Helping retired clients get back to work

Many of your retired clients are discovering that their accumulated savings are insufficient to meet their current expenses, which translates into a need for more retirement income.

And that translates into working longer than they may have intended.

In a survey by the Longevity Alliance Inc. of Washington, 42% of retirees said changes in their financial situation would cause them to think about going back to work and 29% said changes in health care coverage would be a key factor in that decision.

How can you be a resource to help these clients?

DETERMINE NEEDS

A good way to start is through your year-end client reviews. They’re a perfect opportunity to learn more about your retired clients by creating a survey they could complete before coming in to meet with you. The survey should be simple and focus on a few points, such as changes in pensions, 401(k) plans and an update on living expenses.

You can have your assistant e-mail or call your clients to gather this information.

In preparation for your annual review, have clients bring with them a summary of all expenses, including bills for credit cards, health care and real estate taxes, as well as their most recent tax return. Now more than ever, it is important for advisers to profile their clients and identify changes before they become a problem.

You also have an opportunity to become a retirement work resource.

Obviously, I’m not suggesting that you become an employment agency or job counselor — but there are many ways an adviser can help their retired and soon-to-be retired clients with work-related issues (and become an even more valued resource to your clients in the process).

A Florida advisory team I know holds bi-weekly seminars with small groups of retired clients to discuss going back to work. The team then connects the retirees with a support team to help jump-start their employment search.

The team also invites clients to bring friends. The meetings have helped some clients find jobs, helped others rethink their spending and, for others, confirmed the soundness of their retirement financial plan.

The advisory team’s seminars are held at their offices or at a local library or senior center. The sessions are held in the morning or afternoon, as many retirees are early risers and don’t want to be out late. Light refreshments are served. Libraries work particularly well because they don’t charge for their space and provide a range of additional resources for clients to tap into right after the meeting, including online access that some clients may not have at home.

The Florida team started with their top retired clients and invited small groups to join the job search meetings, which became a natural client referral opportunity. At each session, they offered additional coaching from a local retirement consulting firm that reviews all aspects of retirement, including health care. A certified public accountant who works with the team attended some of the meetings. Clients with expertise in certain fields offered to help, too.

The advisers have given their retired clients a chance to deal with their biggest fear — inadequate income — and built long-term client relationships. In fact, clients who found employment have offered to come back to help others.

The key to adviser success in this endeavor is to become an information resource — and then turning the employment coaching over to the experts.

Demonstrating a deep understanding of client needs and a willingness to help in ways for which there is no direct compensation will go a long way to cement ties to your best clients.

Maureen Wilke, who has spent more than 20 years in marketing and wealth management with firms including Nuveen Investments and Sequoia System International, can be reached at [email protected]. Her INPractice column appears every -Monday on investmentnews.com.

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