Aging-out advisors create an experience gap

While the article is focused on what the advisor industry is doing for succession planning within an organization, the point of the article is relevant to you as well.

Will your advisor retire or pass away before you do? Is your retirement income plan dependent on that particular advisor or any advisor at all?

If the firm you are working with has no obvious advisor to take over the management of your plan, could your spouse or kids take over in the event of your incapacity or passing?

As I’ve stated before, the bottom line is this: Adopt a plan that completes itself, with or without an advisor. There’s no guarantee that they’re going to be there to support your financial goals all of your life.

Does appreciating the importance of retirement planning = action?

The fundamental issue highlighted here is that understanding a problem doesn’t necessarily suggest the solution.

And that goes back to framing the issue.

It’s not that you’re not on track to hit your savings number. It’s that you can’t live on the income chest you’ve built up.

People understand that they can’t live on $20,000 plus Social Security. They’re not sure why the $275,000 they’ve saved isn’t good enough.

It’s the same person, just different framing of the issue.

The savings target they set isn’t working for them, even though they’re on track, because it won’t provide the retirement income they need to comfortably survive.