Fee-only financial planning
A financial planning firm built by an airline pilot for airline pilots
We start with a plan built around your contract, your family and your goals, then help you carry it out.
The problems we see
The financial advice industry is not built to serve airline pilots.
Most financial advisors are paid only on the assets they manage. That one fact shapes who they serve, when they serve them and what they recommend. For airline pilots, it creates three massive problems.
Advice arrives too late.
Most of a pilot’s wealth sits in the airline 401(k), which advisors paid only on the assets they manage are often unable to bill on. So a pilot can be an unprofitable client until retirement, when the 401(k) can finally be rolled out. By then, the years when strategic advice matters most are gone.
Pilot-specific opportunities go unused.
Depending on the airline, pilots may have backdoor Roth IRAs, mega backdoor Roths, market-based cash balance plans and in-service Roth conversions available. Many advisors never bring them up, or the pilot has no idea how to execute them, leaving powerful wealth-building tools on the table.
Generic plans assume a straight line.
Most financial plans assume steady, uninterrupted income until age 65. A pilot’s career has furloughs, downgrades, medical risks that can end a career overnight and a mandatory retirement age. A plan built for a linear corporate career misses all of it.
Where you are in your career
We meet you where you are on the seniority list.
Many advisors wait until your wealth is built. We do not. IFP works with pilots at every stage of a career, from new hire to retirement.
New hire and first officer.
Advice pays off most when you get it early. At the start of a pilot career, we help you make sense of your airline’s pay and benefits, choose the best way to pay off flight-training and student debt, build a cash cushion, and decide how much to save, into which accounts and how to invest it. Decisions made in these first years can make a big difference in your future.
Upgrade and the middle of your career.
Income is higher, the household is bigger and the decisions carry more weight: the raise at upgrade, taxes, disability and life insurance, education savings, a cash balance plan where your airline offers one, and retirement. We build the plan and, if you want us to, manage the investments that carry it out.
Approaching retirement, and retired.
A mandatory retirement age gives you a date to plan toward. We help you decide whether you can afford to stop flying before 65, and how much you can scale back before then. We also help you turn your savings into steady income, decide what to do with your 401(k), choose when to claim Social Security, find the right health coverage, draw from your accounts in a tax-efficient order, and plan your giving and your estate.
Questions pilots should know, but rarely do
How many of these can you answer today?
These are the questions a pilot’s plan should answer. If several of them are open, a short call is a good place to start.
- Do you have a written financial plan and investment policy statement?Without a written plan, “more” never gets defined, and returns have no purpose. Without an investment policy statement guiding your strategy, it is easy to chase the latest fad or the latest returns. Together they tie every investment decision to what the money is for and how it should be invested.
- Do you contribute to a backdoor Roth IRA for you and your spouse?Most pilots earn too much to fund a Roth IRA directly. A backdoor Roth IRA gets around the limit.
- Do you have the proper long-term disability policy?If you lost your medical tomorrow, would you know what you would be paid, and for how long? How the premiums are paid, including whether the employer’s share is counted as imputed income, decides whether the benefit arrives taxable or tax-free. Do you know which you have, and why?
- Should you participate in your company’s market-based cash balance plan?At some airlines, company contributions above the 401(k) limit can go into a cash balance plan with its own rules for investing and withdrawals.
- Does your 401(k) accept after-tax contributions beyond the normal limit?If it does, a mega backdoor Roth can move that money into a Roth, where qualified withdrawals are tax-free under current law.
- Should you convert some of your 401(k) to Roth, and are you able to?Some plans allow in-service Roth conversions while you are still flying. A lower-income year, such as a furlough or a leave, can be the time to use one.
- Are you taking advantage of tax-advantaged accounts available to your spouse?Your spouse may earn less than you, but that does not mean their 401(k), 403(b) or 457 plan is off the table. Used well, it can lower your family’s lifetime tax bill.
- Are the funds on your 401(k) menu the only ones you can use?Some airline plans include a brokerage link, a self-directed window with a much wider choice of investments.
- Are your investments in the right accounts, or only in the right funds?Tax-efficient asset allocation places each holding in the pre-tax, Roth or taxable account where it is taxed least.
- Is a high-deductible health plan with an HSA a better deal for your family than the plan you are on?A health benefit analysis compares the plans your airline offers with how your family actually uses care.
