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New financial planners may be hesitant to advise small-business owners about which retirement plan to sponsor because this decision requires specialized knowledge. However, the practice of suggesting the optimum plan choice is an essential financial planning skill. What's more, small-business owners crave suitable advice. In an effort to start planners on the journey to helping plan sponsors choose the best retirement plan for their clients, we present 10 examples regarding "plan choice" issues with some introductory context concerning several topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although most financial services professionals read many practitioner articles related to their field, many sources from the academic press and specialty journals contain valuable information that can be helpful in their practices. Often the concepts, techniques, and/or presentations in these resources are not user-friendly. In this article, the authors have attempted to identify relevant articles in academic and specialty publications over the past year and to summarize them in a nontechnical manner, although it must be emphasized that it is not possible to provide the complete depth and full context of the actual articles. The topics chosen represent three areas of special interest to financial services professionals: estate planning, retirement planning, and investment planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals in search of a free retirement calculator need not look further than Google for a large field from which to choose. These calculators can serve as a valuable tool for those thinking about the big picture of retirement. Since these calculators are an integral part of the retirement planning process, there is a need to evaluate them and create a set of standardized criteria to assess their validity for a given client. The users of these tools are average financial planning clients, but the beneficiaries of this analysis will be financial planners because they will be better able to understand their clients' thinking. This paper will further educate planners on common calculators their clients may utilize, while also addressing which calculators best suit which clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial planning careers often focus on providing retirement planning services to clients. Investment management is a part of the package. However, many additional competencies are needed to professionally service a client's retirement needs. Skills include calculating the assets needed to retire, determining the method for creating retirement income from retirement assets, and assessing the best age to claim Social Security, among other things. A review of over 20 services that are involved in comprehensive retirement planning may help an advisor to assess whether there are other areas of need with which they can help a client. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It may be time for financial planners to advise some clients that retirement may not be in their best interests. If the job is rewarding, and interesting, the escape from retirement may indeed be a very good thing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent period of uncertainty and volatility has rattled clients and advisors along with the financial markets. But, if used as an opportunity it can have a silver lining for both advisors and clients, acting as a "trigger event" opening up new pathways for discussion, redirection, and a keener focus on financial needs and goals for retirement. Even more importantly, it allows for a deeper consideration of nonfinancial goals, and a more productive client relationship and referral opportunities through the development of a holistic approach to retirement planning involving eight interconnected life areas that benefits all participants in the process. This approach also opens up productive networks and a wider range of partnership opportunities with other nonfinancial professionals to address emerging client needs. This team can work collectively to identify the goals desired by and resolve challenges faced by clients as they prepare for and experience retirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planning for the small-business owner requires a financial planner to wear many hats. Financial planners perform a variety of tasks to ensure that the business runs smoothly and has the proper benefits in place, and to guarantee that the business continues after an owner's death. However, before planners get to help out with current and future operations of the small business, they may be called upon to help create the business in the first place. A unique method currently being used to create small businesses is using a qualified retirement plan rollover to start the new business. The "rollover as business start-up" strategy (commonly referred to as ROBS) poses some challenging financial planning issues. Some believe ROBS are misused rollovers destined to wreck retirement (and potentially an abusive tax practice) and others believe ROBS may be the fuel needed to help the client reach his or her dream of business ownership. Devil or angel; we will take a closer look. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interplay between retirement and estate planning is often focused on managing the required minimum distributions (RMDs) that come from qualified funds. Sometimes the forest can be lost for the trees, and the client only worries about the tax ramifications of RMDs. Advisors can help clients refocus on their long-term goals and aspirations. How can the client accomplish the personal and financial goals of the family? Can RMDs be used as a funding source to accomplish these goals? Insurance products, specifically life, annuity, and long-term care products, can help fulfill and fund these client needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When college graduates begin their careers, they face a number of financial choices and obligations. Their choices typically include one or more retirement account options. The options generally include individual retirement accounts (IRAs) (Roth and/or traditional), 401(k) plans (Roth and/or traditional), and, possibly, 401(k) contributions matched by the employers. In this article, a decision-making hierarchy is provided. The hierarchy ranks all of the retirement account alternatives in order to facilitate choices that are tax efficient and maximize wealth. A simplified version of the ranking is as follows: (1) Roth 401(k) with matching employer contributions; (2) traditional 401(k) with matching employer contributions; (3) Roth IRA; (4) Roth 401(k); and (5) traditional 401(k). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Divorced or widowed clients have Social Security options that are not available to other clients. Ideally, planning for when these clients should begin claiming Social Security benefits and whether they should claim their own benefits, or benefits as a divorced spouse, or as a widow/widower, or switch, will begin several years before they are eligible to begin benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic research is sometimes obtuse or inapplicable to the real world of financial services. Further, because of the nature of the primary market for academic journals, even relevant and helpful articles are inaccessible to most financial service professionals. The authors of this article have identified and summarized 13 relevant, useful articles from journals that are not typically read by financial service professionals. The topics include investment planning, retirement planning, and estate planning, all of which are part of the Certified Financial Planner® topic list. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As defined contribution (DC) plans become more popular than defined benefit (DB) plans, American workers are increasingly responsible for their retirement savings. Because retirement plan participants' portfolio allocation is constrained by the available funds in the plan, the construction of a plan's investment menu has become extremely important. No research has evaluated fund selection in retirement plans or compared plans involving an advisor with self-directed plans. To fill this research gap, this study employs cross-sectional, nationwide data that include 5,570 retirement plans with 100 or more participants in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Results show that in most cases, using advisors is not related to plan performance. Plan sponsors should require advisors to periodically evaluate the performance of plans under their management using objective measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors of this article contend that the top tier of financial planners/advisors should continually stretch their boundaries by keeping track of information and analysis from the academic world. Although academic research in financial planning is often too theoretical or abstract for the real world of financial planning, every year a multitude of academic articles provides insights that can be helpful to practitioners. The authors of this article have identified and reviewed 12 recent articles that they believe are particularly useful, which appeared in journals that are not typically read by practitioners. The articles reviewed are from three areas in the Certified Financial Planner® topic list (investment planning, retirement planning, and estate planning). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Very few financial planning professionals review academic publications in their field. Although academic research is sometimes user-unfriendly and too theoretical for practical application, many articles are useful and provide broad insights for the financial planner who is willing to delve into them. This article identifies 12 recent publications in investment planning, estate planning, and retirement planning—three of the areas covered in the Certified Financial Planner® topic list. The authors summarize the important aspects of these publications to make them more approachable and usable with the expectation that they will benefit the practitioner and ultimately the client. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines how financial planners are facing new demands when dealing with the baby boomer generation entering retirement. The article points out that baby boomers moving from an accumulation stage to an expenditure stage face a widely different society and economy than any other generation before them. Baby boomers themselves are also vastly different than previous generations, with such factors as longer life expectancy, greater health care, more formal education, and larger accumulations of wealth.

