Is being a financial planning refugee keeping your from your desired retirement lifestyle…
There is an island many are trying to get too…retirement island.
Problem is, many are refugees struggling to find a way…to locate that well trodden path to make it to retirement island safely.
Over the last 12 months I’ve met with many people who are refugees of financial advisers.
Either who have been let down by their adviser or dumped by their adviser. Only to be left to travel a treacherous path. Left to defend for themselves against the retirement villain’s.
Some will not make it to retirement island. Falling prey to retirement villain’s along the journey. Others will, but fall short of what they need to retire comfortably.
On our island…the island I live on…our clients live on…it’s a happy place.
They make it to retirement island in sound financial shape. They have a proven predictable path to follow. One that lowers the risk that they’ll at least be able to retire to the same level of comfort they enjoy right now. If not in a better financial position than they had expected.
Then there are some…who put in the hard work and are able to escape the work life for play time earlier than they had ever expected.
They have a personalised game plan to live the lifestyle they aspire to in retirement. Armed with weapons to defend against the retirement villains along the journey.
Here’s the downside of being a financial planning refugee…
Financial Opportunities Missed Leaving You With Less For Your Retirement…
The last thing you want is to make it to retirement, only to look back and find out the opportunities you’ve missed.
Unfortunately, this is a common theme I’m seeing among DIY’ers and those who are seeking advice from financial planning generalists. Those who help everyone.
In some cases these missed opportunities can add up to thousands of dollars a year, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars by the time they retire.
The rules around retirement planning are complex.
Superannuation…contributions…contribution limits…contribution timing to name a few.
Then you’ve got to be an expert on how to invest…but it’s different as you approach retirement.
You approach needs to change from one of accumulation and highest return. To one of decumulation and risk management. If you’re going to safely navigate your retirement journey…and if you plan on not running out of money in your retirement years.
More importantly, you need to plan ahead more than ever, otherwise you risk missing out.
Investment Focused Advisers Harming Your Retirement Longevity…
Dating way back…to the beginning when advisers were largely investment advisers. The focus was solely on selecting investments and managed funds.
That was when there was little information available to the general public…
Fast forward to the current world we live in and information is abundant. Anyone and everyone can access the same information the experts have.
There’s robo advisers to make all your investment decisions for you. If you don’t mind robots. Answer a few questions and away you go!
But there’s a downside to an investment only adviser…it’s narrow focused.
Focused just on the investment side of your finances.
It’s an important aspect of any plan. But can be harmful if it does not take account of your lifestyle and retirement goals.
Investment focused advisers, have little chance of outperforming investment markets.
There’s a significant amount of research under the topic of evidence based investing. This research proves it’s nigh on impossible to outperform investment markets over the long term.
Surely it makes better sense to invest in a way that reduces the risk of you underperforming any investment market. While still keeping the lifestyle you enjoy…
Once bitten, twice shy…
Then there’s those financial planning refugees who have been led down the garden path. Only to be left reeling about their experience.
And rightly so.
Left with a bad taste in their mouth from the experience…and for many left out of pocket for the privilege.
It’s an important point to dissect for a moment…
For the most part, these bad experiences have been a result of a conflict of interest.
In the past financial advisers were either employed or working under a licence with one of the big four banks.
Those advisers were sales people for the big banks. Where every recommendation led to a product of the bank. Whether it was right for them or not.
Financial advisers or their businesses were incentivised to use the bank’s products. In other words they were paid hefty cash incentives.
I remember one adviser named his boat “Soft Dollar” and his second boat “Soft Dollar 2”.
And then there were the bad investments…you know the ones that fell over and it was the investors who suffered financial losses.
Once again, driven by self interest…
But a lot has changed over the last 5 years or so…it has been etched in law that financial advisers must act in their clients best interest, first and foremost.
Even though they should have from the start…
Many of the conflicts which existed years ago do not exist today.
With a tough new legislative environment, you literally can’t go to the toilet without recording it…
Consumers are better protected than they have ever been.
As a result of the tough changes. Many older…perhaps ill experienced financial advisers have left the industry…for the greater good I think…
A Conversation About You And Your Retirement Lifestyle…
When you meet an adviser for the first time, it should be an enjoyable experience. One where the conversation is focused on you.
Focused on the lifestyle you want…the adventures you want to have…the challenges you’re having.
You want to feel you’ve been heard…
That the adviser has properly diagnosed your issues…understand your gaps…identify opportunities and risks.
What you don’t want is the financial adviser spending the meeting telling you all about their business and their investment process.
The adviser should be able to show you clearly, a road map on how they will help solve your issues.
In other words, the road map to safely navigate your way to retirement island.
You need to be at the centre of that road map…
Ahh, Retirement Island…
It’s a great place…
Here’s the funny thing, we’ve been living on this retirement island for some time.
It’s a place where our clients are front and centre of their road map.
It’s like we’re giving them their own, personal retirement playbook. Knowing the decisions they need to make and blindspots they need to avoid on their way to retiring successfully.
A proven predictable path…a well trodden path that takes the risk out of planning their retirement adventures. While being shielded from the retirement villains along the journey…
They know the potential paths they could travel down. They know in advance the decisions they need to make along the way. There’s no second guessing.
Just easy to digest and simple advice to navigate their way to retirement island with confidence.
That’s why we’re surprised when we still hear stories of refugee clients left in the wilderness…fending for themselves…to face the dangers of a challenging journey to retirement island.
It shouldn’t be that way…for anyone!
If what you’ve read resonates with you. Would you be open to some different ideas on how to lower the risk that you’ll be able to retire at least the same level of comfort you are right now.
When you’re ready, book your Retirement Success Session below where we’ll help you create a game plan to go from “pay cheque” to “play cheque” with ease.
Book a Retirement Success Session today!
Glenn Doherty – CFP – Retirement Planning Specialist | Retirement Planning Made Simple for Over 55’s powered by Life-Centred Financial Planning
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