Many of your retired clients are discovering their accumulated savings are insufficient to meet their current expenses, which translates into a need for more income.
In a survey by the Longevity Alliance Inc. of Washington, 42% of retirees said changes in their financial situation would cause them to think about going back to work and 29% said changes in health care coverage would be a key factor in that decision.
How can you be a resource to help these clients?
A good way to start is through your year-end client reviews. They're a perfected opportunity to learn more about your retired clients by creating a survey they could complete before coming in to meet with you. The survey should be simple and focus on a few points, such as changes in pensions, 401(k) plans and an update on living expenses. Have clients bring with them a summary of all expenses, including bills for credit cards, medical and real estate tax expenses, as well as their most recent tax return. Now more than ever, it is important for advisers to profile their clients and identify changes before they become a problem.
Adviser opportunity: Become a retirement work resource. Obviously, I'm not suggesting you to become an employment agency or job counselor — but there are many ways an adviser can help their retired and soon-to-be retired clients with work-related issues.
A Florida advisory team I know holds bi-weekly seminars with small groups of retired clients to discuss going back to work. The team then connects the retirees with a support team to help jump-start their employment search. The team also invites clients to bring friends. The meetings have helped some of the clients find jobs, helped others rethink their spending and, for others, confirmed the soundness of their retirement financial plan.
The advisory team's seminars are held at their offices or at a local library or senior center to avoid overhead costs. The sessions are held in the morning or early evening, as many retirees are early risers and don't want to be out late. Light refreshments are served. Libraries work particularly well because they don't charge for their space and provide a range of additional resources for clients to tap into right after the meeting.
The Florida team started with their top retired clients and invited small groups to join the job search meetings, which has become a natural client referral opportunity. At each session, they offer additional coaching from a local retirement consulting firm that reviews all aspects of retirement, including health care. Sometimes, a CPA attends. Clients with expertise in certain fields have offered to help, too.
The advisers have given their retired clients a chance to deal with their biggest fear — inadequate income — and built long-term client relationships. In fact, clients who have found employment have offered to come back to help others.
The key to adviser success in this endeavor is to become an information resource — and then turn the employment coaching over to the experts.
If you have a strategy or idea that has worked in this or other area of practice management and marketing, please e-mail me at Maureen@connectedadvisor.com.
Next week: Educating clients' children about saving
Maureen Wilke has spent more than 20 years in marketing and wealth management with firms including Nuveen Investments and Sequoia System International. She has worked with thousands of advisers to increase the effectiveness of their practice and has developed The CONNECTED Adviser practice management system to help distribution teams and financial advisers on practice management strategies. Sign up for the free Stay Connected newsletter or find out more on how to Jumpstart Client Reviews at www.connectedadvisor.com.
