How financial planning shapes the future

Sometimes clients don’t understand the power of financial planning. Help them understand what financial planning can do for them and their family with these ideas:

Find the gap

I show clients the standard cost of living after retirement in Japan, then show them their life expectancy to calculate how much they will need, on average, to live. Then, I deduct social security, public pension and expected retirement allowance to find out their gap in coverage. I put the material down, then ask, “Would you enjoy working throughout the rest of your life, just to make a living?” They all answer no, so I follow up with, “Then why don’t we get started now by setting aside a little bit to avoid that situation?”

From Shuhei Ino of Tokyo, Japan, MDRT member since 2003 and Court of the Table qualifier.

Live on or leave on

Here’s a way to shift the perspective of wealthy clients who look at their money with disinterest. I have encountered many clients who have enough money that they are no longer worried about running out, and they don’t want to spend any time thinking about or even trying to optimize its growth. They are content to earn subpar performance and pay unnecessary taxes because they don’t need the extra money.

I remind these clients of two things:

1. Your assets are either “live-on” or “leave-on” assets. Either you will spend them, or someone else will.
2. Dollars are like votes. You have earned the right to “vote” your dollars. With great power comes great responsibility. If there is anything you don’t like about this world, it may be within your power to change it for the better. “Vote” your dollars more wisely, and you can have more money to do what you want done. Or keep donating to Uncle Sam (the government), if he happens to be your favorite charity.

Once their perspective is shifted, they may buy life insurance for charity, invest to beat inflation and use legal assistance to better transfer wealth.

From Timothy Daniel Clairmont, CFP, MSFS, of Lake Oswego, Oregon, MDRT member since 2011 and a Top of the Table qualifier.

These ideas came from the 2016 September/October issue of Round the Table. You’ll also find hundreds of ideas on mdrt.org/learn. MDRT members, log on to see all the tips and ideas available to you.