More than 50 percent of affluent and high-net-worth clients have no formal retirement income plan, and financial advisors have completed formal retirement income plans for only 35 percent of their retired clients, according to a recent report from the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute (LIMRA SRI).

Creating a formal written plan for clients can be especially time consuming and could require as much as eight to 10 hours to fully complete, says LIMRA SRI. However, formalizing a retirement plan could have significant financial benefits for financial professionals.

That's because nearly half of high-net-worth and affluent clients (defined as having assets of $500,000 or more) who do have a formal plan have consolidated 90 percent or more of their assets with their financial advisors, according LIMRA SRI. That’s more than double the clients with a similar asset range but with no plan.

In addition, LIMRA SRI says that pre-retiree and retirees with a formal retirement plan save more, are much more likely to estimate their expected income and expenses in retirement, and have a better idea of how long their assets will last in retirement. In short, they were three times more likely to feel prepared for retirement due to having a formal plan.

Strong engagement with high-net-worth clients increased client trust. Specifically, six in ten affluent investors said being deeply involved in retirement planning with their advisor increased their level of trust in them the study found.