Retirement Income Planning: The Secret Ingredient

A new credential is available through Knowledge Bureau and it’s important because it will engage Millennials, GenX and Boomer co-horts in planning around their financial nemesis:  taxes.   The thoughtful  role of the DMA™ Retirement Income Services Specialist is critical in achieving required after-tax outcomes that can skillful lead to greater financial peace of mind of retirees, and those saving for retirement.  Plus, a comprehensive online program orientation is available to check out the curriculum risk-free!

Successful retirements, from a financial point of view, are about three phases of planning:  pre-retirement, in-retirement and after-retirement. While a regular process for saving, investment performance metrics and deaccumulation methods are all very important, retirement income planning is really about one strategic goal:  what matters is what you keep.

Students who embark on the DMA™ designation program as specialists who provide retirement income services will immediately learn that their role in assisting clients to plan their futures has three parts:  to educate, advocate and steward wealth at every one of these phases.  Within this strategic framework, these highly trained specialists will engage in deeper conversations that are as rewarding for them as they are for each individual in the family faced with future planning decisions.

Consider that the frequency and quality of savings in the pre-retirement years will quickly facilitate the accumulation and growth of capital throughout a working lifetime.  There is so much tax assistance to take advantage of – but so often missed – and these opportunities translate into richer conversations with younger clients; reassuring conversations with those transitioning into retirement and critical conversations about estate planning with those in retirement.

Behind the three-part strategy for a lifetime of effective retirement income planning is a process for identifying and defending against several key wealth eroders, the most expensive of which is the tax risk your clients will face throughout. 

This provides focus for the preservation the level of income and capital needed in the retirement period to adequately fund the lifestyle your clients have envisioned.  Encroaching on capital saved along the way, when the time comes, can be uncomfortable given the other wealth eroders:  inflation and the costs of investing.  Clients with confidence in their holistic planning, however, will overcome this fear to rightfully enjoy their time and money.

In short, the secret ingredient to financial peace of mind is the addition of  tax efficiency to the three phases of retirement income planning.  Yet so few traditional advisors are really sure-footed when it comes to tax.  This course will help develop that knowledge, skills and confidence with exposure to the fundamental tax tools so useful in retirement income planning.