How Much Should You Charge for Financial Planning Services?

Understanding Common Financial Planning Fee Structures

Historically, financial planning fees have often been tied directly to assets under management (AUM). While AUM remains prevalent, especially in wealth management, the industry is seeing a significant shift towards more client-centric and predictable models. Here are the primary structures you’ll encounter:

• Assets Under Management (AUM): Clients are charged a percentage of the assets managed by the advisor (e.g., 0.5% - 1.5% annually). This model aligns advisor compensation with portfolio growth but can be unpredictable for firm revenue and may not fairly compensate for clients with complex needs but lower assets.
• Hourly Fees: Clients are billed based on the time spent by the advisor (e.g., $150 - $500+ per hour). This offers transparency on effort but can make the total cost uncertain for the client and doesn’t directly reflect the value or outcomes delivered.
• Flat Fees / Project-Based: A fixed fee is charged for a specific service or project, such as creating a comprehensive retirement plan, estate plan review, or financial health check (e.g., $2,500 - $7,500+ for a complex initial plan). This provides cost certainty for the client and allows advisors to price based on the project’s scope and value, not just time or assets.
• Retainer / Subscription Fees: Clients pay a recurring fee (monthly or annually) for ongoing access to services, planning updates, and advice (e.g., $150 - $500+ per month). This offers predictable revenue for the firm and encourages a long-term relationship focused on continuous planning, moving away from transactional interactions.

Moving Beyond AUM and Hourly: The Rise of Value-Based Pricing

While AUM and hourly models have their place, particularly in specific niches, many forward-thinking retirement planning firms in 2025 are adopting or incorporating value-based pricing. This strategy focuses on the perceived and realized value your services deliver to the client, rather than simply the assets managed or hours worked.

Why Value-Based Pricing for Financial Planning?

1. Aligns with Client Outcomes: It emphasizes the tangible benefits clients receive (e.g., peace of mind, achieving retirement goals sooner, saving on taxes, avoiding costly mistakes), which often far exceed the fee charged.
2. Increases Profitability: Allows you to capture more of the value you create, especially for high-net-worth clients or those with complex situations who benefit significantly from your expertise, regardless of their manageable assets.
3. Differentiates Your Firm: Positions you as a partner focused on client success rather than just an asset manager or time-for-money provider.
4. Provides Revenue Predictability: Fixed or subscription fees offer more stable revenue streams than unpredictable AUM or hourly models.

Determining the “value” can be subjective, but it often relates to:

• The complexity of the client’s financial situation.
• The potential financial gains or losses avoided by your advice (e.g., tax savings, optimizing investments, preventing poor decisions).
• The client’s goals and aspirations and the impact your planning has on achieving them.
• The level of service, access, and ongoing support provided.
• The peace of mind and confidence your expertise instills.

Calculating Your Costs and Target Profitability

Before you can determine how much to charge for financial planning based on value, you must understand your own costs. This forms the floor for your pricing.

Calculate your fully-burdened cost per advisor hour, or ideally, the cost associated with delivering specific service packages. Include not just salaries and benefits, but also overhead (rent, utilities, software, marketing, administrative staff, etc.).

Once you know your costs, you can set fees that ensure a healthy profit margin. Value-based pricing aims to price above your cost floor, capturing a portion of the significant value you deliver to the client.

Structuring Your Services with Tiered Packages and Add-ons

A highly effective way to implement value-based pricing and answer the question of how much to charge for financial planning is by productizing your services into distinct packages or tiers. This provides clients with clear options and allows them to choose the level of service that best fits their needs and budget.

Consider offering tiers like:

• Foundation Plan: Basic retirement projection, budget analysis, and initial investment review.
• Comprehensive Plan: Includes Foundation elements plus detailed tax planning, estate planning basics, insurance analysis, and more frequent review meetings.
• Premium Plan: Comprehensive plan plus advanced strategies, priority access, coordination with other professionals (CPAs, attorneys), and specialized services.

Each tier should have a clear scope of work and a fixed price or recurring fee. You can also offer optional add-ons for specific needs, such as:

• Student loan analysis
• Stock option planning
• Small business retirement plan consulting
• Specific project work (e.g., buying a second home)

Presenting these tiered options clearly and interactively is crucial for client understanding and conversion. Static PDFs or complex spreadsheets can be confusing. A tool like PricingLink (https://pricinglink.com) is specifically designed to help service businesses create interactive pricing pages where clients can see different tiers and add-ons, select their desired options, and immediately understand the total cost. This streamlines the pricing conversation and qualifies leads based on their chosen package.

While PricingLink excels at presenting pricing configurations, it’s not a full proposal generator. If you need comprehensive proposal software that includes e-signatures, contract management, and detailed project scopes integrated into one document, you might look at tools like PandaDoc (https://www.pandadoc.com) or Proposify (https://www.proposify.com). However, if your primary goal is to modernize how clients interact with and select your pricing options before the full proposal stage, PricingLink’s dedicated focus offers a powerful and affordable solution for creating engaging pricing experiences.

Communicating Your Fees and Value Effectively

How you discuss pricing is just as important as the price itself. Don’t wait until the end of the sales process to mention fees. Introduce your pricing structure and approach during the initial discovery phase, linking it directly to the value you provide and the problems you solve for the client.

• Focus on Outcomes: Frame your fee not as a cost, but as an investment in their future, peace of mind, and financial security.
• Use Anchoring: When presenting tiered options, start with the highest-value (and highest-priced) tier to anchor the client’s perception before presenting lower-priced options.
• Explain What’s Included: Clearly outline the specific services, deliverables, and access included in each package or for your fee.
• Address Objections Proactively: Be prepared to discuss the ROI of financial planning and why your fees are justified by the value delivered.
• Make Pricing Transparent: Use clear, easy-to-understand pricing documents or, even better, interactive pricing tools like PricingLink (https://pricinglink.com) that allow clients to explore options and see costs clearly. This builds trust and confidence.