At Genivity, we empower people to learn more about their genetics to better inform their decisions about financial planning. Longevity planning is a must for those on the threshold of retirement. This final phase of life should be full of excitement given that your clients have likely worked hard to get here, usually with meticulous planning.
Two groups are disproportionately impacted by inflation: The poor and those on a fixed income. The poor don’t have much to start with and cost increases whittle away what they do have. Those on a fixed income often can’t access additional streams of income to offset the impact of rising prices. But inflation also impacts the broader population of retirees regardless of their net worth or income status.
Inflation Can Hurt Retirees
We are now in the grips of inflation that has been seldom seen in the U.S. The cost of things we rely on for our day-to-day lives is rising, sometimes overnight. The point here is not what is causing the inflation, but rather how to live with it and more importantly, to understand that it will persist and will probably happen again in your or your client’s lifetime.
As people live longer, income is harder to come by. It’s almost certain that at some point, all of us, client and advisor alike, will be on a fixed income. It’s important to understand that as costs rise, so do taxes. Even though there are many things headwinds working against your clients’ portfolios, you can leverage the solutions at hand, such as HALO, to prepare.
Understanding how long your clients could potentially live, and what type of costs they are likely to incur in retirement can help you guide them with respect to their investment strategy to live the life they’ve planned for.
Knowledge is Financial Planning Power
HALO by Genivity can help your clients more accurately plan for how long they will need to rely on their fixed income and other assets. While we won’t be able to tell you the exact prices of everything years from now, we can give you an idea of what may be in store for your clients’ future so they can start planning now.
For example, if your client is a healthy woman in her 50s, she has an over 50 percent chance of living to 95. While it is unlikely that she will still be working at such an age, it’s not unreasonable to think that inflation will significantly erode her purchasing power, making essential goods and services far more expensive than today.
Knowing how long she may live and what potential genetic predispositions to health problems she may have, gives you the tools you need to calculate what kind of finances she will need, adjusted for inflation. This data, while valuable, is nothing if it doesn’t inform change and preparation.
Many retirees are not prepared for this level of inflation and how these rising costs would impact their day to day. Similarly, unforeseen health conditions will only compound financial strain.
The more information you have the better, especially when you’re dealing with an uncertain economy. HALO by Genivity can help your clients make more informed decisions about their health and their finances, hopefully leading them to the peaceful and fulfilling retirement they’ve worked so hard to achieve.