In a recent survey by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc., about a quarter of financial advisors reported that the pandemic has caused clients to lean on them as therapists.

That could become the new normal, said Anna Rappaport, a fellow of the Society of Actuaries. She also believes that advisors who do more to help clients solve problems will probably do better.

Rappaport, who recently co-authored the “Impact of Covid-19 on Retirement Risks" report, noted that many advisors say they are spending more time with people who need emotional support and confidence. 

She posited that Covid-19 has affected so many different areas of peoples’ lives that advisors have their hands full engaging with clients across a range of issues including investments, retirement planning and family issues. She added that the pandemic makes people think about a wider range of risks and how these risks interact with their retirement.   

Rappaport said Covid-19 could either pose an opportunity for advisors to become heroes or pose a threat if clients feel they are not getting the help they need.

She noted that when the Society of Actuaries began its post-retirement research program more than 20 years ago the focus was mainly on money. But the organization subsequently realized the topic was much bigger than that. If you just focus on money, she said, you are not properly looking at the picture.

Rappaport pointed out that Covid-19 has raised many questions for retirement planning. Among them are the challenges surrounding the affordability of housing and the need to make appropriate housing decisions in retirement—these being especially important because housing is the biggest expense for retirees and the biggest asset for many of them, she said.

She added that financial advisors should be able to help clients with questions regarding where they should live, whether they should pay off their mortgage or take a reverse mortgage, or whether they should downsize.

Rappaport said her organization’s research found that many people do not focus much on family in their retirement planning because they do not want to be a burden on their adult children. Yet family members often play a role in taking care of their loved ones when they get older and need assistance.

“It would be better if people took this more into account,” she said.

Covid-19 has also raised questions and challenges with senior living arrangements such as assisted-living facilities and nursing homes after many of these were locked down and/or experienced virus-related deaths.

“There are real issues around choosing what strategy to assess to take care of loved ones and how to make it work,” Rappaport said.

Going forward, Rappaport believes more families will be involved in helping parents and other family members as they get older. “I am also guessing there will be more multi-generational family households, and I think there are some tricky issues for multi-generational families,” she said, adding that some families with younger kids could find themselves in the home-schooling business while they juggle helping their older relative.

The pandemic also reinforces the importance of scrutinizing the type of health-care coverage you have. She noted that choosing health insurance, even when you are eligible for Medicare, can be tricky because of the different options and the different Medicare Advantage Plans. But this is where advisors can also provide help.

And regardless of what is happening with Covid-19, Rappaport said, the logistics of when to claim Social Security remains a huge issue for many Americans.

“Claiming late for many people is a really good deal but people don’t necessarily recognize it,” she said. “And that’s even truer today than it was a few years ago because of the low interest rates.”

Finally, Rappaport said, the current pandemic bolsters the need for sound financial planning that ensures access to an emergency fund to minimize financial instability. That includes going back to retirement basics such as saving and reducing spending.

And she said retirees should focus on establishing retirement income that’s not reliant on equities and which could provide more sustainable financial security.

“They should either have cash reserves or a guaranteed lifetime income or annuities to cover basic expenses and discretionary expenses,” she said.

And as for new retirees, Rappaport noted, one of the big questions they have is whether they can still afford retirement. “Of course, that’s a natural for the advisor to work through with them,” she said.