One of the major mistakes most IFAs do according to financial coach and author, PV Subramanyam is putting all the retired clients into a single bracket.
“One of the biggest problems today is that most advisors are young. That is not many are above the age of 60. Therefore, none of us has a clear understanding of what this category of clients want, their risks and so on. While we are well versed with the accumulation stage, we have no idea about the disbursal stage,” he says.
According to Subramanyam aka Subra, the retired clients need to be segregated into three broad categories. The first is from retirement until the age of 70, the second from 70 to 80 and finally from 80 onto death. Subra says advisors need to understand the challenges for each category.
Subra describes general characteristics of retired clients depending on their age to help you understand them better.
Retirement to 70: Have money, energy and will to travel. Might do regular national or international travel.
70 - 80: Do not have the energy to travel so might travel only when it is necessary like in case of death or other family events.
80 and above: More dependent on family, there is no travel involved.
Opportunities for IFAs:
Subra feels that the nature of the post retirement category shows that they are mostly averse to technology and need more hand holding. “Unlike 25 year olds, this category of investors will never consider robo. Therefore, they make the perfect clients for those advisors who still prefer the traditional way of transactions. Also after a certain age, they need the help of family member to make decisions. This calls for a lot of hand holding from advisors,” he says.
“Also these clients are unsure when to plan their annuity, when to plan reverse mortgage, etc. Advisors can guide them on these issues too,” he says.
