Special-needs planning is hard but rewarding

In the May 17 issue of InvestmentNews, Emile Hallez wrote about the complex challenges and personal rewards of providing financial planning for special-needs clients. Among the individuals interviewed for his cover story was an adviser whose pedigree for providing advice to this underserved community truly stands out. Andrew Komarow, himself on the autism spectrum, has been an advocate for and champion of the special-needs community both as an adviser and as founder of Planning Across The Spectrum. He embodies the personal and professional qualities that are a credit to the financial services industry and serves as an inspiration to all advisers.

Special-needs planning is, to be sure, a niche market. Most of the advisers who serve these clients do so to accommodate existing clients, according to a 2017 survey by InvestmentNews. Komarow backed that data up, telling Jeff Benjamin and Bruce Kelly in The InvestmentNews Podcast last week that the most common way special-needs clients come to him is through their parents.

About one in five people in the U.S. have a disability, and that will likely increase as the baby boomer population ages, according to the American College of Financial Planning. About two-thirds of people who are caregivers reported being worried about having enough retirement income, and more than half said they don’t know how to build a financial plan for special-needs dependents, Hallez wrote in his article.

Since the American College launched its Chartered Special Needs Consultant Professional Program, about 500 advisers have received the designation, according to the article.

Jessica Tuman, head of Voya Cares Center of Excellence at Voya Financial, wrote in a contributed article for InvestmentNews last year that the growing costs and complex benefits for special-needs care require planning and knowledge of the resources available. “For advisers, working with this often-underserved community provides the opportunity to truly make a difference,” Tuman wrote.

Indeed, special-needs financial planning poses many challenges, especially navigating the complicated legal and governmental rules surrounding disability benefits, Heather Lavallee, CEO of wealth solutions for Voya Financial, explained in a Bloomberg article. One bad decision by an adviser, she wrote, could create a tax burden for parents or render their special-needs child ineligible for government benefits to which they are entitled.

“Anyone thinking of getting into the special-needs planning market, I can tell you it’s the most rewarding work, but it’s the hardest niche you can pick and the least profitable,” Komarow said on the podcast.

For that reason, it takes a special kind of adviser to take on special-needs clients and provide them with the level of service and attention they deserve. But being on the spectrum is not a prerequisite for entry into this market niche. So, be advised: Taking on clients with special needs may not become a growth area for your book of business and that probably shouldn’t be your impetus to start; it is a labor of love.