How a 60-Year-Old Plaintiff Attorney Creates Tax-Free Retirement Income with Attorney feeSaver™
This case example is for illustrative purposes only. Actual results vary based on each attorney’s age, health, income, firm structure, funding strategy, tax assumptions, and plan design.
Meet Greg: A 60-Year-Old Plaintiff Attorney
Greg is a 60-year-old plaintiff attorney in good health with plans to keep working, but not forever.
After years of building a successful practice and earning substantial contingency fees, Greg is focused on making his remaining high-income years count. He wants to reduce current tax exposure, create future retirement income, and preserve more wealth for his family or business succession planning.
Greg is not looking for a strategy that only delays taxes. He wants a more comprehensive approach that helps turn today’s legal fees into future tax-free income while also providing meaningful death benefit protection.
Attorney feeSaver™ Outcome
With Attorney feeSaver™, Greg defers an average of $200,000 per year for 10 years, for a total of $2 million in deferred fees. He plans to begin receiving lifetime income at age 70, giving the strategy 10 years from the start of the program before income begins.
Using Attorney feeSaver™, Greg receives:
That’s a total of $7,676,658 in after-tax benefits
For Greg, Attorney feeSaver™ helps create a more tax-efficient retirement income strategy during a shorter planning window. Even though he is closer to retirement than a younger attorney, he can still use high-income years to create future tax-free income and preserve a meaningful benefit for his loved ones.
Comparing Traditional Tax Planning Options
Option 1: Taking the Fees as a Lump Sum
If Greg takes the fees as a lump sum, pays taxes, and invests what remains, the immediate tax cost significantly reduces the amount available for future income.
In this example, the lump sum approach produces:
This approach gives Greg immediate access to the money, but it also creates a significant tax burden. For an attorney approaching retirement, that tax drag can reduce the amount available to support long-term income needs.
Option 2: Structured Settlement Annuity
A structured settlement annuity can help defer taxes and provide a predictable future income stream. However, it generally defers taxes rather than eliminating them.
In this example, the structured settlement annuity approach produces:
This strategy improves the income result compared to taking a lump sum, but Greg’s future distributions are still taxable. Once payout schedules are established, there may also be limited flexibility.
Option 3: Deferred Compensation Plan
A deferred compensation plan with market-based performance may offer additional growth potential compared to a fixed-rate annuity. However, future distributions are still generally taxed as ordinary income.
In this example, the deferred compensation approach produces:
This option may generate more after-tax income than the lump sum or fixed-rate deferral approach, but the tax issue remains. Greg still owes taxes when income is received, and future tax rates could affect his actual net income.
The Attorney feeSaver™ Difference
Attorney feeSaver™ changes the comparison in two major ways: it is designed to create tax-free retirement income and provide a tax-free death benefit for Greg’s family.
Annual Tax-Free Income
With Attorney feeSaver™, Greg receives $272,041 per year in tax-free income beginning at age 70 and continuing through age 90 — effectively for the rest of his life based on this case example.
That compares to
This is the core income difference. Traditional strategies may help Greg defer taxes or invest after-tax dollars, but his future income is still reduced by taxation. Attorney feeSaver™ is designed to help him create a larger annual income stream without future income taxes reducing each payment.
Tax-Free Death Benefit for Family Protection
Attorney feeSaver™ also provides Greg with a projected $2,235,838 tax-free death benefit, assuming death at age 90.
That death benefit is an important distinction from the traditional strategies shown in this comparison. The lump sum, structured settlement annuity, and deferred compensation approaches focus primarily on income or investment value. Attorney feeSaver™ adds a family protection and legacy planning component, helping Greg use his legal fees not only to create income during life, but also to provide a substantial tax-free benefit for loved ones or business succession planning.
When Greg’s projected $5,440,820 in tax-free lifetime income is combined with the projected $2,235,838 tax-free death benefit, Attorney feeSaver™ produces $7,676,658 in total after-tax benefits.
Why Attorney feeSaver™ Is Valuable for Attorneys in Their 60s
For attorneys in their 60s, the planning window is shorter, which makes tax efficiency especially important.
Traditional fee deferral strategies may still help reduce immediate taxable income, but future distributions are generally taxed as ordinary income. For an attorney approaching retirement, that can create uncertainty around future net income, especially if tax rates change.
Attorney feeSaver™ is designed to go further by combining attorney fee deferral with executive benefit planning. For Greg, the strategy helps convert remaining high-income years into future tax-free income while preserving a meaningful death benefit.
For a 60-year-old attorney, the opportunity is not just about deferring taxes. It is about creating greater retirement income efficiency, reducing long-term tax exposure, and protecting value for family or business planning.
Could Attorney feeSaver™ Work for You?
This case example shows what may be possible for a 60-year-old plaintiff attorney with substantial income, the right ownership structure, good health, and a clear retirement income goal.
Every attorney’s situation is different. Your actual projection will depend on your age, income, health, firm structure, fee timing, funding strategy, tax assumptions, and planning goals.
To see what Attorney feeSaver™ could look like for your situation, schedule a consultation.
Disclaimer
This case study is a hypothetical example provided for illustrative purposes only. Greg is not a real attorney, and the figures shown do not represent the results of any individual attorney or law firm. Projections are based on assumptions regarding age, health, funding, plan design, tax treatment, income timing, and other factors. Actual results may be higher or lower and will vary based on each attorney’s specific facts and circumstances. Attorney feeSaver™ does not provide legal, tax, investment, or accounting advice. Attorneys should consult their own tax, legal, financial, and insurance advisors before implementing any planning strategy.