Even wealthy investors are having a hard time nailing down a retirement income plan from their advisors, according to a panel of advisory clients speaking at the Alliance for Lifetime Income’s 2024 Protected Retirement Summit in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

With America at the beginning of what the Alliance calls the “Peak 65 zone,” a historic period where over four million Americans will turn 65 each year from now until 2027, millions of consumers are trying to figure out how to convert their savings into income to fund a retirement that could last 30 or more years. The alliance defines “peak 65” Americans as those age 61 to 65.

A panel of five consumers at the summit—all over age 50—all said they have worked with advisors, but aren’t always sure if these professionals are interested in creating an income plan. The general consensus among the panelists was that advisors were more interested in asset accumulation.

“Our advisor brought us in recently and said: ‘So what are we going to do here?’ That was an eye-opener about how much we need to invest in planning. We’re now approaching that point in our financial life where we really need to start thinking about how we get to retirement,” said Milly Smith, a physician’s assistant who founded a chain of emergency clinics 10 years ago.

“I’m feeling a little anxious,” Smith said. “I said to my husband, ‘We thought we had this figured out, but we really don’t. She added that she and her husband are considering changing advisors to obtain a holistic, complete plan.

Her concerns mirror the findings of Alliance’s “2024 Protected Retirement Income and Planning Study.” According to that report, 62% of advisors say they bring up the topic of secure income with their clients, but only 27% of investors report ever hearing their advisors discuss the subject.

Nearly half of the Peak 65 respondents in the study said they’re unsure if their income will last throughout their lifetime. An overwhelming 96% said protecting retirement is important to them, the survey found.

“Nearly 100% of investors believe protecting retirement assets is important, compared to just 79% of advisors,” the report said. “This gap underscores a disconnect in priorities when planning for a secure retirement and how investor-advisor conversations are perceived.”

Among the report’s other findings:

  • Ninety-eight percent of advisors said they discuss sources of protected income such as Social Security, pensions and annuities, but only 69% of clients said that these discussions are happening.
  • Ninety-six percent of advisors said they discuss when clients should withdraw from certain accounts, but only 66% of clients are saying these discussions are going on.
  • Ninety-five percent of advisors say they talk about how to minimize taxes, but only 64% of clients say that conversation occurs.

The study also uncovered a wide disparity in investable assets among Peak 65 consumers, finding that only 11% of them have assets of $1 million or more and only 13% have assets between $500,000 and $1 million.

John Kennedy, the executive vice president and chief distribution and brand officer at Lincoln Financial, said on a separate panel that barely any firms ask clients if they plan to take income from their assets in the next 10 years or so.

“It’s a mentality of accumulation, accumulation, accumulation,” he said. “We have to do a better job talking about guaranteed income.”

Thanks to the SECURE Act 2.0, annuities will be in most advisors’ futures, whether they like it or not. The law let 401(k) plans offer default annuity investment options, so younger investors are putting money in these vehicles. The law also gave plan participants the right to make tax-free rollovers of up to 25% of their plan assets to qualified longevity annuity contracts (or QLACs). Such rollovers would reduce investors’ required minimum distribution by that percentage. And the income from the contract can be deferred as late in the client’s life as age 85.

Those changes mean advisors need to get better at discussing annuities and income planning, according to Nick Lane, the president of Equitable, who also spoke on the other panel. “We really need to start seeing secured income annuities as an asset class. We know they’ll give you better outcomes, more income, lower risk and more stability,” Lane said.

Suzanne Norman, an education fellow at the Alliance for Lifetime Income, said that advisors have to change their orientation from “investments, investments, investments to secure income planning. This is an opportunity for us to step into this space. Tremendous pressure comes off the [investors’] investment portfolio when you can solve for income,” Norman said.