Financial planners expect retirement income chops to pay off

Having expertise with retirement income products and issues is paying off for many advisers, according to a study published today by the Financial Planning Association. Over the past 12 months, 91% of advisers surveyed have been able to use their retirement income background in acquiring clients. Of those advisers, six in 10 said the expertise has helped them acquire four or more clients. On average, advisers are spending 50% of their time on retirement-income-related activities. And advisers expect their revenue to grow by an average of nearly one-third over the next five years as more clients consolidate their assets and advisers increase their fees to provide more-detailed work to this aging population. Despite the plethora of retirement income products to hit the market, advisers still prefer more traditional vehicles such as dividends and laddered certificates of deposit/bonds, according to the study. “Although variable annuities with living benefits have grown substantially in acceptance over the past few years, it remains to be seen how much they will encourage on the older methods,” the FPA stated in an overview of the study’s findings. The study, which was produced by Diversified Services Group Inc., was based on responses from 460 FPA members.