Cedar Falls, Iowa · Est. Boutique Practice
You've saved for 40 years.The next 10 decide whether it lasts.
Retirement income planning, annuities, and life insurance for Midwesterners who've earned the right to stop worrying.
Ask Heartland
General education only. Not personalized advice.
"The land teaches patience. So does a plan built to last."
- Registered Investment Advisor
- FINRA Member
- SIPC Insured
- BrokerCheck Verified
- Licensed IA · IL · CA
The Approach
Three questions every retiree should be able to answer.
If your current plan can't answer these clearly, it isn't a plan. It's a portfolio with a story attached.
We stress-test your income plan against a 30-year retirement, inflation, and market downturns — so you know the answer before you need it. We build a withdrawal strategy that pays you first and protects the rest.
Most retirees hand back tens of thousands of dollars they didn't have to. We coordinate withdrawals, Roth conversions, and Social Security timing to keep more of what you've earned inside your household.
Sequence-of-returns risk is the single largest threat to your first decade of retirement. We use a layered income approach — guaranteed, buffered, and market-based — so a bad year doesn't become a bad decade.
Services
Built for the second half of the game — where the score actually counts.
Retirement Income Planning
A paycheck for the years you no longer work — designed to last as long as you do.
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Annuities
Guaranteed income and principal protection, matched to your actual needs — not a sales quota.
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Life Insurance
Protection for the people who depend on you, and a tax-efficient legacy for the ones who follow.
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Social Security Optimization
Claim at the right age, in the right order, for the household — not the calculator on the SSA website.
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Tax Minimization
Coordinate withdrawals, conversions, and RMDs to keep the IRS from becoming your largest beneficiary.
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Legacy Planning
So your children inherit a plan, not a problem — and know exactly what to do when the time comes.
Learn moreIncome Estimator
See the gap between what you have and what you'll need.
Move the sliders. The math updates in real time using a 4% safe withdrawal rate — the same starting point we use in a full income review.
Income vs Need — monthly
For illustrative purposes only. Not a guarantee of future results. Actual results depend on many factors including market performance, tax rates, and individual circumstances.
David A. Beaty · ChFC · CLU · LUTCF
Why Heartland
Meet the advisor who returns your calls.
Heartland Financial Services is a boutique retirement income practice based in Cedar Falls, Iowa — built to serve the families next door, not a national marketing funnel.
David A. Beaty is an Investment Advisor Representative and holds the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), and Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow (LUTCF) designations. Securities are offered through GWN Securities, Inc., a FINRA/SIPC member firm.
David works under a fiduciary standard, which means his recommendations must be in your best interest — full stop. No proprietary product quotas. No hidden shelf-space arrangements.
The client roster is deliberately small. Decades of serving Midwestern farmers, teachers, business owners, and engineers taught him that retirement planning is a relationship, not a transaction — and that the questions worth asking rarely fit on a form.
"I'd rather serve 40 families brilliantly than 400 adequately."
In their words
Clients don't measure us in benchmarks. They measure us in nights they sleep.
"Reduced our tax bill by $18,000 a year. I wish we'd found David ten years earlier."
"Finally understand what we own and why."
"David called back the same day the market dropped. That has never once happened with our previous advisor."
"Our kids know exactly what to do when we're gone. That's the gift no one talks about."
Schedule a Review
A one-hour conversation. No fee. No pressure.
Bring your last statement. You'll leave with a clearer picture of where you stand and — if we're a fit — a plan for what to do next.
Step 1 of 3
Frequently Asked
Straight answers to the questions worth asking.
Life insurance protects your family if you die too soon. An annuity protects you if you live too long. They solve opposite problems, and most retirement plans need thoughtful pieces of both.
Yes. Advisory services are offered through Heartland Financial Services, LTD — a Registered Investment Advisor. That means recommendations must be in your best interest, disclosed in writing, and free from undisclosed conflicts.
We work best with households that have at least $500,000 in investable assets. The relationship — and the planning — is where the value shows up, so we intentionally keep the roster small.
Both, depending on the tool. Advisory accounts are fee-based. Insurance and annuity products may pay a commission from the issuing company. Every dollar of compensation is disclosed before you sign anything.
Licensed in Iowa, Illinois, and California. Most clients live within a two-hour drive of Cedar Falls, but we serve families across all three states.
Yes. In-person meetings at the Cedar Falls office are still our default, but we run secure video reviews for clients who travel, split time between states, or simply prefer it.