Wealth Management for
St. Simons Island, Georgia
Retirees and Pre-Retirees
Personalized wealth guidance for your retirement in St. Simons Island:
- Personalized Wealth Management
- Retirement Income Strategies
- Investment Risk Management
- Fiduciary Guidance
Wealth Management for St. Simons Island, Georgia Retirees and Pre-Retirees
You've spent decades building your savings, and now that retirement on the island is close, or already here, a fair question comes up: is everything still invested the way it should be for this stage of life? SBC Wealth Management offers fee-based, fiduciary wealth management and investment advisory services to St. Simons Island residents. Stacy Summerlin, Founder & Lead Advisor, brings more than 29 years of industry experience and is licensed in Georgia and Florida. You can meet with her by appointment on the island or at our main office in Yulee, Florida. Call 855-809-2894 to start the conversation.
Who Do We Serve on St. Simons Island?
St. Simons Island has long attracted people who have worked hard and want their next chapter to feel unhurried. The island's ZIP code, 31522, is home to roughly 17,800 residents with a median age near 57, and its median household income is the highest of any ZIP code in Glynn County, according to the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey. Many residents are retired, and many more are counting down the years.
We work with pre-retirees and retirees, generally ages 50 to 75, who are financially established and would rather have a professional keep an eye on their investments than manage every decision on their own. Some spent careers with Golden Isles employers like the Sea Island Company, Southeast Georgia Health System, Glynn County Schools, or the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers in Glynco. Others arrived from Atlanta, the Midwest, or the Northeast after years of vacations here.
The situations that bring them to us tend to sound familiar:
- Deciding what to do with a 401(k), 403(b), or Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) at retirement
- Pulling together accounts scattered across past employers and old brokerage firms
- Making sure investments still match their comfort with risk as retirement gets closer
- Weighing a pension decision and how it fits with the rest of their investments
- Moving to the island, full time or part of the year, and wanting a local advisor
Why St. Simons Island Residents Work With SBC Wealth Management
When you're near or in retirement, the relationship with your advisor matters as much as the investments themselves. SBC Wealth Management is a fiduciary, which means we're required to act in your best interest. We're also fee-based, and every potential cost is disclosed up front, so you know what you'll pay before you begin.
You'll work with one consistent advisor. Stacy Summerlin is the Founder & Lead Advisor of SBC Wealth Management and an Investment Adviser Representative of Gibbs Wealth Management, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Her approach is simple: educate first, listen carefully, and explain decisions in plain English before anything changes.
Meet Stacy Summerlin to learn more about her background.
What Sets Us Apart
- Fiduciary: required to act in your best interest
- Fee-based advisory, with no commissions on advisory accounts
- Every potential cost disclosed up front
- Stacy Summerlin: 29+ years of industry experience, licensed in Georgia and Florida
- A by-appointment office on St. Simons Island, plus our main office in Yulee
- Ongoing monitoring and periodic reviews
How Does Georgia Tax Retirement Income for St. Simons Island Residents?
Georgia offers some of the more generous state tax treatment of retirement income in the Southeast, which is one reason so many retirees choose the Golden Isles. Here's a general overview for St. Simons Island residents. It's education only, not tax advice, so please review your own situation with a qualified tax professional.
- Social Security: Georgia doesn't tax Social Security benefits.
- Retirement income exclusion: Georgia lets residents ages 62 to 64 exclude up to $35,000 of qualifying retirement income per person, and residents 65 and older exclude up to $65,000 per person. Qualifying income can include pensions, IRA and 401(k) withdrawals, interest, and dividends.
- Military retirement pay: Georgia has a separate exclusion for military retirement income, which was recently expanded.
- Property taxes: St. Simons Island is unincorporated Glynn County. The combined county and school rate for the island runs about 24 mills, and the Glynn County Board of Education held its rate at 14.9 mills for the 2026 tax year. Homeowners can apply for a homestead exemption, and Glynn County also offers a local homestead valuation freeze.
- Estate and inheritance taxes: Georgia has neither.
Did You Know?
Georgia's Exclusion Is Per Person
Georgia's retirement income exclusion applies to each spouse separately. A married couple who are both 65 or older may each exclude up to $65,000 of qualifying retirement income, but each spouse's exclusion generally applies only to income in that spouse's own name. That's why it can help to look at whose accounts hold which assets, and when withdrawals come from each, as part of a broader retirement conversation with your tax professional.
Taxes don't tell the whole story, but they do shape how much of each withdrawal you actually keep. That's why we look at your investment accounts with an eye on how and when you'll draw from them, and we coordinate with your tax professional when that's helpful.
How SBC Wealth Management Helps St. Simons Island Investors
Our wealth management services are built around one idea: your investments should reflect your goals, your timeline, and how much risk you're comfortable taking, and they should keep reflecting them as life changes. Here's what that looks like in practice.
- Wealth management: Personalized guidance that starts with a clear picture of where you are today, what you want retirement on the island to look like, and how your accounts fit together.
- Ongoing investment oversight: We select professionally managed model portfolios that align with your objectives and risk tolerance. Those portfolios are built and traded by third-party investment managers through Orion's platforms. We monitor your account on an ongoing basis and recommend changes as your goals or the markets change.
- Retirement planning support: We help you see how your savings, investments, income needs, and long-term goals work together as you approach retirement and move through it.
Before you become a client, you'll receive Gibbs Wealth Management's Form CRS and Form ADV. These documents explain our services, fees, and conflicts of interest in plain language, and we're glad to walk through them with you.
Getting Started Is Simple
There's no pressure and no obligation to take the first step. Here's how it usually works:
- Call 855-809-2894 or request a complimentary retirement review.
