“What are you retiring to?”

THE CONVERSATION FOR ADVISORS: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼?

For most financial advisors, the retirement conversation begins with an important question:

"𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲?"

But what if there was another question that could change the entire conversation?

"𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼?"

When I ask this in coaching, I usually hear one of two responses:

"𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦." Or... "𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵."

That answer tells me something important.

Clients have spent years preparing 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 for retirement. Very few have prepared 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 for the life that follows.

We spend more time planning a 𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝘃𝗮𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 than we do imagining the 𝟵,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 we may spend in retirement.

Without intention, many people default to busyness. Running errands. Helping family. Joining committees. Staying busy.

But 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲.

Why this question matters

• A client who wants to travel will need a different financial plan and budget than someone who wants to become a full-time grandparent.
• Someone dreaming of starting a business will make different financial decisions than someone whose greatest joy is mentoring the next generation.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻-𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱.

Try this out this week- Ask one client: "𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼?"

Then...Pause. Listen. Resist the urge to solve. You may learn something that changes every recommendation that follows.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

The Question isn't meant to be answered in a comment.

𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.