The Issue Isn’t That People Are Living Longer, It’s Simply Taking Longer For People To Feel “Old”
The whole idea of people living longer is a broken record. Everyone seems to have gotten that message. The problem is, no one knows what to do with it. In fact, most people assume living longer means they will be less capable for longer periods of time. But that’s not necessarily true.
The issue at hand is that people are reaching traditional retirement age and don’t feel old. They may be 62, 65 or even 70 but they feel, and in many cases even look decades younger. This may sound great, but it’s actually very confusing for people because no one is out there giving clients permission to use some of their retirement savings or other investments to re-invent themselves, switch careers, go back to school or start a business.
People have been trained for so long to work until their 62 or 65, that not doing so leaves people feeling out of sorts. Some people wonder if others will think they haven’t saved enough, don’t want to spend time with a spouse or simply don’t have a life outside of work.
Which is why we as advisors need to usher in this new era of thinking by giving people permission to stay young, at work and engaged at whatever level they want until they don’t feel like doing it anymore.
Without Your Mind, Your Life Losses Meaning
Think about it, what gives your life so much value and meaning? It’s your ability to recall fond memories, make new ones, recognize people and places, while appreciating new things and experiences. Once that capacity is gone, so too is the foundation for what gives your life meaning.
That means when we talk about more common forms of protection such as life insurance and long-term care, we also need to address brain health. There’s no need to bring up the amygdala or the medial temporal lobe. Simply emphasizing the role that our minds play if living life to the fullest and pointing out that crossword puzzles and Sudoku won’t be enough can be a great place to start.
Traditional Estate Planning Is Backwards And May Be More Damaging Than No Planning At All
Put another way, there is no point in helping clients pass on their wealth, if you don’t help them pass on their wisdom. The real truth is that wealth does not create wisdom, however, wisdom has the ability to both create and maintain wealth.
Therefore, effective estate planning needs to start with defining family values, beliefs and traditions. This can be accomplished in a number of ways, but it’s most often done with an ethical will. These are not legal documents but allow clients to get clear about what’s important and what they truly want to pass on. Once that is done, the money stuff becomes much easier to figure out.
Overall, these statements can be useful in jolting clients to think and prepare differently for retirement. By creating more awareness around topics like these, advisors have a powerful way to start new conversations as well as a chance to make a positive impact on a client’s personal life in retirement.
Robert Laura is the president of SYNERGOS Financial Group, the founder of RetirementProject.org and pioneer in Certified Retirement Coach training. He is speaking at Financial Advisor's Inside Retirement conference in Las Vegas on September 26 can be reached at [email protected].