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Peter Babilla brings 40 years of experience in investment management and fiduciary* financial consulting to Vertex Planning Partners, LLC.
Pete graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana with a Bachelor’s of Science in Finance.
He began his career in 1983 with a focus on institutional fixed-income portfolio management, primarily working with community banks. After a decade serving institutional clients, Pete shifted his focus to working with individuals, families and business owners, providing guidance and education in all areas of Wealth Management. Among his areas of focus are accumulation and retirement planning, investment management, risk management, and estate and wealth transfer.
Pete’s planning philosophy allows him to create a personalized program for clients, based on their own unique goals and circumstances. The extensive investment and planning platform offered by Vertex enables him to create a highly customized program, tailored to each individual client.
Pete and his wife Suzanne have two children, and have resided in Wheaton, Illinois for the past 30 years. He enjoys golf, reading, and traveling with his family. Pete gives back as a past Board Member of the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago, where his focus is on improving the lives of those living with epilepsy.
Pete works as fiduciary for his clients and holds the CERTIFIED FIANANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) designation and the Chartered Retirement Plan Specialist (CRPS®) designation.
Justin D’Agostino joined Vertex Partners in 2019 and serves a select group of business owners and affluent families. He specializes in investments, financial planning, and succession planning. His interest and knowledge in providing comprehensive financial planning and wealth management services to clients was sparked when he worked at a boutique tax and wealth management firm in Michigan. He has nine years of experience in the financial services industry, and his mission is to provide every client with targeted, comprehensive financial advice and to help them implement customized strategies designed to move them closer to accomplishing their unique goals.
Justin attended Hillsdale College where he earned his BA in Accounting and Financial Management and was a member and captain of the football team. Justin is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional, holds the Chartered Financial Consultant® and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor™ designations.
Justin and his wife, Alexandra, reside in Chicago, Illinois. He is an avid sports fan and enjoys golfing, playing soccer and spending summer weekends with his family.
Scott Sandee brings over 20 years of experience as Managing Partner. He is responsible for leading the firm’s efforts in assisting middle-market business owners and seven and eight-figure families to plan and realize financial goals based on their unique aspirations and situations.
With a privately held family business background, Scott has helped owners prepare for and execute a successful transition. In addition, he works with business owners and their advisors to develop financial strategies to maximize sales proceeds and minimize future taxes.
Before joining Vertex, Scott served in financial planning and investment strategy roles at Oxford Financial Group, Capital Group, and The Northern Trust Company, working with Chicago’s HNW/UHNW families clients.
Scott holds the Certified Financial Planner®, Certified Private Wealth Advisor®, Certified Investment Management Analyst®, and Certified Exit Planning Advisor designations. Scott earned his B.S. in Computer Science from Northern Illinois University, and his family resides in Wilmette, IL.
Julie Hupp, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, has worked in the accounting and corporate finance field since 1987. She began her career as a CPA with Deloitte & Touche, specializing in the financial needs of small businesses. Then spent the next 13 years in corporate financial planning and business development at Baxter and TAP Pharmaceuticals. Recognizing her passion for personal financial planning, Julie started her business in 2006 where she focuses on comprehensive financial planning strategies and implementation.
Julie graduated from University of Illinois with a BS in Accountancy. She received her Master’s in Management with a concentration in Finance from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 1994.
Outside the office, Julie is the co-founder of the 12 Oaks Foundation, which has merged with Cal’s Angels, and is a former Board member. Julie enjoys cooking, reading, running, triathlons and doing almost anything outdoors. A great weekend is spending time with her husband and two adult kids boating at their lake house in Wisconsin.
Steven P. Franzen, CPA, PFS, CGMA is a public accountant and consultant with more than 23 years of experience helping individuals and businesses reduce their tax liability. He began his career under the guidance of Patrick M. De Sio, CPA, CGMA and in 1996 became Mr. De Sio’s partner in De Sio, Franzen & Associates, Ltd. Steve’s expertise include entity design, complex tax strategies and multigenerational wealth transfer. As Managing Partner, Steve conducts his practice under the philosophy that the client’s investment in their CPA should yield a return on that investment – most of the time that return is realized when working with clients on planning for their future. In an effort to increase the planning capabilities of the firm, Steve formed Vertex Accounting Partners, LLC to ensure their guiding philosophy will continue well into the future.
Steve is a certified public accountant and has earned the professional designations of Personal Financial Specialist and Chartered Global Management Accountant. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Illinois CPA Society. Steve earned a B.S. degree in accounting from Millikin University. He and his wife Kristie live in Sugar Grove, IL with their three children.
Gregory P. Benner, CPWA®, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®, AIF®, RMA® has over twenty-two years of experience as a financial advisor. Greg’s practice is based on developing holistic financial plans that help his clients integrate sophisticated retirement, tax, risk management and estate planning strategies into an actionable plan, then stay the course as their behavioral coach.
