The American author Edwin Louis Cole once said: “There are dreamers and there are planners; the planners make their dreams come true”.
Your clients will likely spend a considerable portion of their working lives dreaming of their eventual retirements. But reaching their long-term goals is unlikely to be something they manage without much planning.
Retirement planning is unfortunately something a significant number of Brits take for granted with research from Unbiased showing at least 17% of people in the UK aged 55 and over have no pension savings (other than the State Pension). It is only marginally better than the 21% across all UK age groups.
Read on to discover three useful ways your clients can benefit from advice as they approach retirement.
1. A financial planner can help keep your clients on track to meet their long-term goals
According to Derren Brown, the most common thing people say on their deathbed is “I wish I had lived the life I wanted to lead, rather than the life other people wanted me to lead”.
Your clients might not normally expect to gain life lessons from the planet’s foremost purveyor of illusion and trickery. But Derren does with his insight that basically says: “Life is not a rehearsal”. It is a point that we really think hits home.
Your clients only have one shot at life and it’s crucial they seize every opportunity, and build towards unlocking all their dreams and goals.
Throughout their lives, their circumstances are likely to change. Your clients might start a new job, move homes, or they may get married or divorced. These pivotal moments in life can mean they need to adapt their financial plans.
Working with a financial planner isn’t a short-term fix. It is a relationship that thrives through developing trust and understanding over the long term.
At Grey Parrot, we don’t simply invest our clients’ funds and call it a day. We regularly communicate, have meetings when necessary, and conduct annual reviews to ensure your clients remain on track towards achieving their life goals.
Fostering a long-term relationship with a financial planner – instead of receiving one-off advice – can also potentially boost your clients’ wealth.
Research from the International Longevity Centre (ILC) determined that developing an ongoing relationship with a financial adviser tends to lead to better financial outcomes.
Individuals who received professional financial advice between 2001 and 2006, and were still gaining advice from 2014 to 2016, had almost 50% higher average pension wealth than those who only sought advice at the start.
2. A financial planner ensures that your clients’ money grows as efficiently as possible
Every penny counts when working towards substantial retirement savings goals and seeking advice can be costly. But this is where a fixed-fee approach to financial planning can be incredibly beneficial for your clients.
At Grey Parrot, we consider percentage-based fees to be a bit of a Jedi mind trick. A small percentage figure, such as 2%, might not feel like a significant outlay. However, the greater your clients’ investments perform, the larger the value of that percentage becomes, even if their adviser does little to no additional work.
Fixed fees ensure your clients are charged in a fair and transparent manner, and that the size of their investments doesn’t determine the quality of work they receive. They will also have more money left over to pursue their long-term goals.
Our honest approach to fees demonstrates that we aim to act in your clients’ best interests and develop carefully tailored plans that seek to grow their money as efficiently as possible.
Their retirement funds will likely be comprised of multiple income streams including their pension pot, investments, and savings. These funds are likely to need to last your clients for upwards of 20, 30 or even 40 years.
They may need to factor in your clients’ desired level of comfort during retirement, as well as the effects on their savings of inflation or a sudden change in circumstances.
Working with a financial planner can help your clients’ funds stay on track to meet the growth needed to reach their goals by:
- Navigating unnecessary taxes that will diminish the size of their retirement pots by building their wealth tax-efficiently and through taking advantage of available tax relief
- Ensuring their investments are aligned with their tolerance for risk
- Making sure their plans consider the benefits of areas such as pension contributions, protection, and Annual and Lifetime Allowances.
At Grey Parrot, we want to see your clients perched on a healthy nest egg come retirement (pardon the pun).
3. A financial planner can provide your clients with emotional support
Retirement is one of life’s great milestones and a time of considerable change for your clients. AgeUK reports that many recent retirees feel they failed to adequately judge the challenges the change in their lives would pose them, as they work to cope with a sudden loss of identity and purpose.
A Royal London study found that developing a trusting relationship with a financial planner and working with them over the long term can reap significant emotional benefits, aside from the financial ones.
The graph below details some of the key responses advised and non-advised individuals gave during their study.
Source: Royal London
Individuals who received financial advice reported greater positive outcomes than those who didn’t receive advice:
- 15% more reported feeling in control of their finances
- 9% fewer reported having worries about being financially able to cope with retirement
- 15% more reported feeling financially secure and stable
The study goes onto show how individuals felt about advice over the course of a long-term, trusting relationship.
Source: Royal London
The data shows that individuals who received advice from an adviser they knew well and trusted felt better about outcomes across the board.
Get in touch
If your clients have any worries about their retirement plans, the first step towards alleviating them could be seeking professional advice. They should contact us by email at info@grey-parrot.co.uk or call us at 02039 871782.
Please note
This article is no substitute for financial advice and should not be treated as such. To determine the best course of action for your individual circumstances, please contact us.
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