facebook twitter instagram linkedin google youtube vimeo tumblr yelp rss email podcast phone blog external search brokercheck brokercheck Play Pause

Retirement Planning for Railroaders Over Age 50

Simplify Your Hard Earned Railroad Retirement


Start Boarding for Railroad Retirement®

Who We Serve?

We are Railroad Retirement planning experts and do our best work with:


Aged 50+

$300K+

Expert Guidance

Current and former railroaders over age 50 who are retired or want to make "work optional" in the next 5 years.Diligent savers who have accumulated investments of $300k or more. (Excluding real estate.)People who value hiring an expert because they know their Railroad Retirement is too important to manage it alone.


As a railroader or ex-railroader – you know your benefits are complex.

You can find lots of information about financial planning. But railroaders have a unique financial planning considerations that generic financial planning firms don't care to address.

It is rare to find a financial professional who really knows the ins and outs of railroad retirement. Rarer still to find one who actually does comprehensive financial planning and investment management.

But Highball Advisors is unique. We assist current and ex-railroad professionals who have worked hard and sacrificed, allowing them to accumulate enough wealth to retire. We help you plan for and transition into retirement. We are a comprehensive fee-only financial planning and investment management office. 

 We respect the hard work and sacrifices that you have made throughout your career. Now let us help you maximize your hard earned Railroad Retirement.

Start Boarding for Railroad Retirement®

Boarding for Railroad Retirement® 

A simple 3-step process showing how you can improve retirement success + lower your tax bill.

Our goal for this process is to demonstrate, in plain English, how we can serve you in helping you make the most out of your life with the wealth you have and how we bring simplicity, clarity, and confidence to an otherwise confusing, complicated, and intimidating subject: money.

For people who are potentially a good fit for Highball Advisors, there is no cost or obligation for this process as we want you to know exactly how we can help you before you pay us a single dollar in fees or trust us with a penny of your nest egg.

Step 1 - Tell Me About Yourself
Step 2 - What's Your "Why"
Step 3 - Our Analysis

Think About It!

At the end of this process, we will simply ask you to think about it. We are looking for long-term relationships, not a quick transaction. If you decide that we aren’t a good fit, we will happily help you find another professional with the right expertise. There is never a hard-sell or pressure to say "yes."


Start Boarding for Railroad Retirement®


Working With Highball Advisors

Comprehensive Financial Planning and Investment Management

We will partner collaboratively to develop your comprehensive financial plan. As changes happen in your life and they will happen, we adapt your strategy so it still makes sense for you. We are committed to seeing you achieve everything you have worked so hard for.


Investment Management

Our investment portfolios are carefully designed to help individuals manage their risk, improve returns, and create a reliable income stream.

Railroad Retirement Planning

By understanding all of your retirement income streams, our retirement planning services help you reach your goals without the risk of running out of money.

Estate Planning

We will help manage personal affairs while you're alive and control the eventual efficient distribution of your wealth. 

Cash Flow Management

We help turn your nest egg into a reliable income stream by:

  • Keeping your taxes low
  • Reduce costs
  • Maximize investment return
  • Match portfolio risk
  • Preserve your savings
Access to Railroad Retirement Specialist

You will have a Railroad Retirement expert in your corner making sure your years in the Railroad was time well spent.

Railroad Retirement/Social Security Timing

As a Railroad Retirement planning specialists, we help you determine the best time to collect Railroad Retirement/Social Security.

Tax Planning

Without careful planning, it’s very possible to have a higher tax bill in retirement than as a working professional. Our tax planning services aim to help keep taxes low today and in retirement.

Insurance and Risk Management

Our insurance planning helps you maximize your protection and lower your annual costs. And, as a commission-free financial planning firm, we get paid exactly $0 when we help you buy an insurance policy.

Scheduled Meetings

We will meet at a minimum twice annually after the initial onboarding process is completed.

Comprehensive Financial Planning

As a Comprehensive planner, we will assist with College Planning, Stock Compensation, Healthcare Planning, Pension Analysis, Medicare and more...

