Clients should be prompted to think about how they will continue to grow and evolve their social network, Lynch says; their friendships will have to evolve to carry them through a retirement that could last three decades or more.
This question helps clients think about their social network over their life cycle. Advisors may want to recommend educational classes, recreational activities and social clubs to clients who have difficulty maintaining social relationships after retirement as their living situation and lifestyles evolve.
Lynch notes that women are better at planning around social and emotional needs than men, because they retain stronger networks in and out of the workforce.
“The fastest growing group of divorcées, agewise, are over the age of 50,” Lynch says. “Generally speaking, it’s because husband and wife come together after their careers and [suddenly] they have all this time together. The man hasn’t kept up his social network and every day gets up and asks the woman, ‘What do we plan on doing today?’ She says, ‘I already have a life and things going on with me. I can’t spend 100 percent of my time with you.’ It becomes uncomfortable, and eventually one might seek a divorce. You need to think about this question and social options with male clients in particular.”
Advisors can adapt similar multi-dimensional questions to help clients clearly consider other future financial goals like buying a home, educational saving, philanthropy and entrepreneurship.
Retirement and longevity, however, remain the largest financial planning issues faced by most clients, Lynch says, and the most difficult to translate from abstractions to real-world terms. Advisors who can help clients envision their retired future will add more value in their financial plans.
“The theme is longevity and how you differentiate yourself in the sea of sameness that is financial planning,” Lynch says. “Investment returns have almost become table stakes. Advisors of the future really have to think and plan on dimensions besides the financial one that they’ve traditionally addressed.”