Olathe, KS
Retirement Planning in Olathe
You've spent a career at Terracon or Garmin in Olathe, and it left you the same problem: too much of one thing. Terracon is 100% employee-owned. Garmin, Swiss-domiciled, runs its U.S. operations here with nearly 5,000 associates. Add a KPERS school district and a hospital system that changed owners in 2023, and you're carrying concentration risk, plan-sponsor churn, and a Kansas balance that's fully taxable on the way out.
Why Olathe
Planning built for Olathe retirees
Johnson County · about 15 minutes southwest · K-10 at Ridgeview Road
Terracon's corporate office at 10841 S. Ridgeview Road runs 200-plus offices and more than 6,000 employees, and roughly 97% of them are owners through an ESOP formally funded in 1998. That is a retirement account whose value and whose employer are the same bet. Diversification timing and distribution timing are separate questions, and both are decided years before retirement.
Olathe also saw two ownership changes that reshaped local balance sheets. NIC Inc., one of the few public companies headquartered here, was acquired by Tyler Technologies in an all-cash $2.3 billion deal completed April 21, 2021. Olathe Health finalized its combination with the University of Kansas Health System in January 2023, retaining roughly 2,300 to 2,400 associates.
Olathe's employer base produces three distinct retirement problems: employee-owned stock, a foreign-domiciled employer's shares, and a public pension. The cards below describe what each one asks of a plan, not who happens to be a client.
Terracon
Olathe headquarters at 10841 S. Ridgeview Road, 100% employee-owned with an ESOP funded in 1998, roughly 97% of more than 6,000 employees participating. Concentrated stock inside a qualified plan is the planning issue.
Garmin
United States operational headquarters in Olathe at 1200 E. 151st Street, with almost 5,000 associates. Garmin Ltd. is Swiss-domiciled, which changes how a concentrated holding is analyzed even before Kansas tax enters.
KU Health System
Olathe Health's combination with the University of Kansas Health System was finalized in January 2023, retaining roughly 2,300 to 2,400 associates across Olathe Medical Center and Miami County Medical Center.
Kansas Taxes
Kansas tax on an Olathe employee-owner's retirement
Kansas income tax law as of tax year 2026 · verified August 2026
An ESOP distribution and a Garmin position sit on opposite sides of the Kansas rulebook, in name only. Whatever leaves a qualified plan flows through federal AGI into Kansas AGI and gets taxed in full. K.S.A. 79-32,117 has no subtraction for private plans. Above $46,000 of taxable income, joint filers pay 5.58%.
Social Security is the one clean exception. Since tax year 2024, Kansas subtracts all of it, no income limit, so realizing a large distribution in one year won't cost you that exemption anymore. Kansas has no capital gains subtraction of any kind.
- Kansas top rate, TY2024+
- 5.58%
- Social Security, TY2024+
- Fully exempt
- 401(k) & IRA income, TY2024+
- Fully taxable
Sources: KDOR Notice 24-08 · K.S.A. 79-32,117 · KDOR homestead programs
Tax figures on this page are current as of the dates shown and are provided for general education only. Kansas and Missouri retirement tax rules changed in 2024 and 2025, and several of these figures are adjusted annually for inflation or depend on future revenue triggers. Nothing here is tax, legal, or investment advice. Confirm your own situation with your tax professional before acting.
Who We Help
Is this you?
01
Age 50+ and within 10 years of retirement
02
$2M or more saved, mostly in 401(k)s and IRAs
03
Ready for a tax-first approach to retirement planning
How it works
Your Tax-First Retirement Plan is built in 4 weeks
Two phases over ten weeks. Phase one builds the plan in four weeks. Phase two determines who handles the ongoing monitoring and optimization.
Phase 1
Three sessions. Four weeks.
Week 1 · No Cost
Strategy
A 30 to 45 minute conversation about your goals and concerns, including a walkthrough of your Nine Tax Surprises Analysis. You'll leave knowing whether it's the right fit, whether the Retire Ready Roadmap™ makes sense for your next steps, and what tax surprises Uncle Sam has waiting for you.
Week 3
$4,500
Your Roadmap Review
Nine tax surprises sit inside a traditional retirement that almost nobody warns you about. Your Retire Ready Roadmap™ answers 25 questions with your specific numbers, across all five areas.
Best for couples already working with an advisor or looking to partner with one.
Week 4
Alignment
A 7 to 10 day refining period lets your plan settle in. Follow-up questions get answered, and sometimes components of your plan need to be analyzed or strategized. This wraps up the initial plan set-up and sets the stage for what happens next.
Three Paths Forward
The plan is done. Here's what happens next.
Most Popular
01
Do It Yourself
The plan is yours. You manage the ongoing execution.
Most Popular
02
Take It to Your Advisor
Take the plan to your advisor. Hopefully they follow through.
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03
Done For You
Continue with MOKAN.
Phase 2
Ongoing relationship
Done For You
1.0–1.5%
Wealth Management
The Retire Ready Roadmap™ is a living plan. It needs ongoing attention to maximize your retirement. Tax planning, investment management, Roth conversions, and IRMAA monitoring are handled for you. You focus on living the retirement you built.
Client Reviews
What Couples Say After Switching to Tax-First Planning
MOKAN Wealth Management has not offered compensation for the testimonials featured. The displayed testimonials have been chosen from a spectrum of client feedback. To the best of our understanding, there are no other conflicts of interest associated with these testimonials.
Nearby
Retirement planning nearby
Lenexa, Overland Park, and Gardner run along the same K-10 and I-35 employment corridor, and share Olathe's mix of engineering firms and school district pensions.
Common Questions
Retiring in Olathe: common questions
You hold Garmin stock from an Olathe career. What should you know?
Garmin Ltd. is Swiss-domiciled. Switzerland generally withholds 35% on dividends, but Garmin pays its dividend out of a reserve from capital contribution, which is exempt from that withholding. Shareholders approved $3.60 per share for 2025; the board proposed $4.20 for 2026. Don't assume 35% applies. Your real risk is concentration, not withholding.
How does a Terracon ESOP change your Olathe retirement plan?
An ESOP means your employer and your largest retirement asset are the same bet. Terracon's ESOP was funded in 1998, and roughly 97% of its 6,000-plus employees participate. That raises diversification and distribution-sequencing questions a generic 401(k) never poses. Kansas taxes the distribution in full, at an effective 5.58%.
Is your KPERS pension taxed by Kansas if you retire in Olathe?
No. K.S.A. 74-4923(b) exempts KPERS benefits from Kansas tax, and K.S.A. 79-32,117(c)(ii) carries that through to Kansas AGI. One detail worth knowing: a KPERS lump sum and its earnings keep that exempt status even if rolled into a qualified account and commingled. Tracking the basis becomes your practical problem.
Next Step
Ready to Keep More of What You've Built?
If you and your spouse have $2M or more in investable assets, a tax-first retirement plan helps you keep more of it, year after year.