Our Social Security experts created a unique checklist for advisors to use with their clients to help maximize their Social Security benefits. Coupled with our LifeYield Social Security Advantage® report, this checklist will arm your clients with all of the necessary information they'll need when they make their appointment with the Social Security Administration to file for benefits.
As a result of the recent market volatility, clients are turning to their advisors for more support than ever before. While it is key to provide client services above and beyond the norm, advisors need to reassure their clients by effectively communicating and illustrating their value.
The key to illustrating your value as an advisor is through asset location and long-term tax efficiency.
Investors are painfully aware their retirement plan needs a do-over. With so much uncertainty, it's like the investment gods shook every investor's portfolio like a canister of Legos and dumped them on the floor. Top advisors are helping investors rebuild portfolios, get on the right track, and realize their retirement dreams.
The world has changed but investor goals have not.
Smart advisors report they are reinforcing their value by showing investors how to put portfolios back on track and improve outcomes through tax-smart household portfolio management.
And the first place to start for long term success is asset location – a timely topic after recent markets have turned portfolios upside down.
Account aggregation is table stakes. Our industry has been working up to an aggregated view of all accounts in a household for years. The trend finally caught on, but we quickly learned that a view is not enough to improve outcomes for clients. This view needs action.
There has been a lot of conversation across the industry over the past year about the importance of asset location. In the wake of volatile markets and uncertain times, you will be hearing a lot more.
We'll discuss what asset location is and why it matters to investors and your bottom line.
At the Future of Advice conference in December of 2019, Steve Gresham coined the phrase “Adoption is the new Innovation.” Steve was referring to how the adoption of technology is lacking across the advisor population. Steve’s message was urging advisors and industry leaders to leverage fintech to battle the many factors significantly slowing organic growth. When embraced, technology can help advisors be more efficient, demonstrate value, identify “next best actions” and improve the client experience. So why is it that more Mutual Fund and Insurance/Annuity carriers aren’t pursuing this opportunity to partner with fintech companies to facilitate increased adoption?
Social Security is far more complex than many people realize, and this complexity can make the decision regarding when to claim Social Security benefits a daunting one.
There are many options to consider around timing, as well as, how to file for benefits, and how to choose between these options, which can lead to a significant difference in Social Security income over an individual’s or a couple’s lifetime. In addition to the many possibilities, people have their own worries, such as time they took away from the workforce or their spouse’s life expectancy.
Advisors can help their clients overcome these worries and navigate through filing options to determine the ideal age to claim Social Security benefits and maximize their income.
Do you have clients that are married? If you answered yes, you need to help them coordinate their Social Security strategies in order to maximize their combined benefits. Couples who file in a coordinated fashion get more Social Security income than when they file individually.
One element every advisor can add to their offerings is Social Security advice. Setting clients up to maximize their Social Security benefits in combination with the income they’ll receive from their other investments puts them in a more comfortable financial position during retirement.
