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Larry Pershing, CFP®, RMA®

Flat fee financial advisor helping people retire and stay retired.

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Optimum Retirement Planning Larry Pershing, CFP®, RMA®
Lake Forest, IL

Serving Clients Nationwide

Flat fee financial advisor helping people retire and stay retired.

10 Certified Advisor Reviews™
Rate this Advisor

(847) 497-5935

Website

Areas of Focus

  • Estate Planning
  • Financial Life Planning
  • Investment Management
  • Retirement Planning
  • Taxes

About Me

Hi, I’m Larry Pershing, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and founder and CEO of Optimum Retirement Planning. I focus on helping people age 50 and better with their retirement planning needs.

Having worked in various wealth management firms in my career, I was surprised to discover many firms try to service everyone, which leads them to being average for all. Some are more concerned with amassing client assets than providing customized recommendations.

I started Optimum Retirement Planning™ because I saw a need for specialists to help clients navigate the complex and challenging financial aspects of retirement. Our offering is different. We don’t work with everyone. We specialize in helping those who are close to and in retirement. We apply the latest financial research for retirement to help answer your complex financial questions. Click here to check out our 3,000+ person strong Facebook group where I share educational content about retirement planning.

When I’m not in the office, I’m on a tennis court, reading a book (finance or science fiction), or spending time with family and friends. I also volunteer for AARP sponsored events that help seniors receive complimentary financial advice. While I live in Chicago, I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I return often, especially during winter. You can take the guy out of California, but you can’t take the California out of the guy!

Professional Designations

  • CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional
  • Retirement Management Advisor (RMA)

Affiliations

  • Fee Only Network
  • National Association of Personal Financial Advisors
  • XY Planning Network

Primary Location

100 S. Saunders Road Suite 150

Additional Locations

📍 3333 Warrenville Road Suite 200

📍 1600 Golf Rd Suite 1200

Video

Meeting Options

  • Video Conference
  • In-Person
  • Phone
Book Intro Call

Compensation Methods

  • Fee Only
  • Flat Fee
  • One-time Financial Plan

What to expect in the first meeting

Click the 'Book Intro Call' button above to schedule a free introductory call to discuss your financial goals and concerns. I look forward to speaking with you.

Offers Investment Management

Yes

About our Firm

Optimum Retirement Planning exists to help those close to and in retirement navigate the complex and challenging financial aspects of retirement. We apply the latest financial research in retirement planning to help answer your complex financial questions. We act as fiduciaries 100% of the time, and are fee-only, meaning we receive no commissions from financial products recommended.

Why Optimum Retirement Planning

✔️ Retirement Planning Specialist

Most advisors are generalists without the expertise to steer you through complex choices and decisions needed to build a smart retirement plan. We specialize and study the needs, wants, and expectations of those close to and in retirement.

✔️ Fiduciary and No Commissions (Fee-Only)

Everyone deserves to have an advisor that acts in their best interest, and to know exactly how their advisor is compensated. That's why we don't take any commissions from products we recommend. We act as your fiduciary 100% of the time, which means we are legally obligated to give you the best advice possible at all times.

✔️ Flat Fee Financial Advisor

Optimum Retirement Planning is a flat fee financial advisor in Chicago. We charge a FLAT fee for retirement planning and investment management. We do NOT charge a percentage of assets. You should be charged based on services you need, not how wealthy you are.

✔️ Independent

Does the Toyota dealer ever recommend you buy a Honda? Of course not, because they are employed by Toyota. The same conflicts of interest exist with financial advisors affiliated with the company that makes the products they sell. ORP is not affiliated with any bank, brokerage, or insurance company. This allows us to give our best advice without restriction or pressure to make certain recommendations.

✔️ Proactive Service

We bring wealth-enhancing opportunities to your attention. Every year, our proactive service model tackles the key concerns retirees have: retirement planning, tax savings, investment management, in addition to a rotating topic based on your wants and needs. Of course, I'm available throughout the year to guide you through any questions that come up.

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Retirement is the biggest financial decision of your life. Managing all the moving pieces of a retirement income plan requires skills and training that the average financial planner doesn’t have. Get guidance from a specialist, not a generalist.