Prior to founding Vertex Planning Partners, LLC, Greg spent four years as a founding partner of a Registered Investment Advisory firm affiliated with LPL Financial. He also spent seven years with JPMorgan Chase as a Senior Financial Advisor and was a Financial Representative with Northwestern Mutual Life.
Greg holds the Certified Private Wealth Advisor® designation and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Certificant. He also holds the Chartered Financial Consultant®, Chartered Life Underwriter®, Accredited Investment Fiduciary™, and Retirement Management AdvisorSM designations. He earned a B.S. in Finance from Miami University.
He and his wife Lindsey reside in Naperville, IL with their daughter and twin sons.
Michael D. Bellis, CFP®, CLU® began his career as a financial planning professional in 1994. His practice is centered on holistic financial planning, astute risk management strategies and empirical, research-driven portfolio construction. He began his career in partnership with his father under the name Bellis & Associates. Together, their practice and reputation for excellence dates back more than 40 years and includes multiple generations of the same families. After his father’s retirement several years ago, Mike continued to build a client-centric, consultative practice before forming Vertex.
Mike holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification and is also a Chartered Life Underwriter. He has been an active member of both the Society of Financial Services Professionals and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. He earned a B.S. in Business & Marketing from Illinois State University. Mike is a lifelong resident of Naperville, Illinois. He and his wife Tanja have three children.
Retirement Planning: Social Security COLA and Portfolio Considerations
For retirees and those approaching retirement age, there is no goal more important than ensuring their savings will support a long retirement. This challenge has been compounded by inflation over the past several years, which has eroded the purchasing power of cash savings. Today, prices remain elevated for the key spending areas affecting retirees the most, including healthcare, housing, and everyday necessities.
Even though stocks and bonds are well-positioned to meet this challenge, some retirees may be risk averse, while others may wonder if their portfolios and savings will be enough to combat a rise in the cost of living. For long-term investors, understanding how inflation affects retirement income, and how to position portfolios to maintain purchasing power, remains as important as ever. What should retirees and those planning for retirement know about navigating today’s environment?
Social Security adjustments don’t always keep pace with experienced inflation
monthly benefit to $2,064, an increase of only $56. This is small in comparison to the 8.7% adjustment in 2023, which was the largest since 1981.
The challenge for retirees is that while price increases may slow, prices themselves rarely ever come down. The COLA is calculated using a version of the Consumer Price Index known as the CPI-W, which tracks prices for working-class households. However, this doesn’t account for the fact that retirees often face different inflation rates than younger workers. Healthcare costs, housing expenses, and other categories that weigh heavily in retiree budgets have often risen faster than the overall index suggests.
For example, the category of medical care services rose 3.9% over the past year, health insurance increased 4.2%, and home insurance climbed 7.5%. Food prices increased 3.1% over this period but meat, poultry and fish rose 6.0%. The cost of full service restaurants grew 4.2% more expensive as well.
Adding to the challenge, Medicare Part B premiums could rise $21.50 per month in 2026, from $185 to $206.50 according to the latest Medicare trustees’ estimates. Since this is typically deducted directly from Social Security checks, this would account for approximately 38% of the average $56 COLA increase, leaving retirees with even less purchasing power.
Longer life expectancies increase the importance of portfolio growth
According to the latest Social Security Administration data, 40-year-old men and women have an average life expectancy of 79 and 83, respectively. However, for those who make it to 65 years of age, their life expectancies increase to 83 and 86. These are just averages – those in the 90th percentile could live to 94 and 97,
respectively.
While the opportunity to enjoy a longer, healthier retirement is a wonderful development over the past century, the difference between a 20-year retirement and a 30-year or longer retirement has dramatic implications for portfolio construction and withdrawal strategies. This is sometimes known as “longevity risk,” a challenge that is asymmetric since running out of money during retirement is far more problematic than leaving assets to loved ones or charitable causes.
So, while many prioritize income-generating investments like bonds when it comes to retirement planning, it’s also important to maintain growth-oriented assets like stocks. It also creates financial challenges that make thoughtful planning even more valuable. Understanding how to structure portfolios for multi-decade retirement periods, while managing withdrawal rates and adapting to changing market conditions requires expertise that goes well beyond simple rules of thumb.
Lower short-term interest rates also reduce income from cash
For retirees who have depended on interest income on their cash holdings over the past few years, this return to a lower interest rate environment may present a challenge. While holding some cash for near-term expenses and emergencies remains important, relying too heavily on cash means missing out on the growth potential of stocks and the attractive yields still available in many bond sectors.
The combination of moderating but persistent inflation and declining interest rates creates a challenging environment for conservative investors. Cash loses purchasing power to inflation, and the interest it generates will decline as the Fed continues cutting rates. This makes it even more important for retirees to hold a balanced portfolio that includes growth-oriented assets like stocks, which have historically outpaced inflation over long periods, alongside bonds that can provide income and stability.
The bottom line?
While Social Security COLA provides some help against inflation, it’s difficult for retirees to rely on this alone. With life expectancies increasing and short term interest rates declining, investors need portfolios that can provide both income and growth.
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