- Sit down with Stacy, in person on the island or by phone, to talk about your goals, timeline, and comfort with risk.
- Review your current accounts together, including how they're invested and what you're paying.
- Receive personalized recommendations, with every potential cost disclosed up front.
- If you decide to move forward, count on ongoing monitoring and periodic reviews.
Common Retirement Investing Questions in St. Simons Island, GA
Where can I meet with SBC Wealth Management on St. Simons Island?
You can meet with Stacy Summerlin by appointment at The Sandbox, 507 Ocean Blvd., Suite 201, on St. Simons Island. This office isn't staffed full-time, so please call 855-809-2894 to schedule. Our main office is at 57 Homegrown Way, Unit 301, in Yulee, Florida, about an hour south. Phone meetings are always an option too.
Does Georgia tax retirement income for St. Simons Island residents?
Georgia doesn't tax Social Security. It also offers a retirement income exclusion of up to $35,000 per person for residents ages 62 to 64, and up to $65,000 per person for those 65 and older. Pensions, IRA and 401(k) withdrawals, interest, and dividends can qualify. This is general education only, so please confirm how the rules apply to you with a tax professional.
I split my year between St. Simons Island and another state. Can you still work with me?
Yes. Many island residents spend part of the year elsewhere, and we can meet in person when you're here and by phone when you're away. Where you're considered a legal resident can affect which state's tax rules apply to your retirement income, so it's worth discussing with your tax professional. Your investment reviews continue on the same schedule wherever you are.
I'm retiring from FLETC or another federal job. Can you help with my TSP?
Yes. Federal employees in Glynn County, including many who work at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, often have to decide whether to leave their Thrift Savings Plan where it is, roll it into an IRA, or do some of each. We'll review your options and the costs and features of each with you, so you can make an informed choice that fits your goals.
Can you help me roll over a 401(k) or 403(b) from a Golden Isles employer?
Yes. Whether your plan is with a local hospital system, the resort industry, a school district, or a company outside the area, we'll look at your options at retirement. Those can include leaving the money in the plan, rolling it into an IRA, or a combination. We'll walk through the costs and features of each so the decision is yours.
What happens to my accounts if I move to St. Simons Island from another state?
Your 401(k), IRA, and brokerage accounts move with you, since they aren't tied to the state you live in. What can change is how your withdrawals are taxed once you become a Georgia resident. Moving is often a good time to review how your accounts are invested and whether consolidating some of them would make things simpler.
Do you work with clients outside St. Simons Island?
Yes. We serve Northeast Florida and Coastal Georgia, including Brunswick, Jacksonville, Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, Yulee, and Orange Park. Besides our main office in Yulee, we meet by appointment at offices on St. Simons Island, in Jacksonville at St. Johns Town Center, and in Orange Park. We also meet with clients by phone.
What does it mean that SBC Wealth Management is a fiduciary?
As a fiduciary, SBC Wealth Management, through Gibbs Wealth Management, is required to act in your best interest and not put its own interests ahead of yours when giving you investment advice. Gibbs's Form CRS also describes the conflicts of interest that come with how the firm is paid, and we encourage you to ask us about them.
How is SBC Wealth Management paid?
SBC Wealth Management is fee-based. You pay an asset-based advisory fee, and there are no commissions on advisory accounts. Before you begin, every potential cost, including adviser, management, and custodial fees, is disclosed up front, so you know what you'll pay. You'll also receive Gibbs Wealth Management's Form CRS, which explains fees and costs in plain language.
What happens at a complimentary retirement review?
It's a relaxed, no-pressure conversation, either in person or by phone. We'll talk about your goals, when you'd like to retire or how retirement is going, your comfort with risk, and the accounts you have today. You'll leave with a clearer picture of where you stand, and there's no obligation to move forward.
How is SBC Wealth Management related to Summerlin Benefits Consulting?
They're separate businesses. Advisory services are offered through SBC Wealth Management, which operates through Gibbs Wealth Management (“GWM”), an SEC‑registered investment adviser. Insurance products and services are offered through Summerlin Benefits Consulting Inc., which is independent of GWM. This page describes only SBC Wealth Management's advisory services.
Where Can You Meet With Us?
St. Simons Island office (by appointment only; not staffed full-time): The Sandbox, 507 Ocean Blvd., Suite 201, St. Simons Island, GA 31522. Call 855-809-2894 to schedule.
Main office: 57 Homegrown Way, Unit 301, Yulee, FL 32097 · 855-809-2894
Main office hours: Monday through Thursday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM (closed 12:00 to 12:30 PM for lunch); Friday, 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM; closed Saturday and Sunday.
What Does Working Together Look Like Over Time?
Choosing an advisor isn't a one-time decision. It's the start of a long-term relationship, and the real work happens in the years that follow.
Once you're a client, we monitor your account on an ongoing basis and meet for periodic reviews to make sure your investments still line up with your goals and your comfort with risk. We also take a fresh look whenever life shifts: a retirement date moves, you sell a home in another state and settle on the island full time, you receive an inheritance, or markets go through a significant stretch of ups and downs. When something should change, we'll explain why and recommend adjustments.
For seasonal residents, the rhythm stays the same whether you're here for the summer or back up north. Through it all, you'll have one consistent point of contact who knows your story.
Let's Talk About What's Next for You on the Island
From the Village pier to the oaks along Frederica Road, life on St. Simons Island is meant to be enjoyed at an easy pace. Your investments deserve that same steady, unhurried attention.
Ready to Talk About Your Retirement Investments?
Call
855-809-2894 or
request your complimentary retirement review. We'll meet with you in person, by appointment at The Sandbox on Ocean Boulevard or at our main office at 57 Homegrown Way, Unit 301, Yulee, FL 32097, or by phone, whichever is easier for you.