This article identifies security as a major objective for living from midlife on and the real objective behind financial and retirement planning. Both financial and nonfinancial issues affecting a sense of security in retirement are categorized and enumerated, and practical ways for financial advisers to enhance clients' security are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 4% rule of thumb is back in the headlines. It is a great concept that provides some useful guidelines. But it isn't, nor has it been, an adequate planning "tool." The monitoring step in the financial planning process allows planners to keep track of their clients' abilities to meet goals so planners can control spending in accordance with any major shifts in economic expectations. An analogy of the 4% rule is equivalent to "buy and hold" in portfolio management, instead of "buy and manage." Planners want to plan and manage their clients' goals, not set and forget. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aside from encouraging your client to plan, is there more you should do? As a professional advisor, you are necessarily concerned about looking out for the interest of the advisee. However, how far must that concern go? Need it go past the concern for the financial interest? What sorts of questions should one ask? What sort of help should one give? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers information about designations, resources, and organizations relating to elder issues in the U.S. There are a variety of designations that tangentially relate to serving older clients. The Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), and Certified Financial Planner designations do not ignore the needs of the older client. Other designations like the Accredited Estate Planner, the Long-Term Care Professional, and the Certified Specialist in Retirement Planning come closer to the mark, but their emphasis on financial gerontology is limited. The descriptions focus on the educational requirements for the designation/certification. It should be noted, however, that ethical, experience, continuing education, and other requirements may apply. The Certified Senior Specialist designation program is offered by the Center for Senior Studies. It includes five course modules, each containing 8-12 lessons. The Chartered Advisor for Senior Living is a new designation program being offered by The American College. It includes five courses, each containing 12-15 assignments. The courses are offered in the regular tradition of The American College CLU and ChFC classes. The Certified Senior Advisor designation is granted by the Society of Senior Advisors.

Using the 2010 Rand HRS data file, this study examined the differences in retirement preparedness between core boomers (ages 51-59, born 1951-1959) and leading boomers (ages 60-64, born 1946- 1950) and investigated factors affecting the retirement preparedness among core and leading boomers in America. The multivariate results show that all else being equal, young core boomers held significantly lower levels of net worth than older leading boomers; however, there were no significant differences between the two groups for having investment assets at least 25 percent of net worth and holding IRAs/Keoghs accounts. The findings also suggest lower income, larger family size, less education, shorter job tenure, poor health, being Black, and being divorced as significant predictors of retirement preparedness among the baby boomer generation. The findings of this study can contribute to the literature in aging and retirement issues and provide useful information for financial planners and educators in Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from a university survey of 2,799 employees were examined to determine age cohort differences in retirement planning activities in the aftermath of the Great Recession. A life course approach and logistic regression were used to assess whether members of four different age cohorts altered their retirement planning activities. Older cohorts were more likely to have sought advice from a financial planner but were less likely to have increased time spent educating themselves about financial topics. Older cohorts were also less likely to be saving more for retirement and more likely to be delaying retirement compared to the youngest cohort. The youngest cohort members were relatively more likely to be confident that they will have sufficient funds to live comfortably after retirement. Older cohorts responded to the Great Recession by seeking safety for their retirement assets, and they resigned themselves to working longer before retirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new Simplified Superannuation regulations for Australian superannuation provide tax concessions to retirement income streams which comply with legislated minimum drawdown rules. We evaluate these new drawdown rules against four alternatives, including three formula-based ‘rules of thumb’ used by financial planners. We find that the new regulations are a substantial improvement on the previous rules for allocated pensions and, when compared with the formula-based rules, are a good compromise in terms of simplicity, adequacy and risk. We also find that welfare is lower for most individuals who follow the Simplified Superannuation rules compared with welfare under an optimal path or a simple fixed percentage drawdown rule, but that outcomes could be improved through a further simplification of the new rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the author's opinions regarding the way in which financial planners should deal with their clients during the recession. The author feels that financial advisors should be optimistic regarding the future, but at the same time realize that everyone must endure some suffering in their lives. The place in which financial advisors can have in assisting clients in raising philosophical questions regarding their lives is discussed, such as what are their reasons for accumulating additional wealth.