290,000 client relationships†
Overseeing $3.8 billion†
Advisors for $500K+ investors
Harbourfront Wealth Management: wealth management for teachers and school staff
What you get when you sit down with us:
A line-by-line count of the fund fees inside your school retirement plan
Your pension estimate checked against retiring now or teaching a few more years
An estimate of the tax bill before any fund or account is moved
A written agreement showing the exact advisory cost before any work begins
290,000
clients as of 10/5/2026, planning
with Harbourfront Wealth Management†
- Clients served
- 290,000
- Assets under management
- $3.8 billion
- Starting from
- $500K
- Planning areas
- 3 areas
Data as of 10/5/2026.
What makes Harbourfront Wealth Management different for teachers?
Every fund in your 403(b) or 457(b) gets its expense ratio written next to it at the first review, and we add up what that costs you a year in dollars. Many school plans still lean on annuity contracts, so we look for those first. Before Harbourfront Wealth Management suggests moving a dollar, we estimate the tax and any surrender charge the move would trigger. You see our own advisory cost in a written agreement before any work starts.
Who We Work With
Harbourfront Wealth Management serves 290,000 clients† and manages $3.8 billion† in client assets.
†Data reported by Harbourfront Wealth Management as of 10/5/2026 (290,000 clients, $3.8 billion managed).
Why teachers and school staff plan with Harbourfront Wealth Management
You have a pension formula you've never fully trusted, a 403(b) your district set up years ago, maybe a 457(b) you forgot about, and a retirement date that depends on all three. Harbourfront Wealth Management puts those accounts on one page, runs the numbers for retiring at different ages, and shows what fees and taxes take from each choice. Then you pick the year.
Harbourfront Wealth Management serves 290,000 clients with $3.8 billion in client assets as of 10/5/2026, meeting by video and phone wherever you teach.
Frequently asked questions about Harbourfront Wealth Management
Yes. Harbourfront Wealth Management puts the exact advisory cost in a written agreement you read and sign before any work begins. That lets you compare it with what your current 403(b) provider already takes in fund and contract fees. We don't post fees on this website because they depend on the work involved.
Yes, if the total reaches it. Harbourfront Wealth Management starts at $500K in investable assets, counted across your 403(b), 457(b), IRAs and other savings. Your state pension doesn't show up as a balance, but it still sits at the center of the plan, because it decides how much the accounts must cover.
We write back to set up a first call by video or phone at a time that suits you. Before it, we'll ask for your latest pension estimate and recent 403(b) or 457(b) statements, so the first conversation can be about your own numbers, not generalities.
You talk with a Harbourfront Wealth Management advisor by video or phone. Expect questions about your pension formula, your years of service, the funds in your 403(b) or 457(b) and the age you hope to stop working, because those four details drive most retirement-date decisions.
Most school district plans restrict rollovers to an outside IRA until you separate from service or turn fifty-nine and a half. Harbourfront Wealth Management reviews your specific employer plan documents to determine if in-service transfers are allowed, or whether we should lower expenses inside your existing plan options until you retire.
We review your state retirement system's survivor annuity choices alongside your Social Security statement. Depending on your state, provisions like the Windfall Elimination Provision or Government Pension Offset may reduce your Social Security benefit, so we verify both income streams together before you commit to an irrevocable pension payout choice.
Governmental 457(b) plans do not impose the 10% early withdrawal penalty when you separate from service, even if you are under age fifty-nine and a half. You pay only standard income tax on the amounts withdrawn, making this account an effective income bridge for educators retiring ahead of full pension age.
A steady state pension acts as a permanent income floor that can push required minimum distributions into higher tax brackets once you reach age seventy-three. Harbourfront Wealth Management calculates whether partial Roth conversions during the low-income window between retirement and required distributions reduce your lifetime tax burden.
Yes. We read the contract terms of your existing insurance products to identify when surrender penalties expire. We often phase out expensive annuities gradually or wait for specific surrender charge deadlines to pass before transferring balances to lower-cost institutional funds.
Yes. For 2026, educators age fifty or older can contribute an additional $8,000 catch-up to a 403(b) or governmental 457(b), on top of the standard $24,500 limit. Some public plans also offer special fifteen-year service catch-ups, which our team audits directly with your district payroll office.
Harbourfront Wealth Management: Wealth Management for Public Educators
Harbourfront Wealth Management is a wealth management firm that guides public-school educators with state pensions and supplemental retirement plans toward clear, coordinated retirement decisions.
Most educators spend decades contributing to a state pension, a 403(b), or a governmental 457(b) without anyone comparing how those parts fit together at retirement. When fund costs eat into returns or tax brackets quietly double once pension checks begin, your monthly income shrinks. Harbourfront Wealth Management takes a cost-conscious stance: fund expenses, taxes, and advisory fees are the levers you actually control, so every review puts all three on the table.
Educator wealth management built around pensions and supplemental plans
Harbourfront Wealth Management serves families who have accumulated at least $500,000 across their retirement plans and personal accounts. Most of the educators we sit down with teach in public school districts or state university systems, holding both a traditional pension and one or two voluntary plans. We meet families nationwide by video and phone, so you never need to leave home or adjust your classroom schedule to review your accounts.
Our working relationship centers on three primary services: Teacher retirement planning, 403(b) fee review, and Tax planning for retirees. Before any agreement is accepted, you review the exact cost in a written document outlining our scope of work. Across the country, Harbourfront Wealth Management serves 290,000 clients and oversees $3.8 billion in client assets as of 10/5/2026.
