out in our Privacy Policy.
Why There Is No Free Guide, Gift, or Download
Plenty of retirement sites hand out a free calculator, a free PDF guide, or a free checklist in exchange for your contact information. The download is not really the point of those pages, collecting your details is.
PlanVault does not do that. We do not bribe you with a free gift to capture your information. What is on offer is the thing itself: a straight conversation with a licensed professional about your retirement income, at no cost and with no obligation. The retirement savings calculator on this site is free to use with nothing to fill in and no email required.
How Do You Verify That an Advisor Is Licensed?
You should check. Not only for advisors we match you with, but for any financial professional who contacts you. Three official, free databases cover almost every licensed professional in the United States, and each one takes a couple of minutes to search by name.
- FINRA BrokerCheck (brokercheck.finra.org). Run by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Shows a broker's or firm's registration status, employment history, licenses passed, and any disclosed customer complaints, regulatory actions, or terminations.
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (adviserinfo.sec.gov). The Securities and Exchange Commission's database of registered investment advisers. Gives you the adviser's Form ADV, which spells out services offered, fee structure, conflicts of interest, and disciplinary history.
- CFP Board verification (cfp.net/verify-a-cfp-professional). Confirms whether someone actually holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER certification and whether the CFP Board has taken any public disciplinary action against them.
A professional who has nothing to hide will not mind being looked up. If anyone discourages you from checking, treat that as the answer.
What PlanVault Does Not Do
- We do not give financial, investment, tax, or legal advice.
- We do not manage money, hold accounts, or handle any of your funds.
- We do not charge you anything, at any stage.
- We do not promise a return, an income figure, or any other financial outcome.
- We do not supervise the advisors in the network. They are independent professionals, and the advisory relationship is between you and them.
Where to Start
If you want a sense of the numbers before speaking to anyone, the retirement savings calculator estimates how long a balance could last at a given withdrawal rate, and the pages on Social Security claiming age and sequence of returns risk cover two of the decisions that move that timeline the most. When you are ready for a real conversation, the questions take about 90 seconds.