Coordinate your Mayo benefits within a comprehensive financial plan.
See how your pension, 403(b), 457, cash flow, and taxes fit around your retirement date.
30 minutes. No documents required. No cost or obligation.
Fortress Financial Group is an independent registered investment adviser and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Mayo Clinic. References to Mayo Clinic are solely to identify a group of employees the firm serves.
Firm data and Google review count as of July 2026. Google is not affiliated with Fortress Financial Group. Reviews reflect individual experiences and may not be representative of every client’s experience, and do not guarantee future results.
Begin with the information you already have.
Nothing is required for the introductory call. If we move ahead to a Discovery meeting, these materials give us a useful starting point.
Pension estimate and plan materials
The elections available to you, survivor provisions, applicable deadlines, and the current Summary Plan Description.
403(b) and 457 statements
Current balances, investments, contribution information, and distribution provisions that may affect the decision.
Social Security estimate
Your current benefit estimate and the household information relevant to comparing possible start dates.
Tax return, spending, and outside accounts
The rest of the household matters because the Mayo benefits do not operate in isolation.
Your Mayo decisions are connected.
A pension election may affect Social Security timing and cash flow. A 457 distribution may affect taxable income. We plan these decisions together, not one at a time.
Bring your Mayo questions. Straight answers, no sales pitch, no obligation.
Schedule a Free 30-Minute CallStart from your documents, then put the decisions in order.
Introductory call
A 30-minute conversation about your expected retirement timing, the Mayo decisions you are considering, and whether we are the right firm for it.
Discovery
We review current benefit documents and the rest of the household financial picture.
Decision plan
We compare the available alternatives, explain the assumptions and tradeoffs, and organize the sequence of decisions.
Implementation and review
We coordinate the advisory work within our scope and revisit the plan as benefits, tax rules, markets, or your life change.
Independent advice, with clear professional roles.
Fortress provides investment advisory and financial-planning services and is not affiliated with Mayo Clinic. We do not prepare tax returns, draft legal documents, or sell Medicare policies. When a decision requires tax, legal, insurance, or Medicare advice, we coordinate with the appropriate professional.
Use the current plan materials, not a generic rule.
What does working with Fortress cost?
Fortress is fee-only. Our advisory fee is a percentage of the assets we manage, ranging from 0.45% to 1.25% per year depending on the size and complexity of the household. There are no commissions, no product sales, and no hourly surprises. Your exact fee is quoted in writing before you decide to engage, and the full schedule is in our Form ADV, linked in the footer of every page.
Why an asset-based fee instead of a flat fee?
Because the work is ongoing, not transactional. One fee covers planning, investment management, coordination with your CPA and attorney, and the service between meetings, and it scales with the responsibility we take on rather than with how often you call. It also keeps the relationship simple: no meters running, no invoices for questions. If a different arrangement fits a situation better, we will say so before you engage.
Should I take the pension as a lump sum or monthly income?
There is no standard answer. We compare the elections available to you using current plan materials and household assumptions, including survivor needs, liquidity, other income, taxes, interest rates, and longevity. The analysis explains tradeoffs; it does not guarantee which election will produce a better result.
Should I roll over my Mayo 403(b)?
Not automatically. Before recommending a rollover, we compare relevant costs, investments, services, distribution rules, creditor protections, and the role the account plays in the household plan.
How should the 457 be handled?
Mayo is a nonprofit, which makes its 457(b) a non-governmental plan, and that changes the rules: balances cannot be rolled into an IRA, and the distribution elections around separation are narrow and often irreversible. Sequencing this account wrong is one of the more expensive mistakes we see, so we plan its timing alongside the pension, 403(b), and Social Security rather than in isolation.
Can a Roth conversion affect Medicare premiums?
It can. Modified adjusted gross income may affect IRMAA using a lookback period. We can model possible financial effects, while your tax professional provides tax advice based on current law and your return.
When should I claim Social Security?
We compare claiming ages using expected income needs, spousal considerations, longevity assumptions, taxes, and the timing of pension and portfolio withdrawals.
Do I need to live in Rochester?
No. Fortress works with clients in person and remotely, subject to applicable registration requirements.
Guides for Mayo employees.
Written by Fortress on common Mayo retirement decisions.
Mayo Clinic Pension: A Simple Guide (2026)
Read the articleMayo 403(b): A Simple Guide (2026)
Read the articleFAQs About Retiring From Mayo
Read the articleMayo Pension Payment Options
Read the articleThe advisors who will sit across from you.
Your introductory call is with a Fortress advisor, not a call center. You will work with a lead advisor supported by the full 11-person team.
Cody SchaeferCFP®, RICP®
Jack ZinserCFP®
Aidan RyanCFP®Bring the Mayo decisions into one conversation.
You do not need to prepare documents for the first call. Start with the retirement date, pension choice, account decision, or healthcare question taking the most attention.
Prefer to start by phone? (507) 529-1400
Fortress Financial Group is not affiliated with or endorsed by Mayo Clinic. When providing investment advisory services, Fortress acts as a fiduciary. This page is general educational information and not individualized investment, tax, legal, Medicare, or insurance advice. Benefit provisions and applicable law can change; current plan materials control.