What an educator review meeting covers and what you keep
A regular review meeting is a focused working session rather than an abstract presentation. We examine your latest pension estimate, account statements, and recent tax return side by side, checking whether current deductions match your planned exit year. If your district offers both a 403(b) and a 457(b), we check whether high administrative charges inside the 403(b) vendor list justify redirecting new savings.
You leave each session with a written action summary and an updated distribution schedule. The schedule lists exact amounts, the accounts they will come from, and the anticipated tax withholding. That way, you always know what was decided, who handles the next step, and when we will check in again.
The calendar below shows how Harbourfront Wealth Management organizes this work across a typical school year.
| When | What happens | What you receive |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn | Pension verification and open-enrollment review | A written benefits checklist |
| Winter | 1099 review and annual tax bracket audit | An annual tax projection summary |
| Spring | 403(b) vendor fee audit and portfolio rebalance | A fee comparison report |
| Summer | Cash cushion adjustment and withdrawal scheduling | A twelve-month income draw schedule |
How Harbourfront Wealth Management responds when markets drop
When market averages drop sharply, our job is to protect your cash flow and keep panic from dictating your schedule. We do not sell equities at depressed prices to raise emergency cash, nor do we attempt to forecast market bottoms. Instead, we establish a dedicated two-year reserve of living expenses in short-term instruments well before your final day in the classroom, insulating your daily spending from short-term market swings.
Market pullbacks often open concrete planning opportunities. If asset values decline, Harbourfront Wealth Management evaluates whether to execute partial Roth conversions at lower dollar valuations or harvest specific capital losses to offset future gains. Any investment can lose value, and you may receive back less than you originally invested, which is why having an insulated cash buffer matters.
Real questions educators bring to our introductory talks
Teachers and administrators rarely reach out because they enjoy portfolio math. They schedule a talk when a retirement deadline approaches and the options feel disjointed or conflicting. Here are the specific problems educators describe when they first call us:
- "My pension system gave me three survivor benefit options, and I do not know which reduction my spouse actually needs."
- "My district 403(b) vendor list has forty insurance companies, and my annuity fees seem to exceed 2% every year."
- "I want to retire at fifty-nine, but my pension does not reach full formula until sixty-two."
- "If I take income draws from both my pension and my supplemental accounts, will higher Medicare brackets catch me by surprise?"
Putting costs first in everyday account decisions
Our cost-conscious stance means we audit investment charges before recommending any allocation. Many school district 403(b) plans offer variable annuities laden with mortality and expense charges, sub-account fees, and surrender charges that sap retirement progress. Harbourfront Wealth Management reviews each line item to calculate the real drag on your balance.
Consider this hypothetical example: an educator holds $600,000 in an older variable annuity inside a 403(b) with an all-in annual cost of 2.15%, compared to an index-based portfolio costing 0.35% a year. The difference of 1.80% equals $10,800 in avoidable costs in year one alone. Over a ten-year span before retirement, eliminating that drag saves more than $108,000 in fee deductions before compounding. When you evaluate an account rollover, checking contract surrender schedules first prevents costly mistakes.
Planning an early retirement bridge: a hypothetical case
Consider a hypothetical public-school administrator named Sarah, age sixty, who plans to step down in June. Sarah has a projected state pension of $4,500 a month starting at sixty-two, a governmental 457(b) balance of $350,000, and a traditional 403(b) balance of $250,000, totaling $600,000 in retirement savings. Her net household spending requirement is $6,000 a month.
To bridge the two-year gap before her pension starts, Sarah needs $72,000 a year in living funds. Instead of tapping her 403(b), which would incur ordinary income taxes and could face distribution restrictions depending on plan rules, Sarah uses the governmental 457(b). Governmental 457(b) accounts allow penalty-free distributions upon separation from service regardless of age, provided ordinary income tax is paid.
Harbourfront Wealth Management sequences Sarah's income draws by taking $6,000 a month from the 457(b) cash reserve during those two years, keeping her federal tax bracket low while delaying her pension. Once the pension starts at sixty-two, her required supplemental draw drops to $1,500 a month. This systematic order preserves her remaining accounts and prevents unnecessary tax spikes.
Harbourfront Wealth Management meets clients in every state over video calls and by phone; the office is at 77 Taylor Street, Hartford, CT 06106, United States. Get in Touch →
Harbourfront Wealth Management services
Teacher retirement planning
A retirement-date plan comparing your pension, 403(b) and 457(b) at several stop-working ages.
Teacher retirement planning →403(b) fee review
Every fund and annuity fee in your school plan, totaled in dollars a year.
403(b) fee review →Tax planning for retirees
A yearly plan for which accounts fund your income draws, with each year's tax estimated.
Tax planning for retirees →Latest insights
- 457(b) vs 403(b): The Harbourfront Wealth Management Checklist
- How Harbourfront Wealth Management Evaluates Whether You Should Teach One More Year
- How to evaluate buying service credit in a pension
- Harbourfront Wealth Management's Guide to 403(b) Annuity Surrender Charges
- Why the generic advice on Roth 403(b) vs traditional 403(b) fails teachers near retirement
- 457(b) early withdrawal rules: penalty-free retirement income at 56
Pension, 403(b) and fee work at Harbourfront Wealth Management
A retirement-date plan comparing your pension, 403(b) and 457(b) at several stop-working ages.
Every fund and annuity fee in your school plan, totaled in dollars a year.
A yearly plan for which accounts fund your income draws, with each year's tax estimated.
Teacher retirement planning
A retirement-date plan comparing your pension, 403(b) and 457(b) at several stop-working ages.
403(b) fee review
Every fund and annuity fee in your school plan, totaled in dollars a year.
Tax planning for retirees
A yearly plan for which accounts fund your income draws, with each year's tax estimated.
Talk to Harbourfront Wealth Management
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