Retirement planning is a major focus for most financial advisors. Every generation needs to give it serious consideration, and develop a concrete plan that they can stay disciplined to. BlackRock offers five points of advice to financial professionals in order to help clients achieve their retirement goals.

1)      Offer role models:  Instead of just talking about withdrawal rates and retirement income, provide real world examples. Let your clients know that if today’s retirees can do it, so can they.

2)      Add a secure income option: While a 401(k) can be a great way to save, clients are all about the bottom line for their retirement income.  Re-evaluate their portfolios to make sure they have some assets providing them with a solid foundation no matter how long their retirement.

3)      Make it automatic: Talk to your clients about the convenience of auto-enrolling in their defined contribution plans to make their savings as easy as possible.

4)      Promote good behavior through education: In addition to making sure your clients are educated about how the retirement landscape has changed and how they should be adapting, also make sure you are keeping current with their data. That way, you can tailor communications for each audience to promote optimal behavior.

5)      Get creative: You can’t talk to your clients 24/7, but consider other ways to keep retirement top of mind for them: like sending a text.  An assistant professor at Harvard business School found that regular, group meetings positively influenced savings behavior – but low-effort text messages were nearly as effective (quantified at 80% effectiveness) as these in-person meetings.

Source:  BlackRock

2066-CLS-12/17/2012