Tyler Lavoie, CHFC, CKA

Call Directions Website Contact the business

Tyler Lavoie, CHFC, CKA Helping families within 10 years of retirement build a strong financial life through a stewardship planning process.

Co-Founder: Guardian Financial Services | Author | Founder: Brightcrumbs

It's easy to think of retirement and healthcare planning as purely financial — spreadsheets, premiums, projections. But ...
10/24/2026

It's easy to think of retirement and healthcare planning as purely financial — spreadsheets, premiums, projections. But underneath
the numbers, there's something more personal happening. When you take the time to understand your Medicare options, think
through healthcare costs, and put a plan in place before you actually need it, you're doing more than preparing for your own future.
You're reducing the weight your family might otherwise carry — the scramble to understand your coverage, the hard decisions
made under stress, the uncertainty about what you would have wanted. Legacy isn't only about what gets left behind financially. It's
also about the clarity and preparation left behind relationally. A plan that's been thought through in advance is one of the quieter,
less-celebrated ways of saying "I love you" to the people who matter most. As we wrap up this Medicare and retirement income
series, that feels like the right note to end on: this isn't just about numbers. It's about the people those numbers are meant to serve.
If getting your own plan in order feels like the next right step, I'd be glad to help you think it through.

Medicare Advantage or Original Medicare with a Medigap supplement — it's one of the more debated decisions retirees face...
10/22/2026

Medicare Advantage or Original Medicare with a Medigap supplement — it's one of the more debated decisions retirees face, and
there's genuinely no universal right answer. Each path comes with different trade-offs: Medicare Advantage plans often bundle
extra benefits but can mean a narrower network. Original Medicare plus Medigap tends to offer more flexibility in providers but can
come with higher premiums. So I'm curious — if you've already made this decision, either for yourself or for a parent, which way did
you go, and what mattered most in that choice? Was it cost? Keeping a specific doctor? The ability to travel without worrying about
network restrictions? Simplicity? There's real value in hearing how other people weighed this, especially for those still sitting on the
fence trying to figure out which factors should carry the most weight for their own situation. Share your experience in the comments
— your story might be exactly what someone else needs to read today.

Some retirement decisions are hard to undo — how you elect Medicare coverage, when you start drawing income from yourpor...
10/21/2026

Some retirement decisions are hard to undo — how you elect Medicare coverage, when you start drawing income from your
portfolio, when you claim Social Security. Once you decide, reversing course can be difficult or costly. That's exactly why asking
the right questions before deciding matters so much. I put together a 5 Questions Guide to help you think through some of the most
consequential retirement decisions before they're locked in. It's not a script of the "right" answers (there isn't one that applies to
everyone), but a framework for the kinds of questions worth bringing to a financial professional, accountant, or Medicare specialist
as you approach these choices. Think of it as a way to walk into those conversations a little more prepared and a little less reactive.
If you'd like a copy, just comment below or send me a message and I'll get it over to you — happy to share it with anyone
navigating these decisions right now.

Here's a number that tends to stop people in their tracks: according to Fidelity's 2024 research, the average 65-year-ol...
10/20/2026

Here's a number that tends to stop people in their tracks: according to Fidelity's 2024 research, the average 65-year-old couple
retiring today may need around $330,000 saved just to cover healthcare costs throughout retirement — and that figure doesn't
even include long-term care. Why so high? Medicare only covers roughly 60% of a typical retiree's healthcare costs, according to
EBRI, leaving premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, and uncovered services (like most dental and vision care) to come out of
pocket. Add healthcare inflation running higher than general inflation, and that gap tends to widen over a multi-decade retirement.
It's no surprise that about half of people approaching retirement say they feel overwhelmed just choosing Medicare coverage in the
first place — there are a lot of moving pieces between Parts A, B, C, D, IRMAA, and supplemental options. There isn't a
one-size-fits-all answer for closing this gap; health savings accounts, dedicated savings, and long-term care planning tools each
come with their own trade-offs. What matters most is running your own numbers rather than relying on national averages. Has
healthcare cost planning been part of your retirement conversations yet?

10/19/2026

Part A, Part B, Part C, Part D — if Medicare's naming convention has ever left you scratching your head, you're in good company.
In this video, we're breaking down what each part actually covers: Part A (hospital stays and skilled nursing), Part B (doctor visits
and outpatient care), Part C (Medicare Advantage, the private-insurer alternative), and Part D (prescription drug coverage). Each
comes with its own premium structure, coverage rules, and trade-offs — there's no single right answer for everyone, and the best
fit depends on your health needs, providers, budget, and how much flexibility matters to you. Getting familiar with these differences
before your enrollment window arrives can make the decision feel a lot less overwhelming when the time comes. This is the second
video in our Medicare series — if you missed the first one on hidden Medicare costs, it's worth a watch too. As always, this is
educational content, not a recommendation for any specific plan or coverage type. Feel free to reach out if you want to think
through your own situation.

