Eleven counties of North Jersey
Retirement planning in North Jersey,
explained plainly.
Understand your 401(k), equity compensation, pension, and more from primary sources, before making decisions difficult to undo.
Booking is handled through Rosefinch Investment Advisors.
Local presence. Global reach.
How we work
Matthew Hunkele
In the industry since 2014
North Jersey
Where we work
Why this site exists
This site is written for North Jersey, not for the country as a whole. North Jersey households retire with a specific pension at the top of its system, an employer’s equity and deferred compensation plans, or an estate the New Jersey inheritance tax reaches, and the general answer may not fit. This site is written for that gap.
Much of my work has been cross-border planning for households with assets, pensions or tax residence in more than one country. Many of the same principles apply here. My aim is to help as many North Jersey households as I can make sound retirement decisions.
Matthew Hunkele
Start with your situation
Educational content written for the country at large skips the part that matters most.
The specific pension, benefit, and employer rules you are actually working with. These run from the general to the very particular.
Four kinds of pay on four clocks: the deferred compensation election you make once, the 10b5-1 cooling-off period that decides which year your shares sell in, the incentive stock option year, and the final year when everything lands at once.
Business owners
The sale year, the entity, the retirement plan you control, and the estate you did not know you had.
Corporate 401(k) and legacy pensions
Lump sum against annuity, the rollover nobody is paid to discourage, and net unrealized appreciation.
Healthcare professionals
Physicians, nurses, and hospital staff at Atlantic Health, Hackensack Meridian, RWJBarnabas, and the rest. Your employer decides which rules apply.
North Jersey counties
PERS at the top of the scale, the DCRP and 457 balances, and a survivor election on a six-figure benefit.
Teachers and administrators
TPAF at an administrator’s salary, the 403(b) beside the pension, and the dual-pension household.
Picatinny Arsenal and federal service
FERS at the senior grades, the TSP at its largest, and the annuity supplement against Social Security.
Not sure which of these describes you? That is a good reason to get in touch. We can work it out in a short conversation, at no charge and with no obligation.
Insights
Recent articles.
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The North Jersey estate where 13.5% goes to a tax people think was repealed
A childless Morris County couple leaves $1,800,000 to a sister and two nephews. The New Jersey inheritance tax is $243,250. The same money to…
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New Jersey does ask what you were thinking: gifts in the last three years
New Jersey presumes that a gift of $500 or more made within three years of death was made in contemplation of death, and taxes…
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Medicare open enrollment starts October 15. The premium question was settled two years ago
From October 15 to December 7 you can change Medicare Advantage and Part D coverage for 2027. What you cannot change in that window…
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Turning 73 this year? Your first required withdrawal has two deadlines
If you were born in 1953 you reach 73 in 2026. The first required minimum distribution can wait until April 1, 2027, but waiting…
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The Social Security COLA is announced in October. Here is what it will and will not tell you
Every October, Social Security sets the next year’s cost-of-living adjustment from the third-quarter inflation figures. The number is worth knowing and easy to over-read.…
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The $150,000 line: why a December IRA withdrawal can cost a New Jersey retiree the whole pension exclusion
New Jersey lets a couple 62 or older exclude up to $100,000 of pension and IRA income from state tax, but only if total…
Written by Matthew Hunkele
Partner at Rosefinch Investment Advisors, in the industry since 2014, based in North Jersey. His wife is a school psychologist in a North Jersey public school district and a TPAF member, so he sits on the same side of the table as the families he works with. He writes from primary sources.
Check the background of this investment professional on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website.
Read by topic
Seven subjects that shape a retirement decision.
The guides
Two guides you can work through at your own pace.
The North Jersey Retirement Checklist is organized by how much time you have left rather than by topic, because that is what determines what you can still fix. The Rollover Decision Guide covers the four options and the questions to ask anyone recommending one.
Both guides are on this site in full, and reading them asks nothing of you. If you would rather have the PDF, the form asks for your name and email, and a telephone number only if you want a call. We follow up by email after a request.
This page is general. Your situation is not.
Everything here is written for a general reader. What it does not do is tell you which choice is right for your own household. That is a short conversation, at no charge and with no obligation.
Book your Retirement ReviewNot ready to book? Answer a few questions about your situation, or send a message.
Booking is handled through Rosefinch Investment Advisors. North Jersey Retirement is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any government agency, retirement system, plan sponsor, or employer named on this site.