Education

Indiana University Bloomington, Bachelor’s Degree, Economics

Badges

Hobbies and Interests

  • Family
  • Reading
  • Tennis
  • Volunteering

SEC Lookup

View Disclosure

Who We Serve

  • Baby Boomers
  • Corporate Executives
  • Living in Retirement
  • Single Women
  • Widow

To make Wealthtender free for readers, we earn a nominal monthly fee from financial advisors and firms in exchange for marketing services (including being featured on this profile page), subject to terms of use. This compensation creates a natural conflict of interest when we favor their promotion over others. Wealthtender is not a client of these advisors or firms. Testimonials may not be representative of other clients’ experiences and do not guarantee future performance or success.

Write a Review


By clicking submit, you acknowledge this review is based on your own experience and reflects your genuine opinion. You also agree to our review policy, privacy policy, and terms and conditions, and give this financial advisor permission to publicly display your review on their website.

Top Notch Advisor

✅ Wealthtender Certified Advisor Review™
Apr 29, 2024
Larry at Optimum has been our financial advisor and retirement planner for almost two years now, and our decision to use his services turned out to be one of the best financial decisions we've ever made. I'm pretty savvy about the market, mutual funds, and investment in general, and for most of my life I've told myself that there was no need for a financial advisor- just put it all in a no-load, stock market tracking mutual fund. Simple, right? Well, it wasn't until we were faced with an important decision that we decided to look for an advisor. Larry not only guided us expertly through that decision, but he has been instrumental in several key decisions and actions since then that I would not have even seen. Larry and Optimum have always been there for us, and have always been thorough, insightful, fair, and fun to work with. We are very happy that we were fortunate enough to have found him.
Relationship to Financial Advisor: Current Client
Compensation: This reviewer received no compensation for this review.
Conflicts of Interest: There are no material conflicts of interest.
Avatar for Mark Lavine
Mark Lavine

Best financial decision we have made so far in retirement

✅ Wealthtender Certified Advisor Review™
Apr 29, 2024
I am a fifty nine year old married CPA who retired last year after 30+ years working in risk management at an international bank. Larry has helped my wife and I navigate this transition with the utmost expertise and professionalism. Coming from the financial services industry, we had been customers of my former bank’s private banking retirement services for many years. After interviewing several planners, I was very impressed with the insight that Larry provided on investment strategies, tax planning, and income withdrawal. He expertly walked both me and my wife (who is a preschool teacher) through the details and answered all our questions. He spoke to both of us equally and patiently navigated our many questions. I only wish we had been able to meet with him earlier in our journey. It is a pleasure to work with an advisor who is knowledgeable in so many preretirement and post retirement planning strategies. At the same time, he never hesitates to say he needs to get back to you, if necessary, on a technical question or provide a sounding board for different ideas.
Relationship to Financial Advisor: Current Client
Compensation: This reviewer received no compensation for this review.
Conflicts of Interest: There are no material conflicts of interest.
Avatar for Monica Grobler
Monica Grobler

I highly recommend Optimum Retirement Planning

✅ Wealthtender Certified Advisor Review™
Mar 25, 2024
I have been a client of Larry Pershing and Optimum Retirement Planning (ORP) for several years. I have worked with other financial advisor firms, and I find ORP to be different in many ways: highly personalized service, excellent investor advice based on my needs, and complete transparency on all transactions. Most importantly, ORP produces results! ORP's performance is a significant differentiator compared to other firms. I can't endorse Larry Pershing and ORP enough. Gregg Crawford
Relationship to Financial Advisor: Current Client
Compensation: This reviewer received no compensation for this review.
Conflicts of Interest: There are no material conflicts of interest.
Avatar for Gregg Crawford
Gregg Crawford

5 Stars

✅ Wealthtender Certified Advisor Review™
Mar 23, 2024
I reached out to Larry upon a friend's recommendation. I'm in a different stage from my friend who is now retired while I still have a few more decades to go. I needed some guidance and a gut check on if I'm on the right track for retirement savings. Larry helped me with asset allocations, ETF selections, general investment strategy, and what-if scenario analyses. What I appreciate about Larry is the following: -He's actually intently listening and trying to get to the root of what his clients want out of their retirement. And if they don't know, he presses hard because he's trying to get them on the right path for retirement planning. -There's ZERO sales pitch and ZERO pressure. After the initial meet and greet, there is no pressure to sign up for his services. Also, he doesn't try to up-sell or get you to buy an investment product. - There's no judgement on if you've saved enough or not enough. He's there to help problem solve. I feel more confident now about my investment strategy and the changes I made with Larry's input. Working with Larry means having a financial partner who has your best interest as the priority.
Relationship to Financial Advisor: Current Client
Compensation: This reviewer received no compensation for this review.
Conflicts of Interest: There are no material conflicts of interest.
Avatar for S Kwon
S Kwon