Click to book your consultation:https://scheduling.rjf.com/?client=RaymondJames_37006&product=Customer%20Journey&employee=31608

We can't predict our health ten years from now. We can't know exactly what healthcare will cost by the time we need it m...
10/17/2026

We can't predict our health ten years from now. We can't know exactly what healthcare will cost by the time we need it most. That
uncertainty is uncomfortable to sit with — but planning for it anyway is one of the most practical forms of stewardship there is.
Being a good steward of what's been entrusted to us doesn't require having every answer. It means taking reasonable, thoughtful
steps today — setting money aside, understanding options before we need them, having a plan for the unexpected — so
uncertainty tomorrow doesn't turn into a crisis. These aren't acts of worry. They're acts of care, for ourselves and for the people
who count on us. None of us can plan away uncertainty completely, and that's okay — the goal was never perfect prediction. It's
faithful, intentional preparation with what we've been given. If this idea resonates with where you are in your own planning journey,
I'd love to hear from you.

Healthcare costs in retirement have a funny way of surprising even people who planned carefully. Maybe it was a Medicare...
10/16/2026

Healthcare costs in retirement have a funny way of surprising even people who planned carefully. Maybe it was a Medicare
premium that jumped more than expected, a procedure that wasn't fully covered, or the realization that long-term care isn't
something Medicare handles in the way many people assume. So here's the question: what's one healthcare expense in retirement
— yours, a parent's, a spouse's — that caught you off guard? It doesn't have to be a huge number. Sometimes it's the smaller,
recurring costs that add up in ways nobody warns you about. I'd genuinely like to hear what people have run into, because these
real experiences tend to teach more than a statistic ever could. Drop it in the comments below — no wrong answers here, just real
stories that might help someone else planning for the same stage of life.

How do you actually know if you're ready to retire? It's rarely just a savings target — readiness touches Social Securit...
10/15/2026

How do you actually know if you're ready to retire? It's rarely just a savings target — readiness touches Social Security timing,
healthcare and Medicare planning, how you'll draw income from your accounts, and the tax impact of those decisions once they're
made. A lot of these pieces interact with each other in ways that aren't obvious until you sit down and map them out. That's why I
put together a Retirement Readiness Checklist — a starting point for organizing the major categories worth thinking through before
you make the leap. It won't hand you a personalized plan (that part still takes a real conversation), but it can help you show up to
that conversation with better questions. If you're within a few years of retirement, or just starting to think seriously about the
transition, this might be a useful place to start. Comment below or send a message and I'll send a copy your way — happy to share
it with anyone who could use it.

Quick question: did you know your Medicare premium could be higher simply because of what your income looked like two ye...
10/14/2026

Quick question: did you know your Medicare premium could be higher simply because of what your income looked like two years
earlier? That's essentially how IRMAA works. It's one of the more overlooked pieces of retirement income planning — a surcharge
on Part B and Part D premiums that kicks in above certain income thresholds, calculated from your tax return two years prior. For
2026, that threshold starts at $109,000 for individuals and $218,000 for married couples filing jointly, with surcharges increasing in
tiers all the way up to nearly $700/month at the top bracket. The tricky part isn't just the cost — it's the timing. A big Roth
conversion, a large capital gain, or a hefty RMD in one year can echo into a higher Medicare bill two years down the road. There
are ways to plan around this, and if a major life change happens, there's even an appeal process (Form SSA-44). None of this is
one-size-fits-all, and every option comes with trade-offs worth understanding first. Curious whether IRMAA might affect your own
retirement income picture? That's a conversation worth having sooner rather than later.

10/13/2026

Medicare feels straightforward until you actually need to use it. Between premiums that can rise with income (hello, IRMAA),
enrollment windows that don't wait for you, and coverage gaps that surprise even well-prepared retirees, there's more to this
program than the postcard version most of us grew up hearing about. Over the next couple of weeks, we're kicking off a short video
series walking through the parts of Medicare that tend to get glossed over — what it covers, what it doesn't, and where the hidden
costs tend to hide. This is educational content, not a substitute for a conversation with a Medicare specialist or your financial
professional about your specific situation. But if you're within a few years of 65, or helping a parent navigate this, it's worth
understanding before you're in the middle of open enrollment trying to figure it out. Follow along for the rest of the series, and as
always, feel free to reach out with questions.

Click to book your consultation:https://scheduling.rjf.com/?client=RaymondJames_37006&product=Customer%20Journey&employee=31608

Address

215 Main Street
Salem, NH
03079

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 4pm

Telephone

+16034583155

Website

,

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Tyler Lavoie, CHFC, CKA posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Tyler Lavoie, CHFC, CKA:

Shortcuts

Share

Category