Thomas Richardson

Thomas Richardson is the byline we publish our retirement research under. It is a house name, not an individual adviser, and we would rather say so plainly than let you assume otherwise.

We are not licensed financial advisers, we hold no professional designations, and nothing on this site is personal financial advice. What we do is read the primary sources, compare what companies publish, and write down what we find. Where a number cannot be verified, we say that instead of filling the gap.

How we research

1. Primary sources first. Rules and figures are checked against IRS.gov, SSA.gov, BLS.gov and the World Gold Council, not against other blogs.
2. Company claims stay company claims. Fees, minimums and terms come from what a provider publishes. If we could not confirm a figure in writing, the page says so rather than showing a number.
3. Complaints get read, not summarised. Where a company has a regulatory record or a pattern of complaints, we link to the source so you can read it yourself.
4. Pages get dated. Every review carries the date it was last checked, so you can see how stale it is.
5. Editorial review. Content is checked against our Editorial Standards before it goes up.

How we make money

We earn a commission when a reader opens an account with Augusta Precious Metals, which is currently the only company we have an affiliate agreement with. That is disclosed on every page that carries their link.

Every other company on this site is covered without any commercial relationship, and we do not link out to them. If that changes, this page changes with it. Our full policy is in our Editorial Standards.

What we will not do

• No fear selling. Data, not doom.
• No promises about returns. Nothing here is risk free or guaranteed, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling.
• No hidden commercial ties. If we get paid, it says so on the page.
• No invented expertise. We tell you what we checked and where it came from, so you can check it too.