You're Building Wealth The Right Way...
Here's How to Make It Pay You Twice As Much In Retirement.
A research-backed strategy made for Horizon Trust self-directed investors who want to control their investments and get out of the market, BUT ALSO want to turn those assets into as much income as humanly possible when they retire. That's what we solve at Sovereign Life...without saving more, taking more risk, or doing more. Just a smarter structure.
3,000+ families served
$56M in additional retirement income
$225M deployed toward this strategy
Backed by The American College of Financial Services
3 Ways to Learn More About
Building a Better Retirement Today...
Step 1: Read About the Strategy...
A short read that walks you through the Volatility Buffer — the simple, research-backed strategy that’s helped over 3,000 families nearly double their retirement income without saving more, working longer, or taking on more risk. About a 12-minute read.
Step 2: Watch the Strategy with the Founders...
Greg Herlean (Founder, Horizon Trust) and Carson Herlean (Co-Founder, Sovereign Life) sit down for one hour to break down exactly how the Volatility Buffer strategy works — why every self-directed IRA holder should know it, the income projections we’re seeing across the country, and how to apply it to your own plan. Live Q&A at the end.
Step 3: Apply the Strategy to Your Situation...
Schedule a No-Cost Strategy Call with the Sovereign Team
30 minutes with Carson. He’ll map your current trajectory, show you what your retirement income could look like with a Volatility Buffer in place, and answer every question. No pressure. No obligation. Just clarity on your numbers.
Still Not Ready? Keep Reading...
The 4 Pillars of a Complete Retirement Plan
Self-directing your IRA solves the growth side. These four pillars solve the income side so
the wealth you've actually built pays you for the rest of your life.
1
Reliable
Income
Build predictable, income that lasts 25+ years, so you never have to guess whether this month's withdrawal is "too much."
2
Optimized
Taxes
The right withdrawal order can save tens of thousands in lifetime taxes. Most retirees do it in the wrong sequence.
3
Protected Principal
Shield your savings from the one market year that would otherwise cut your retirement income for the rest of your life.
4
Efficient
Growth
Keep compounding through retirement, without the white-knuckle volatility of a 100% stock portfolio.
The Mechanism That Makes It Work
The Volatility Buffer: the reason this system survives
market crashes that break traditional retirement plans.
When the market drops 20%, a traditional plan forces you to sell stocks at a loss to cover living expenses permanently shrinking your future income. The volatility buffer is a separate, non-correlated asset you draw income from during down years instead. Your stocks stay invested and recover. Your income stays steady. This is what most advisors never show you, and it's the core of what we teach in the masterclass.
What Changes After Your Strategy Call
Where Most Savers Are Today
Quietly worried you'll outlive your money, even though you've saved diligently for 30+ years.
No clear written plan for how to draw income once you retire. Just rough guesses from a calculator.
Scared of the next big market drop. Every correction makes you wonder if you should sell everything.
Getting conflicting advice from advisors, podcasts, and YouTube, and no way to tell what's right for you.
Paying more in taxes than you should because nobody has walked you through withdrawal sequencing.
Where You'll Be After 30 Minutes
Clarity on exactly how your savings turn into 25–30 years of income you won't outlive.
A simple framework for both halves of retirement, accumulation and income, on one page.
Confidence that a market crash in your first 5 retirement years won't wreck the next twenty.
A clear understanding of the "volatility buffer" and why it's the missing piece in most retirement plans.
A specific withdrawal order that can cut your lifetime tax bill by tens of thousands.
Who This Is For
If you want a retirement income plan that lasts without gambling on Wall Street or accepting inflation-sized losses in a savings account, this was made for you.
Pre-Retirees Age 30–55
You've saved diligently, but you're 2–10 years from retirement and realizing nobody has shown you what happens after you stop working. You want a written plan, not guesses.
Near - Retirees Age 55-65
You retired in the last few years and the "income side" of retirement feels harder than saving ever did. You want confidence that your money will last 25+ years.
Retirees Age 65+
You've done fine with a traditional portfolio, but the idea of living through another 2008 or 2022 on a fixed income keeps you up. You want a plan that works in both good markets and bad.
Here's What You'll Walk Away With
The "Income Problem" — why most retirement savings start shrinking faster after age 67, even in years when the market is up, and the planning mistake that causes it.
The Volatility Buffer Strategy — the specific non-stock-market asset that lets you draw income during down years without touching your investments. Most advisors can't offer this.
Smart Withdrawal Sequencing — he right order to draw from your accounts (and the wrong one most retirees default to) that can save tens of thousands in lifetime taxes.
The Sequence-of-Returns rule — the specific structure that stops a bad market year in your first 5 years of retirement from permanently cutting your income.
Why the 4% rule is broken — what replaced it, and what most retirees should actually withdraw (it's not what your advisor told you).
How to build 10–15 years of income you cannot outlive — without locking yourself into a rigid annuity.
The Round-Trip Blueprint — a one-page plan that covers both accumulation and income, so you stop guessing whether you're on track.