- If you were furloughed or downgraded this year, what would that mean for you and your family?The industry is cyclical. A furlough or a move to another airline can mean starting your career over at the bottom of the list.
- What are you saving for, and how much is enough?If the only plan is “more is better,” you may be saving too much, too little, or for the wrong things. A plan puts a purpose and a number on it.
One example
The backdoor Roth IRA is an opportunity many pilots miss.
Your airline 401(k) is the foundation of your wealth. The backdoor Roth IRA is what you build on top of it. Most pilots earn too much to contribute to a Roth IRA directly, so the backdoor is the workaround: you contribute to a traditional IRA, convert it to a Roth, and the money can grow tax-free from there. Done every year, for you and for your spouse, it can add up to decades of growth that is tax-free on qualified withdrawals, under current law.
It has one catch, the IRS pro-rata rule. If you hold pre-tax money in any IRA, part of every conversion becomes taxable. The usual fix is to roll that IRA into your airline’s 401(k), where the plan allows it, which clears the way for a clean backdoor Roth.
The paperwork needs care too. Every backdoor Roth is reported on IRS Form 8606, filed with your tax return, separately for you and for your spouse. The form tracks the after-tax money in your IRAs so it is not taxed twice, and the pro-rata calculation uses your IRA balances on December 31, so the timing of a roll-in matters. A missed or incorrect Form 8606 can mean extra tax, penalties or the same dollars taxed twice. We work with you and your tax preparer so it is done right and filed correctly at tax time.
Here is the conflict. A roll-in moves money out of the accounts we manage, so it can lower our investment management fee. The same is true for any advisor paid on the assets they manage, and in our experience many pilots are never told about the roll-in at all. We recommend it whenever it is right for you, and we work with you to execute every step.
What you get
One plan, one portfolio, one advisor.
- Planning comes first
- Every client starts with a written plan built around your contract, your career and your family.
- Fees set by seat
- No upfront fee. Your initial plan is included in a quarterly planning fee that follows your career, from $900 a quarter.
- Investment management when you want it
- It is optional. If you want us to put the plan in place, we manage your IRAs, Roth IRAs and taxable accounts at Charles Schwab.
- We know the contracts
- You do not have to use your time at home to explain how your pay, 401(k) plans, benefits or schedules work. We skip the learning curve and start on the real questions.
- A plan for the career you will actually have
- Furlough, downgrade, medical, upgrade, retirement. We build financial plans designed to handle the turns, not just the straight line.
- Your whole family in the plan
- The pilot lifestyle affects the whole family. Your spouse is fully integrated into the plan, and we act as a trusted third party who can help your family if you are on the road or unable.
- We recommend what is right, even when it costs us
- Moving an old IRA into your airline 401(k) can lower our fee. We recommend it whenever it is right for you, and in our experience it often is. Then we work with you to execute every step.
- Fee-only
- IFP receives no commissions and no product-sales compensation, and is paid by its clients.
- A real answer within two business days
- You work directly with your advisor, and we reply to any question within two business days.
- Someone who lives it
- IFP’s founder flies the 787 as a first officer at a major U.S. airline, so we are not looking at your career from the outside in. He has lived the ups and downs we plan for.
IFP was founded because its founder does not find the status quo acceptable. Fellow airline pilots deserve advice built around their career, from the day they are hired to the day they retire, and every year in between.
Our services
Planning first. Investing when you want it.
Every client starts with a written plan, and every fee is published. Carry the plan out yourself, or have us put it in place with investment management.
Financial planning
A written plan built around your contract, your career and your family, then ongoing planning for as long as you are a client.
Investment management, optional
Pilots like being in control. If you would rather place the trades yourself, your plan tells you which funds to own and in which accounts. If you want us to put the plan in place, we manage your IRAs, Roth IRAs and taxable accounts at Charles Schwab.
The sequence
A plan is a route from here to there.
Pittsburgh’s inclines carry people from the river’s edge, where the view is limited, to the top of Mount Washington, where the visibility is unlimited. IFP takes pilots from financial uncertainty to clarity. You go from one waypoint to the next. The first four get the plan built. The fifth keeps it working for as long as we work together.
- Book a callWe talk about your situation and decide together whether we are a mutual fit.
