Marlton has become one of South Jersey's most established communities for people approaching or already in retirement. As a census-designated place within Evesham Township, Burlington County, Marlton carries a median household income of roughly $94,464, with Evesham Township as a whole at $116,745, figures that put a meaningful share of local households in a position to actually plan for retirement rather than simply react to it. That planning question "how do I turn what I've saved into an income I can't outlive?” is the center of this guide.
This is written for residents of Marlton, greater Evesham Township, and the surrounding Burlington County communities, as well as pre-retirees and retirees in nearby Mount Laurel, Medford, and Moorestown, in Camden County towns like Berlin, Voorhees, Cherry Hill, and Gibbsboro, and across Gloucester County in Washington Township, Sewell, Mullica Hill, Glassboro, and Turnersville, who are within roughly five to fifteen years of retirement, or already retired and reassessing their plan.
Why Retirement Planning in Marlton Looks Different Than It Did a Generation Ago
Evesham Township's median age is 41.2, younger than many retirement-focused communities, which reflects Marlton's mix of long-time retirees and newer families drawn by the schools and suburban Burlington County setting. That mix matters for retirement planning: many Marlton households are managing retirement decisions for themselves while simultaneously helping adult children or aging parents, which adds layers most generic retirement calculators don't account for.
At the same time, the traditional retirement model, a pension plus modest savings has largely given way to one where a household's IRA, 401(k), and taxable brokerage accounts have to do the work a pension used to do. That's a fundamentally different planning problem, and it's the one Alan Cohen has spent his career on.
Meet the Advisor: Alan Cohen, Founding Partner of Spectrum Wealth Partners
Alan Cohen is the Founding Partner and Registered Investment Advisor of Spectrum Wealth Partners, based in Marlton, NJ. With nearly 40 years in the financial services industry, including time at EF Hutton, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo Advisors, and RBC Wealth Management. Alan calls himself "a recovering stockbroker." After decades helping people accumulate wealth inside the traditional brokerage model, his focus shifted specifically to the retirement transition: protecting what's been saved, growing it prudently, and drawing it down in a way that lasts.
That's a meaningfully different skill set than accumulation-phase investing. It involves sequencing withdrawals across account types, managing tax brackets in retirement, deciding when (or whether) to claim Social Security, and building a portfolio that can weather a market downturn in the specific years when a retiree is also withdrawing from it. For the firm's full range of services, see Investment Services in South Jersey or the Services page directly.
The Core Building Blocks of a Marlton-Area Retirement Plan
Income sequencing. Most Marlton retirees are drawing from some combination of Social Security, a former employer's 401(k) or pension, an IRA, and taxable savings. The order in which those are tapped materially affects how long the money lasts and how much goes to taxes. Drawing down taxable accounts first, for instance, can allow tax-deferred accounts more time to grow, but that's not universally correct, and the right sequence depends on tax bracket, other income, and account balances.
Social Security timing. Claiming at 62 versus full retirement age versus 70 can mean a substantially different lifetime benefit, and the "right" answer depends on health, other income sources, and whether a spouse's benefit is involved. This is one of the most consequential, and most often rushed, decisions in retirement planning. The Social Security Administration's own benefits calculators are a useful starting point, though how that decision interacts with the rest of a household's income sources still needs a fuller plan.
Required minimum distributions (RMDs). Once a retiree reaches the applicable age, the IRS requires minimum withdrawals from most tax-deferred retirement accounts. Planning ahead, including potential Roth conversions in lower-income years before RMDs begin can reduce the tax bite considerably over a retirement that may last three decades.
Portfolio risk in the "fragile decade." The five years before and five years after retirement are sometimes called the fragile decade, because a market downturn during that window, combined with active withdrawals, can do outsized damage to a portfolio's long-term survival, a dynamic often called sequence-of-returns risk. This is one reason some retirees layer in guaranteed income sources; see our guide to annuities and guaranteed income for how that fits alongside a market-based portfolio.
Consolidating old accounts. Many Marlton-area professionals arrive at retirement with a 401(k) or two left behind at former employers. Deciding whether and how to roll those into an IRA is its own decision with real tax and investment implications, covered in detail in our 401(k) and IRA rollover guide.