Annual Fee

1% of Assets Under Management up to $1m

0.5% of Assets Under Management over $1m

Assets Under Management are funds held at TD Ameritrade and managed by Highball Advisors. Not 401ks or other non-TD Ameritrade accounts.

Minimum Investment is $300,000

Start Boarding for Railroad Retirement®

About

"In the end, it's not the years in your life that counts. It's the life in your years." ...Abraham Lincoln


John McNamara, CRPC® Photo

John McNamara, CRPC®

Prior to starting Highball Advisors, I owned a commodity trading and brokerage company in New York, Chicago, and Dublin. Fear, greed, and pride were some of the daily working conditions in the financial markets. I enjoyed my twenty plus years in the trading “pits” and came away with some great life lessons. Regrettably, computers and automation would descend upon the financial industry and with that the trading “pits” would vanish. Progress eventually catches up with most industries. You either adapt or go away. I adapted by starting my own internet trading exchange in Dublin, Ireland called Intrade. Government regulation would eventually shutter the business after ten years.

Leveraging my years of experience in the financial markets and business, I wound up working for a large national broker-dealer in Greenville,SC. However, it didn’t take me long to realize that individuals need a partner to offer impartial financial advice and not a salesman. There is no doubt people need help. Study after study has demonstrated that. But people don’t want to be “sold” unnecessary investments. So I opened up my fee-only advisory firm, Highball Advisors, to provide unbiased guidance to railroad professionals. It was important to me that I only received compensation from my clients and not paid commissions by investment houses and insurance companies hence fee-only.

I currently reside in Greenville, SC with my wife Becky, our dog Phoebe, and two very cranky cats. Becky and I raised four daughters who have left the nest. My interests that I enjoy – golf, hiking, college football, and most of all traveling to see my girls in New York. Becky and I lead the Feed the Hungry Ministry at St. Mary’s Magdalene Church, which serves meals to the homeless in Greenville area. We both find it rewarding and helps us put things in perspective.

To sum it all up, I have been extremely blessed throughout my life. From family to career, I don’t have anything to complain about. Not that anyone is listening. The most satisfaction I receive however is from service to others. While Highball Advisors is a business, it is partnering together and achieving goals that is so rewarding to the bottom line.

I am a registered investment advisor (RIA) and hold a Series 7 and 66 license. I am also a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC®).

Start Boarding for Railroad Retirement®




The Highball Advisors Learning Depot is here to assist railroaders with their retirement planning challenges.

Learn the in and outs of Railroad Retirement, Financial Planning, Investing, etc.. Enjoy!

Loading Posts...

View All

Have Highball Advisors speak to your railroaders...

John McNamara, CRPC® of Highball Advisors is a leading industry voice in all things related to railroad retirement. Have John come speak to your group. Let him educate and guide your audience on their hard earned railroad retirement.

Suggested Topics for the Audience:

  • How to Grow Your Wealth with Railroad Retirement
  • Basics of Railroad Retirement system
  • Coupling your Railroad Retirement with your 401k
  • How to Protect you Hard Earned Railroad Retirement
  • Many More..

Cost:

  • 1/2 Day (3 hours) is $2,000*
  • Full Day (6 hours) is $4,000*
  • 1 Hour Virtual is $1,000

*exclusive of travel, lodging, food, etc...

There is limited availability for this service. If interested, please email rebecca@highballadvisors.com or call 864-438-0303 for more information. All engagements must be booked 45 days in advance.

Send Us a Message and See If You Are On Track!

Not everyone is right for our firm. We are very selective of the people we choose to bring on as clients, because we have a long-term planning relationship with them.

If you just want to open an IRA and manage it yourself, Highball Advisors is not for you. There are plenty of bank representatives who can help open an account.

If you only want to buy an insurance policy, Highball Advisors is not for you. There are plenty of insurance salesmen who would be happy to sell you a policy.

But if you’re looking for a trusted advisor who understands both your Railroad Retirement benefits, and the finer points of advanced financial planning, then you should talk with Highball Advisors.

Subscribe to YouTube Railroad Retirement Channel