A pension and a 401(k). After-tax contributions. Deferred comp for higher earners. Most advisors have never seen a benefits package like yours — we work with it already.
Your benefits stack is genuinely more complex than most — and the pieces interact. Here's where the real decisions live.
Annuity or lump sum, single or joint life — one of the few choices you make exactly once. We model both paths in plain numbers, with no incentive to pick either.
Capturing the full match, choosing among the plan's menu, and setting pre-tax vs. Roth — tuned to your bracket, not a rule of thumb.
If your plan rules allow after-tax contributions, you may be able to save far past the normal Roth limits. We've set this up for a Corning household — it works, done carefully.
For higher earners: whether to defer, how much, and how the distribution elections interact with your retirement date and tax picture. Elections are hard to undo — worth getting right.
The early-retirement math: pension timing, the healthcare bridge to Medicare, and which accounts to draw first so the plan holds together.
Deferrals, conversions, and New York state taxes — coordinated year-round with your CPA so each piece points the same direction.
Capture the full match, open the after-tax door if your plan allows it, and keep lifestyle creep from eating the surplus.
Catch-up contributions, deferred-comp elections, and a first honest answer to "when could I actually stop?"
The pension election, retiree healthcare, and whether retiring early is a number on a page or a real option.
Lump-sum paperwork, rollover decisions, SIP distributions, and a drawdown order that minimizes lifetime tax.
When you separate from a company like Corning, the calls start — national firms whose advice somehow always ends with moving your money to them. We're built differently.
We've helped a Corning household run mega backdoor Roth contributions, choose Investment Plan funds, and weigh a SIP deferral election.
Real work, years of it — details anonymized.
Yes. Most of the decisions above — the match, catch-ups, the pension election, retiring before 65 — apply across the salary band. The deferred-comp questions only apply to higher earners, but we have no account minimums either way.
Yes. Your money can stay right where it is in the plan. We help you choose among the investment options on the menu, set contribution types and rates, and coordinate it with everything outside the plan.
It depends — on your health, your spouse, interest rates, your other assets, and what helps you sleep. We model both paths side by side, in plain numbers. What we won't do is push the lump sum because it's the answer that pays an advisor.
A strategy that uses after-tax 401(k) contributions, converted to Roth, to save far beyond the normal Roth limits. It only works in plans whose rules allow it — and it has to be executed carefully. We can tell you quickly whether it fits yours.
No. Ithaca Wealth is an independent, fee-only registered investment adviser. We're not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Corning Incorporated — we work for you, not the company.
A relaxed, 20-minute conversation. No pressure, no pitch — just an honest read on where you stand.
Book a conversation →Ithaca Wealth is an independent, fee-only registered investment adviser and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Corning Incorporated. "Corning" is used solely to identify the employer whose benefit plans are discussed.
Plan provisions, eligibility, and tax rules change. Nothing on this page is individualized advice; we verify every strategy against your current plan documents and personal situation before recommending it.