- Get organizedAll your documents and your financial life in one place.
- Explore possibilitiesOnce we have your full financial picture, we sit down and explore the possibilities together.
- Build the planWe turn what we explored into a written plan, with the next steps in order.
- Ongoing financial planningWe implement the plan, monitor it, and adjust as your life and career change.
Financial planning
A written plan, built around an airline pilot’s career.
A comprehensive financial plan is the foundation of long-term success. Ours can start on your first day as a new hire, and it follows your career to retirement.
A better way
A better way to do financial planning
Planning comes first.
We look at your goals, income, benefits, taxes and family before we advise on a single investment.
Fees set by seat.
Your planning fee follows your career, not your account balance, and every fee is published.
A planner who flies.
IFP’s founder flies a widebody as a first officer at a major airline and knows the career intimately: they understand your needs because they are living it too.
No conflicts, no commissions.
IFP receives no commissions and no product-sales compensation, and is paid by its clients.
Debt freedom as a goal.
We help you pay off debt and stay out of it, because flexibility and safety matter most in a career tied to one company, the economy and a medical certificate.
Optional investment help.
Every plan includes guidance on how to invest, including your airline 401(k). If you want us to carry it out, investment management is available.
Onboarding
Onboarding: from a first call to your plan
Onboarding takes you from a first conversation to a written plan you can act on.
Book an introductory call
Thirty minutes, no charge and no pressure. We talk about your situation and what you are trying to build, and decide together whether we are a mutual fit.
Get organized
All your documents and your financial life in one place: pay statements, airline 401(k) and brokerage statements, your benefits summary, last year’s tax return and your insurance policies.
Explore possibilities
Once we have your full financial picture, we sit down and explore the possibilities together. What could the next five, ten and twenty years look like?
Build the initial plan
We turn what we explored into a written plan, with the next steps in order, and review it together. There is no separate fee for the initial plan. It is built as part of your quarterly planning fee.
Ongoing planning
Ongoing planning keeps the plan current.
The initial plan is the start. Once it is delivered, ongoing planning continues for as long as you are a client, so the plan changes when your career and your life do.
- A look-forward meeting
- A two-hour meeting with every client, early in the year, to look forward: savings, cash flow, goals, 401(k) and Roth contributions, profit sharing.
- A year-end tax planning meeting
- Most clients also meet with us at year-end to plan their taxes: Roth conversions and other tax moves, and withdrawals and RMDs for retirees.
- Quarterly reviews
- Insurance and estate documents each get their own review, with a written report and a call if anything should change.
- Always available
- We are happy to set up a meeting at any point in the year, whether you would like one or we see the need. Email or call whenever the plan needs to change, and we reply to any question within two business days.
- Investment management, if you choose it
- We carry out the investment advice provided in your financial plan.
The planning calendar
The same four quarters repeat every year you are a client. These are the set points. We are always available to set up a meeting in between, whether you would like one or we see the need.
Q1 · January to March
Look-forward planning
A two-hour meeting with every client
- Savings, cash flow and goals
- 401(k) and Roth contributions
- Profit sharing and your action list
Q2 · April to June
Insurance review
A written report; a call if anything should change
- Life and disability coverage
- Protection if you lose your medical
- Umbrella, home and auto
Q3 · July to September
Estate plan review
A written report; a call if anything should change
- Wills and powers of attorney
- Beneficiaries on every account
- Guardians for your children
Q4 · October to December
Year-end tax planning
A year-end meeting, which most clients need
- Benefits open enrollment
- Roth conversions and tax moves
- Retirees: withdrawals and RMDs
When life changes
Your plan changes when your life does. These start a plan update:
- A change in aircraft or seat
- Marriage or divorce
- A new child
- A new home
- An inheritance
- The approach of retirement, a medical event or a furlough
What is included
What’s included in your plan
Every plan will evaluate:
- Your goals and values
- Net worth and cash flow
- Savings, debt and a debt-freedom plan
- Your airline 401(k) and company contributions
- Profit sharing and a cash balance plan, where your airline offers one
- Your health plan and HSA
- Life insurance and disability, including protection if you lose your medical
- Umbrella, home and auto insurance
- Backdoor Roth IRAs and Roth conversions
- Year-end tax planning and tax moves
- Investments and tax-efficient asset location
- College and 529 plans
- Wills, powers of attorney, beneficiaries and guardians
- Retirement income, withdrawals and RMDs
- Social Security and health coverage in retirement
- Retiring at 65, or earlier
Common questions
Common questions answered
- How much of my pay should I be saving?