5 Stars

✅ Wealthtender Certified Advisor Review™
Mar 21, 2024
Almost one year ago I started looking for a new portfolio manager, due to non communication from my previous one. After interviewing 3 firms, I found Larry Pershing at Optimum Retirement Planning giving an on-line lecture for Roth Conversions, which is exactly what I had been wanting to do! I did my due diligence and I have found that Larry has fresh ideas and suggestions. Our on line meetings are never rushed by any means, he answers ALL my questions. I feel very confident and sleep well at night knowing Larry has his thumb on the pulse of the market and where I am at in MY life.....which is now retired and backpacking the world. Also, I can have Facetime or Zoom meetings .... anytime or anyplace that I am!!! Not to mention my portfolio has done VERY well......
Relationship to Financial Advisor: Current Client
Compensation: This reviewer received no compensation for this review.
Conflicts of Interest: There are no material conflicts of interest.
Avatar for Carrie Lamkin Quilici
Carrie Lamkin Quilici

5 Stars

✅ Wealthtender Certified Advisor Review™
Mar 20, 2024
As a woman business owner, I was immediately impressed with Larry's depth of knowledge of retirement and tax challenges faced by myself and other women. He is willing to spend considerable time listening and asking questions -- not just telling me what to do. This is in contrast to some money managers in my past. Together, we have developed a retirement roadmap which makes sense. I highly recommend Optimum Retirement Planning if you seek a retirement partner who will listen to you.
Relationship to Financial Advisor: Current Client
Compensation: This reviewer received no compensation for this review.
Conflicts of Interest: There are no material conflicts of interest.
Avatar for Paula Kappes
Paula Kappes

Good Experience!

✅ Wealthtender Certified Advisor Review™
Mar 20, 2024
We have been officially working with Larry since November, 2023. We appreciate the flat fee based service. Larry is more focused on advising us than selling products, which we really appreciate. Larry strives to understand our goals and help us stay on track to meet them. We are looking forward to continue working with Larry thru future financial decisions.
Relationship to Financial Advisor: Current Client
Compensation: This reviewer received no compensation for this review.
Conflicts of Interest: There are no material conflicts of interest.
Avatar for Valerie
Valerie

5 Stars

✅ Wealthtender Certified Advisor Review™
Mar 19, 2024
Larry was very helpful in my retirement planning. He spent many hours with me going over various plans and strategies to help ensure my retirement would be in strong financial shape. I would highly recommend him.
Relationship to Financial Advisor: Current Client
Compensation: This reviewer received no compensation for this review.
Conflicts of Interest: There are no material conflicts of interest.
Avatar for Steven Convery
Steven Convery

5 Stars

✅ Wealthtender Certified Advisor Review™
Mar 18, 2024
Larry has done excellent job with managing our portfolio, advising us maximizing our retirement account contributions and reducing costs and fees We have great trust in his advise and guidance
Relationship to Financial Advisor: Current Client
Compensation: This reviewer received no compensation for this review.
Conflicts of Interest: There are no material conflicts of interest.
Avatar for Randall Rich
Randall Rich

5 Stars

✅ Wealthtender Certified Advisor Review™
Mar 18, 2024
Though I have had several FA in the past, I have been very pleased with Larry. He doesn't provide cookie cutter financial advice as everyone's situation is different. He has no products to sell. I came to Larry with a substantial nest egg and he is helping me to minimize my taxes further into retirement. He is very patient and explains in depth, so I can understand the plan. If I think of a question or situation he is very reachable by phone or email. No sales, no pressure, very knowledgeable and patient. This is the first time I have felt comfortable with a FA. Highly recommend Larry!
Relationship to Financial Advisor: Current Client
Compensation: This reviewer received no compensation for this review.
Conflicts of Interest: There are no material conflicts of interest.
Avatar for Lisa Goodwine
Lisa Goodwine
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