Experts Needed in Retirement Income Planning

With literally millions of Baby Boomers moving rapidly toward retirement, the demand for retirement income planning is slated to grow dramatically, says the Financial Planning Association in a new study sponsored by Transamerica.   The study, 2008 FPA Financial Planner Attitudes and Perceptions about Retirement Income Planning, concludes that the demand for retirement income planning, retirement income products, and services, is increasing quite a lot, driven by what the FPA says is a greater understanding on the part of Americans relating to the important differences between the two broad phases of retirement: the accumulation or preparation phase and the distribution or income phase.   According to the Diversified Services Group, which conducted the study along with the FPAS and Transamerica, this trend is likely to continue as Baby Boomers get older and want to learn more about retirement issues and solutions.   Actually, financial planners say that they expect retirement income planning to be a key foundation of both their short- and long-term business growth. In fact, some 25 percent of advisers surveyed report that more than 50 percent of their new clients and assets will come from IRA rollover activities alone over the next year. Moreover, the planners surveyed say that 50 percent of their clients will retire over the next five years.   For financial planners, this study shows an urgent need for them to become experts in retirement income planning as well as the need for them to examine their practices and how their revenue, revenue mix, and profitability could change as their clients retire.   “The findings in this report point out that there is a significant spike in consumers’ appetites for help in retirement income planning, and advisers who become the subject matter experts in this area are the ones who will continue to find success as the market shifts due to demographics and the changing reality of what retirees' need to do in their retirement years,” concludes Will Prest, chief marketing officer of Transamerica Retirement Management, Inc.     The study, the third annual study of its kind, is available for purchase by FPA institutional members for $7,500. Nonmembers can purchase the study for $10,000. To learn more about this study, send an e-mail to ResearchCenter@FPAnet.org.