- Pre-tax or Roth in my airline 401(k)?
- How should my airline 401(k) be invested?
- Should I pay down my flight-training and student loans or invest?
- Is my disability and loss-of-license coverage enough if I lose my medical?
- How much life insurance do we need beyond what the airline provides?
- What should the raise from an upgrade go toward?
- How much cash should we hold in case of a furlough?
- Should we pay off the house or invest?
- How do military retirement pay, the TSP and Guard or Reserve service fit in?
- Can I stop flying before 65, and what would that cost?
- What do we do about health coverage for a younger spouse once I retire?
- When should each of us claim Social Security?
- Do we need a trust, or is a will enough?
- What happens to my family if something happens to me?
Transparent pricing
Transparent pricing for financial planning
Every client starts with an initial plan, included in the planning fee with nothing due upfront. The planning fee follows your seat, so it grows with your career instead of with your portfolio.
- Narrowbody first officer$900a quarter, $3,600 a year
- Widebody first officer or narrowbody captain$1,200a quarter, $4,800 a year
- Widebody captain, age 55 and older, or retired$1,500a quarter, $6,000 a year
- Initial plan
- No separate fee. It is built as part of your quarterly planning fee.
- Investment management
- Optional. 0.25% a year of the assets we manage.
The approach
What is comprehensive financial planning?
Comprehensive.
A review of the whole household: cash flow, debt, taxes, insurance, benefits and long-term goals, not one account at a time.
Financial.
Money is the tool, not the goal. Wealth creates freedom, freedom creates choice, and choice leads to a happier life.
Plan.
A written plan that changes when your career does: an upgrade, a furlough, a change in your medical, retirement. It is a guide that evolves with you, not a product.
No obligation. No sales pressure. Just an honest conversation.
Investment management
Investment management is how the plan gets carried out.
It is optional. If you want us to put your plan in place, we manage your IRAs, Roth IRAs and taxable accounts at Schwab.
Your choice
You stay in control.
Pilots like being in control, and we understand that. Some would rather save the investment management fee and place the trades themselves, but still want a professional to tell them which funds to own and in which accounts. That is why investment management is optional.
We advise, you implement.
Your financial plan spells out which funds to own and which accounts to hold them in. You place the trades and maintain the accounts yourself, and you pay only the planning fee for your seat.
We implement for you.
If you would rather hand it off, we put your plan in place in accounts in your name at Charles Schwab, for a flat 0.25% a year of the assets we manage.
Our investment philosophy
The plan comes first. The portfolio follows.
A plan only works when it’s carried out. With investment management, we put your plan in place: opening and funding your Roth IRAs, building your portfolio from your investment policy statement, rebalancing, tax-loss harvesting, and handling Roth conversions and withdrawals in retirement.
The cash your goals need sets the portfolio.
Your allocation is built from the cash each goal will require and when you will need it. It changes when your life does.
Costs stay low.
Portfolios use low-cost, broadly diversified funds. Every dollar not spent on costs stays invested.
No predictions.
We do not time the market or try to pick the next winner. The portfolio is structured around your goals, not around market forecasts.
Taxes are part of the return.
Tax-efficient asset location, tax-loss harvesting and Roth conversions, used where they fit your plan.
How it works
Your accounts, in your name
- What we manage
- Your IRAs, Roth IRAs and taxable brokerage accounts, and your spouse’s when there is one, each held in your own name.
- Where your money is held
- In accounts in your own name at Charles Schwab, an independent custodian. IFP does not hold client funds or securities.
- Your airline 401(k)
- Your airline 401(k) stays in your airline’s plan while you work there. How to invest it is part of your financial plan, and we advise on it until retirement.
- When you retire or leave
- What to do with your airline 401(k) is a planning decision first and an investment decision second.
The cost
A flat 0.25% a year.
Investment management is optional. If you choose it, the fee is 0.25% a year of the assets we manage, billed quarterly and debited directly from those accounts. Your airline 401(k) stays in your airline’s plan and is not counted.