New Jersey-specific considerations. New Jersey taxes retirement income differently than many states, and property taxes are a significant factor in the decision many Marlton retirees eventually face: stay in the family home in Evesham Township, downsize locally, or relocate. A retirement plan built without accounting for New Jersey's specific tax treatment of pensions, Social Security, and retirement account withdrawals is incomplete.
A Realistic Planning Timeline
10+ years out: This is the accumulation-refinement stage, maximizing tax-advantaged contributions, making sure asset allocation still matches the actual timeline (not a stale allocation set a decade earlier), and starting to model what retirement income might realistically look like.
5–10 years out: This is when a plan should get concrete, projecting retirement income against expected expenses, stress-testing the plan against a market downturn, and starting to think through Social Security claiming strategy.
1–5 years out: Sequencing, healthcare and Medicare planning, and finalizing whether current savings actually support the retirement lifestyle envisioned, with time left to adjust if they don't.
Already retired: This shifts from building a plan to managing one, annual withdrawal reviews, RMD management, tax-bracket monitoring, and adjusting for actual spending versus what was projected.
Wherever you fall on this timeline, the plan should be revisited regularly, not set once and left alone markets, tax law, and personal circumstances all change.
Healthcare and Medicare Planning
Healthcare costs are one of the most consistently underestimated pieces of a retirement plan, and they intersect with timing decisions in ways that are easy to miss. Medicare eligibility begins at 65, but enrollment windows matter. Missing the initial enrollment period can mean lifetime late-enrollment penalties on Part B and Part D, a detail explained in full on Medicare.gov. For anyone retiring before 65, bridging the gap between employer coverage ending and Medicare starting is its own planning problem, whether through COBRA, a marketplace plan, or a spouse's employer coverage. And for higher-income retirees, Medicare premiums are subject to an income-related surcharge (IRMAA) based on tax returns from two years prior, which means a large Roth conversion or a big capital gain in one year can quietly increase Medicare premiums two years later. A retirement income plan that doesn't account for this interaction can produce an unpleasant surprise.
New Jersey's Tax Treatment of Retirement Income
New Jersey has its own rules for how pensions, retirement account withdrawals, and Social Security are taxed, rules that differ meaningfully from federal treatment and from many other states, and that apply the same way whether a household is in West Berlin, Marlton, Sewell, or Washington Township. The New Jersey Division of Taxation's retirement income guidance is a useful reference, but because these rules affect withdrawal sequencing, Roth conversion timing, and the eventual decision of whether to stay in New Jersey through retirement, they're best applied as part of a full plan rather than read in isolation.
A Realistic Example: Sequencing Decisions for a Marlton-Area Couple
Consider a hypothetical couple in Evesham Township, both 63, planning to retire in two years. Between them they have an old 401(k) from a job one of them left a decade ago, a current employer 401(k) still receiving contributions, two IRAs, a taxable brokerage account, and a paid-off home. Their retirement plan needs to answer several questions at once: should the old 401(k) be consolidated now or left alone until retirement (see our rollover guide)? Should they claim Social Security at 65, at full retirement age, or wait until 70 to maximize the benefit? In what order should they draw from taxable, tax-deferred, and Roth accounts once they stop working? And should they use the two years before Medicare eligibility to do Roth conversions while their income is temporarily lower, understanding the IRMAA implications two years out?
None of these questions has a universal right answer. They depend on health, other assets, risk tolerance, and family circumstances. But they illustrate why retirement planning for a Marlton-area household is a coordinated exercise across taxes, healthcare, Social Security, and investments, not a single decision made in isolation. This is a hypothetical illustration only, not a specific recommendation for any individual's circumstances.
Why Work with a Local Advisor for Retirement Planning
A retirement plan is only as good as its ability to account for the specifics of your situation, and a lot of those specifics are local. New Jersey's tax treatment of retirement income, Burlington County property tax levels, and the practical question of whether to stay in a long-time Marlton home all come up constantly in these conversations. An advisor who has spent decades working with South Jersey retirees has seen these decisions play out across hundreds of households, not just in the abstract.
