Financial resources clearly help. But more resources alone are not the best answer. Any move will change social networks and patterns of engagement. The change may be good, bad or a combination of both. However, an unplanned move, or worse an unsuccessful move, is expensive financially, and erodes quality of life.
Without understanding which networks are most important to clients and why, it is difficult to discuss what’s required financially to maintain them over time. As with independence, it’s extremely difficult to provide the best financial advice without the best discussion.
With known lifetime timeframes (e.g., college bills), it is not difficult to set investment timeframes. With social networks and engagement, timeframes are simply not knowable. But ignoring them is not the answer.
Going Beyond Dollars And Cents
The easiest segmentation begins with dollars and cents, and ends with a strictly financial discussion of returns, risk tolerance and broad investment objectives.
The best segmentation process goes further. It addresses quality of life objectives, like independence and engagement. That surfaces available trade-offs, how financial resources enable those, the financial consequences of unavoidable events, and using financial and non-financial resources to manage them.
A better segmentation process yields more opportunities to advise and help clients achieve their lifetime health and care objectives.
It also yields better advice and better outcomes for clients.
J. Heywood E. Sloane is a principal of Diversified Services Group and co-founder of HealthStyles.Net.