- Opening and funding your Roth IRAs
- Building your portfolio from your investment policy statement
- Rebalancing
- Tax-loss harvesting
- Handling Roth conversions and withdrawals in retirement
Why fee-only matters
Advice with nothing to sell.
Paid only by clients.
IFP receives no commissions and no product-sales compensation. We are paid by the clients we serve, the way you pay an accountant or an attorney.
A fiduciary standard.
IFP is a fee-only fiduciary registered investment adviser. Every recommendation has to pass the same test: is this what we would advise if you were a member of our own family?
Conflicts, up front.
Moving an old IRA into your airline 401(k) can lower our fee. We recommend it whenever it is right for you, and we work with you to execute every step.
Fees
Published fees, set by your seat.
No upfront fee, then a quarterly planning fee based on where you are in your career. Investment management is optional.
See your cost
Know what IFP costs before the first call.
Your planning fee is set by your seat, so it follows your career and not your account balance. Investment management is optional, at a flat 0.25% a year of the assets we manage. Pick your seat, choose whether you want us to manage your investments, and see your yearly cost next to a typical advisor who charges a percentage of assets.
- $0
- upfront, your initial plan is included
- From $900
- a quarter, set by your seat
- 0.25%
- a year, only if you want us to manage your investments
A plan only works when it’s carried out. With investment management, we put your plan in place: opening and funding your Roth IRAs, building your portfolio from your investment policy statement, rebalancing, tax-loss harvesting, and handling Roth conversions and withdrawals in retirement.
- Ongoing planning fees are billed quarterly in arrears.
- This page describes our fees for new clients. Existing clients stay on their current terms.
- The full description of our fees and services is in our Form ADV.
Your yearly cost, side by side
Assets held constant, for a full year of ongoing planning. Investment management is shown at our flat rate of 0.25% a year, and the full description of our fees is in our Form ADV. Typical figures are from Kitces Research on Advisor Productivity (2024) and are shown for context, not as a quote from any firm. These results are illustrations. Your actual fees are set in your client agreement, and nothing you enter here is stored.
What you get
What the planning fees cover.
- The initial plan: a written plan covering goals and values, net worth, cash flow, debt, insurance, employee benefits, retirement, tax, investments, college and estate planning
- A look-forward meeting each year, quarterly reviews and a year-end tax planning meeting for most clients, on the calendar shown on the Financial planning page, plus a meeting whenever you or we see the need
- A reply to any question within two business days
- Guidance on how to invest your airline 401(k)
- A plan update whenever life changes: a change in aircraft or seat, marriage or divorce, a new child, a new home, an inheritance, the approach of retirement, a medical event or a furlough
Paying your fees
How the fees are paid, and what they do not cover
- Initial plan
- No separate fee. Your initial plan is built as part of your quarterly planning fee.
- Ongoing planning
- A quarterly fee set by your seat, billed quarterly in arrears.
- How you pay
- Fees are paid by electronic funds transfer, card or check.
- Investment management
- Optional. 0.25% a year of the assets we manage, billed quarterly and debited directly from those accounts.
- Fund expenses
- The funds in your accounts have their own expense ratios, paid to the fund company. None of it comes to IFP.
- Custodian charges
- Any transaction or account charges from Charles Schwab are paid to Schwab.
- Other professionals
- Tax preparation and legal documents are done by your CPA and attorney and billed by them. We coordinate with both.
About
I have lived the ups and downs I plan for.
Joe Schmitt, CRPC®, is the founder of IFP, a first officer at a major U.S. airline, a husband and a father of five.
About me
I was hired by an airline in 2001. Then came September 11, and my class never happened. That was my introduction to this career.
In the 25 years since, our industry has been through several recessions, years of career stagnation, mergers, pay cuts, lost pensions, bankruptcies, and most recently, a global pandemic.
Every pilot knows volatility comes with the job. What most pilots do not have is a toolbox to manage it.
Without that toolbox ourselves, my wife and I did what you do when you need help: we sought outside counsel. We met with several investment advisors and immediately hit a wall. We had good incomes but not enough assets to meet the firms’ minimums to become a client. If we came across an advisor who did not have minimums, the advice they offered came wrapped in high-commission products and life insurance policies that we did not need. We simply wanted unbiased advice that was in our best interest.
