The Retirement Coaches Association (RCA) has unveiled a new tool that advisors can use to help their clients determine how prepared they are for the non-financial aspects of retirement.
Speaking at RCA’s conference on Tuesday, Robert Laura, founder of the RCA, told audience members that having enough money saved for retirement is not all that matters any more.
“Retirement is still backward because it focuses too much on money and not enough on people,” he told the audience. “It doesn’t matter how much money you have if you don’t have family, friends, good health and time.”
Laura said that most people do not consider non-financial factors when determining their retirement preparedness. While advisors are well positioned to get clients ready financially, they may lack the tools to assist them in other ways.
To help, Laura announced the launch of Retirement Quotient (RQ), a 56-question evaluation that advisors can give their clients that will paint a detailed picture about what an individual will need, besides money, to be happy in retirement.
Through the course of the questions, the RQ will assess a person’s assumption about the transition into retirement as well as measure how significant their work plays into their sense of self. It will also determine other factors, including their social life, their level of activity, and hobbies.
Laura told the audience that attempting to gather this information about a person’s personality before retirement has never been done before.
“It’s a lot of information about an individual that has not been put together before,” he said. “No one has sat anyone down and asked these questions and we have the opportunity to do that.”
Advisors can then use the results of this assessment to create the right retirement package for clients, which may not necessarily include investment vehicles. Laura said that this will include creating a comprehensive plan for retirees that covers the non-financial aspects of retirement.
“By knowing where our clients fall in these categories, we can create tools and resources for them,” Laura said. “It’s an all-encompassing kind of approach that gives us cues on how to move forward.”