Women, Pensions and Assets ÖÖReady? Get SetÖ.GO Plan for it!

The boomer generation is pioneering ëwomen's retirement'. This is the first generation where many women will retire from long term careers with their own pensions, investment portfolios and their own views on what retirement should be. For more and more couples decision making about retirement considerations will become much more complex.

For the first time advisors are now having to incorporate two retirements into the planning process, not just one. Are you ready to assist your clients to effectively balance the goals and desires of two individuals in a plan that works for both? If you don't have the specific knowledge skills and processes, all the planning in the world will not achieve what your clients desire.

Men and women are now approaching retirement in different ways. One individual's retirement date will likely not coincide with the other's. Retirement may mean something different for each person. For one, it may mean slowing down, working part time, before leaving the work force completely. For the other partner, it may mean retiring at a later date than the other. Their wishes and concerns may be very different as well.

The best way for the wealth advisor to work with these boomers is to adopt a strategic approach that begins with proactivity. It is important to put the framework in place for a discussion about lifestyle before building a wealth management and retirement income plan. The discussion must take place with both individuals in order to uncover and fully understand each person's priorities and to help them understand each other's wishes and concerns.

A strategic approach provides the process and structure to listen deeply and only then take action affirmatively to get better results, simplify efforts and realize after-tax income your clients need to transition into economic inactivity in the ways they want. The Strategic Plan for Transitioning to Retirement, as taught in the Tax Efficient Retirement Income Planning course, a self study course offered by The Knowledge Bureau, provides a single or a multi-generational vision for the future based on:

• Values and definitive statements around productivity, participation, dependency and legacy
• Life and time milestones, involving the identification of stakeholders who will be part of the ìretirement teamî and precise definitions of needs and wants.
• An understanding of lifestyle funding capacity. Boomers want to know whether they can afford the retirement they envision while at the same time understanding how to continue to build and grow their capital throughout retirement.

Only once this process has been completed can the wealth manager move to the next steps in building an action plan for tax efficient retirement income planning. Managing Real Wealth requires a focus on capital preservation by understanding client needs and wants in relation to their grasp of risk and return and the effects of interest rates and inflation on capital markets.

Build your skills, learn the processes to develop as a Real Wealth Manager. Register for the Tax Efficient Retirement Income Planning course, one of six courses in the Retirement Income Specialist program, leading to the Master Financial Advisor designation.