Because pilots hope to spend a whole career at one airline, most of what we save sits in the airline 401(k), where an advisor cannot charge a fee. To much of the industry, a pilot is not worth serving until that money rolls out of the 401(k) at retirement, long after advice could have done the most good.
We found that unacceptable. Sound, objective advice early in a career can change the course of a family’s life, and pilots should not have to wait for it. When the COVID-19 pandemic grounded the world, it gave me something rare in our profession: time. I used it to complete my professional financial education and to build a financial planning firm from the ground up, designed to serve airline pilots the way we believe they should be served. In May 2022, I founded IFP to offer fee-only advice from day one, with no commissions, no products to sell and no need to wait until you have a sizeable nest egg.
You spend your entire career looking after the safety of everyone on board your aircraft. When it comes to your family’s finances, you are still the captain, but you could likely use a second set of eyes, just as you have on the flight deck. I would be honored to be that second set of eyes: your first officer for your family’s finances, sitting beside you and helping guide your family through whatever turbulence this career brings.
Founder, IFP
The meaning behind our name
Inclines were built to lift hard-working families.
When Pittsburgh’s first passenger inclines, the Monongahela and the Duquesne, opened in the 1870s, their riders were immigrant mill workers. After a grueling shift in the smoke-filled river valley, these workers would board the incline to ride up to their homes on Mount Washington. At the top, the air was clean, the skies were clear, and the entire city finally came into view.
We look at our clients the same way. The pilots we serve work hard, and many are the first or second generation in their families to build real, lasting wealth. The heavy lifting is all yours: the years of training, the long hours, and the sacrifices at work and at home.
Our job at IFP is to be that lift for you and your family. We are here to take the income you work so hard to earn and elevate it, transporting you from the limited visibility of everyday financial stress up to clear skies. We want to lift your family to a place of greater clarity, where your money is aligned with what matters most, giving you more freedom and security to live your best life.
Our philosophy
Wealth is the tool, not the goal.
Wealth creates freedom, freedom creates choice, and choice leads to a happier life. Everything we do helps you say yes to what matters most and no to what does not.
Debt stands between you and freedom.
Flight-training loans, student loans, car loans and credit cards make every other goal harder, and they leave a family exposed if income is ever interrupted. In this career, that can happen to anyone. We help you pay them off and stay out of them, because owing nothing is the best safety net a family can have.
Order beats cleverness.
A plan works only when it is followed. We take your goals one step at a time, in a deliberate order, and we do not skip steps because a client earns a lot. Coaching and accountability to keep going are a large part of what the planning fee pays for.
Our principles
What guides our work
Fee-only and fiduciary.
IFP receives no commissions and no product-sales compensation, and is paid by its clients. Every recommendation has to pass the same test: is this what we would advise if you were a member of our own family?
Published fees.
Every fee is on our Fees page: a quarterly planning fee set by your seat, with no upfront fee for your initial plan. You know the cost before the first call.
Long-term relationships.
We work with each client as an ongoing relationship, not a one-time engagement. The first year builds the foundation. The years after are when the plan compounds.
Direct access.
You work directly with your advisor, by phone, email and in scheduled meetings, and we reply to any question within two business days.
The firm
The facts
- Registration
- Pennsylvania state-registered investment adviser
- Compensation
- Fee-only. No commissions, no product sales.
- Custodian
- Charles Schwab, an independent custodian
- Credential
- Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC®)
- Location
- Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Serving airline pilots and their families across the United States, in states where IFP is registered or exempt from registration.
Questions
Questions pilots ask first
Short answers. The longer ones happen on a call.
Working together
Do you work only with airline pilots?
No. IFP knows airline pilots and their families’ situations well, but we also work with professionals in other careers.
Does it matter which airline I fly for?
No. Contracts differ slightly in details, but the benefits and the planning questions pilots face are much the same from one airline to the next.
Can I start as a new hire?
Yes. Your plan can start on day one, so the first years of your career are not wasted. There is no upfront fee, and you pay the quarterly planning fee for your seat.
Is there a minimum to get started?
No. There is no minimum amount of assets. Your planning fees are set by your seat, not by the size of your accounts, and investment management is optional.
What does ongoing planning look like?