There's also real value in a face-to-face relationship for a decision this consequential. Spectrum Wealth Partners, based in Marlton, is a short drive from Voorhees, Cherry Hill, Mount Laurel, Medford, Moorestown, Berlin, Gibbsboro, and Atco in Camden and Burlington Counties, and from Washington Township, Sewell, Mullica Hill, Glassboro, Deptford, and Turnersville in Gloucester County, close enough for the kind of ongoing, in-person relationship that a retirement plan benefits from over 20-plus years of retirement.
South Jersey Areas We Serve for Retirement Planning, from the Philadelphia Suburbs to the Jersey Shore
While this guide is written with Marlton and Evesham Township in focus, retirement planning with Spectrum Wealth Partners reaches households across all of South Jersey, from the Camden County towns just across the river from Philadelphia down to the Jersey Shore, through in-person, phone, and video meetings.
Camden County: West Berlin, Berlin, Cherry Hill, Voorhees, Gibbsboro, Atco, Sicklerville, Somerdale, Haddonfield, Collingswood
Burlington County: Marlton, Evesham Township, Mount Laurel, Medford, Moorestown, Southampton, Mount Holly, Willingboro, Cinnaminson
Gloucester County: Washington Township, Sewell, Mullica Hill, Glassboro, Deptford, Woodbury, Turnersville, Williamstown, Pitman
Atlantic County: Egg Harbor Township, Galloway, Hammonton, Absecon, Linwood, Northfield, Somers Point, Atlantic City
Cape May County: Ocean City, Sea Isle City, Stone Harbor, Avalon, Cape May, Wildwood
Cumberland & Salem Counties: Vineland, Millville, Bridgeton, Salem
Retirement decisions like Social Security timing, RMDs, and New Jersey's tax treatment of retirement income apply the same way whether you're retiring in a Philadelphia-suburb town like Voorhees or Cherry Hill, further out in Sewell or Washington Township, or down the shore in Ocean City or Cape May — South Jersey, from the Philadelphia border to the coast, is the region this firm has spent decades serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I start retirement planning if I live in Marlton, NJ?
Ideally 10 to 15 years before your target retirement date, though it's never too late to build or improve a plan. The earlier a plan starts, the more flexibility there is to adjust savings rate, asset allocation, and Social Security strategy before decisions become locked in.
How much do I need saved to retire comfortably in Evesham Township?
There's no single number. It depends on expected expenses, other income sources like Social Security or a pension, healthcare costs, and how long the retirement needs to last. A realistic answer requires projecting your specific expenses against your specific income sources, not applying a generic rule of thumb.
Does New Jersey tax my retirement income?
New Jersey has its own rules for taxing pensions, retirement account withdrawals, and Social Security that differ from federal treatment and from other states. Because these rules affect withdrawal sequencing and Roth conversion decisions, they should be factored into any retirement plan built for a New Jersey resident.
What's the biggest retirement planning mistake you see in Marlton and Evesham Township?
Waiting too long to build a withdrawal strategy. Many people plan diligently for accumulation but arrive at retirement without a clear plan for the order in which to draw down accounts, when to claim Social Security, or how to manage RMDs, which can mean paying more in taxes than necessary over a multi-decade retirement.
Do you work with people who are already retired, not just pre-retirees?
Yes. Retirement planning doesn't stop at the retirement date, with ongoing management of withdrawals, taxes, and portfolio risk is just as important once retirement has actually begun.
How does Medicare affect my retirement planning timeline?
Medicare eligibility begins at 65, with enrollment windows that carry lifetime penalties if missed, and higher-income retirees can face income-related premium surcharges (IRMAA) based on tax returns from two years earlier. Both of these need to be factored into decisions like Roth conversions or asset sales made in the years leading up to and just after retirement.
What towns near Marlton does Spectrum Wealth Partners serve for retirement planning?
In addition to Marlton and greater Evesham Township, the firm regularly works with retirees and pre-retirees throughout Burlington and Camden Counties, including Mount Laurel, Medford, Moorestown, Voorhees, Cherry Hill, Berlin, and Gibbsboro, as well as Gloucester County communities like Washington Township, Sewell, Mullica Hill, Glassboro, Deptford, Woodbury, and Turnersville.