Questions such as:
• What does a perfect day and week look like in retirement?
• What aspects of your life have you had to put on hold due to your work and career life?
• In retirement you will gain time and freedom, but what aspects will you be losing in the transition?
• What things are you planning to do in retirement that you’re not doing right now for your health?
• What three to five goals do you want to accomplish in your first few months of retirement?
The opportunity here is threefold. First, these questions are designed to get clients thinking about their everyday life in retirement. Too often people approach retirement with a variety of vague ideas and assumptions. They think just because they are no longer working that things will magically fall into place and they will have purpose, direction and fulfillment simply by being able to wake up on their own and by having the option to do whatever they want throughout the day, which would be similar to thinking that carrying a horseshoe everywhere in retirement would provide good luck. Therefore, by having clients take the time to think about it and actually write it down, we move away from hope and fate to concrete ideas and strategies.
Second, one of the most powerful benefits of planning for the financial side of retirement is that clients get to take it with them into retirement, they don’t wait until they get there to figure it out. Let me explain. It’s common for people to say that they are going to work out more, eat better, spend more time with family and volunteer for impact once they retire.
But that’s just talk, there’s no real foundation here and they assume they will have the health, energy and motivation to work out more, that family wants to spend time with them after they have spent all their time working, and that volunteering a few hours a week somewhere will give them similar purpose and direction that aspects of their work provided.
It's sort of like a client implying, they are going to start saving for retirement once they are retired. It makes no sense, but financial professionals regularly let clients walk out of their office thinking they are ready to retire but only have a written plan and direction for the financial side of things.
Finally, you don’t have to ask everyone who comes into your office all of these questions. Start with one client to see how it feels and flows, then build on that momentum. So often when I talk about integrating the non-financial side of retirement planning into the conversation, advisors think they need to rework their entire process and develop new content and material. But you don’t. You just have to care enough to ask one person. That’s it!
That being said, while this is a good list of initial questions to start with, the opportunity to help your clients plan beyond the dollars and cents is the next frontier in financial services, and it’s not only rewarding for them but also for you. Primarily because you are giving them specific things to do in retirement, goals to work on and achieve, and existing routines to develop for health, relationships, and personal well-being.
All things that are going to better position them compared to someone who has just reached traditional retirement age, saved enough not to work and is protected by various insurances. The reality is, you need a written plan for both the financial and non-financial aspects if you want to take superstition out of the retirement equation.
This is the new narrative for retirement and why a premium will continue to be placed on financial professionals who not only have the training and expertise in this area but also the tools and skills to help clients retire with the a realistic approach rather than their fingers crossed and a lucky rabbit’s foot in their pocket.
Robert Laura is a best-selling author, nationally syndicated columnist and president of Wealth & Wellness Group. He is a seasoned conference speaker, corporate trainer, and founder of The Certified Professional Retirement Coach Designation which focuses on the non-financial aspects of life after work. He can be reached at [email protected].