You start with an initial plan. After that, ongoing planning continues for as long as you are a client: a look-forward meeting early in the year, quarterly reviews, and a year-end tax planning meeting for most clients. We are always happy to set up a meeting at any other time, whether you would like one or we see the need, and we reply to any question within two business days. The calendar is on the Financial planning page.
Do you work with pilots who are late in their careers or retired?
Yes. IFP works with pilots at every stage: new hires and first officers getting advice early, captains in mid-career with growing households, and pilots approaching or in retirement who are moving from saving to spending.
Who will I work with?
Joe Schmitt, CRPC®, IFP’s founder, is your advisor. You work with him directly, by phone, email and in scheduled meetings, and we reply to any question within two business days.
What happens on the first call?
The introductory call takes 30 minutes. We talk about your situation, what you are trying to build, and whether IFP is the right fit. There is no charge and no pressure. If we are not the right fit, we will do our best to point you toward someone who is.
Does my spouse need to be involved?
We view you and your spouse as a team. Keeping your spouse in the loop on the family’s finances is essential.
Do you work with single pilots?
Yes. IFP works with single pilots as well as couples and families. The plan is built around your household, whether that is just you or you and a spouse. When there is a spouse or partner, we plan with both of you whenever possible.
Where are you located?
IFP is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and works with airline pilots across the United States by phone, email and scheduled meetings, in states where it is registered or exempt from registration.
Fees
What does it cost?
There is no upfront fee: your initial plan is built as part of your planning fee. Ongoing planning is a quarterly fee set by your seat: $900 for a narrowbody first officer, $1,200 for a widebody first officer or narrowbody captain, and $1,500 for a widebody captain, pilots 55 and older, and retirees. Investment management is optional, at 0.25% a year of the assets we manage.
What if I am a new hire?
You pay the quarterly planning fee for your seat from the start, with no upfront fee, and your plan is built in your first year.
How do I pay?
Fees are paid by electronic funds transfer, card or check. Ongoing planning fees are billed quarterly in arrears. Investment management fees are billed quarterly and debited directly from the accounts we manage.
Do existing clients pay these fees?
No. Existing clients stay on their current terms. The Fees page describes our fees for new clients.
Do you earn commissions or sell insurance?
No. IFP is fee-only. IFP receives no commissions and no product-sales compensation, and is paid by its clients.
Are you a fiduciary?
Yes. IFP is a fee-only fiduciary registered investment adviser.
Investments
Is investment management optional?
Yes. Planning is the core of what we do, and investment management is how we put your plan in place: opening and funding your Roth IRAs, building your portfolio from your investment policy statement, rebalancing, tax-loss harvesting, and handling Roth conversions and withdrawals in retirement.
What does investment management cost?
It is optional, and it is a flat 0.25% a year of the assets we manage, billed quarterly and debited directly from those accounts. Your planning fees are separate and are set by your seat.
Does my airline 401(k) count toward the assets you manage?
No. Investment management applies to the accounts we manage for you: your IRAs, Roth IRAs and taxable brokerage accounts. Your airline 401(k) stays in your airline’s plan, and we advise on how to invest it as part of your plan.
What if I roll an old IRA into my 401(k)?
A roll-in moves money out of the accounts we manage, so it can lower our investment management fee. We recommend it whenever it is right for you, and often it is, because it can clear the way for a clean backdoor Roth IRA. That is a conflict for any advisor paid on the assets they manage, so we tell you about it up front.
Where is my money held?
In accounts in your own name at Charles Schwab, an independent custodian. IFP does not hold client funds or securities.
How are the portfolios built?
Around your plan, not a generic risk tolerance questionnaire. We map the cash your goals will need and when, and that sets your asset allocation. Portfolios use low-cost, broadly diversified funds and are managed with taxes in mind and without market predictions.
I only want my investments managed. Why plan first?
Because the plan decides how the money should be invested. Without it, a portfolio is a guess about what you need.
Contact
Start with a 30-minute introductory call
If you would like to talk, the easiest path is a 30-minute introductory call. There is no charge for the conversation and no pressure to engage. We will talk about your situation, what you are trying to build, and whether IFP is the right fit. If it is not, we will do our best to point you toward someone better suited.
Joe Schmitt, CRPC®
Incline Financial Planning
joe@inclinefp.com 724-462-4191
Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Serving airline pilots and their families across the United States.