The most Americans in history are turning age 65. Are you ready to help them?

In only 8 years, all baby boomers in this country will be age 65 and older, hitting a historical peak where one in every five Americans will be retirement age. These retirees will need to create or fine-tune their long-term income strategy, especially in light of the growing effects of inflation, health care costs, market volatility and longevity.

At this important point in history, financial professionals will be instrumental in helping their clients create a retirement income strategy that will allow them to retire with confidence. Are you ready to answer the call and lead the charge? Be prepared to discuss at least these three things when starting a conversation with clients and prospects.

1.???The rising cost of retirement

As a surge of new retirees leave the workforce, half of households say they have not saved enough money to maintain their standard of living during their later years. Specifically, 26% of older workers say they have less than $50,000 saved for retirement. Unfortunately, Social Security alone may not be enough and, for most of us, funding a comfortable retirement has become our own responsibility.

Along with planned expenses, there are many costs in retirement that are beyond our control. Inflation and health care costs, for example, can be a prominent drain on retirement savings.

I know I would like to remain in my own home as long as possible, and so do many retirees. We must take into consideration current expenses, as well as future costs, even when we can only guess at how much we will need in retirement.

Keep in mind:

• Taxes and maintenance costs will likely increase with time, so how much is budgeted to stay in a home today will not be the same down the road
• When helping clients think about their retirement costs, make sure they take inflation into consideration to ensure enough savings is allocated to pay for all of their planned and unexpected expenses
• Use this retirement expense and needs finder worksheet with clients

2.???Planning for a lengthy retirement

Along with rising taxes and inflation, longevity remains a considerable risk in retirement. It’s projected that 25% of 65-year-old men will live to age 89 and 25% of 65-year-old-women will live to age 92. Many of your clients will need to rethink how they view retirement and that the length of time they had in mind may be much longer than anticipated. If they’re entering retirement with a large gap between income and expenses, then that money could be depleted in a short time after leaving the workforce.??

In the past, many workers viewed their golden years as a time to slow down and forgo many of the activities and commitments they had previously. Oftentimes, clients were speaking to their financial professional about retirement in a static way; strictly focusing on the amount of income they believe they’ll need every month. Now, a larger number of retirees are looking to prepare for a better quality of life in retirement and spend more time doing the things that bring them the most joy and fulfilment.

Keep in mind:

• The retirement strategy conversation must go beyond what clients think they’ll need on the day they retire
• They must factor in the costs of a lengthy retirement and how they will get the income that allows them to enjoy the benefits of life throughout their retirement
• Use the Understanding Consumer Behaviors toolkit to get clients thinking about their “future selves”

3.???The benefits of a diversified portfolio

With the many risks undermining the financial security of today’s retirees, a diversified portfolio is crucial to helping your clients enjoy retirement, rather than just trying to survive it. For example, stocks, bonds, commodities and fixed income solutions can all be balanced, so that if one or more areas go down due to market volatility, another area can help offset that loss.

Solutions like fixed indexed annuities (FIAs) and registered index-linked annuities (RILAs) can play an important role in a client’s retirement strategy by helping to manage risks and create a guaranteed income stream that can last a lifetime. These income solutions can help your clients to create their own sort of retirement account and use this monthly “retirement paycheck” to help cover their expenses.

Keep in mind:

• With an FIA, the floor is zero, so even if the market goes down, your client is guaranteed to never earn less than 0% interest. Many FIAs offer optional riders that provide the important benefit of lifetime income
• RILAs provide a level of protection, up to a buffer rate or beyond a floor rate, keeping a portion of your clients’ retirement savings protected from loss
• Use Athene’s Retirement Risks toolkit for valuable tools and information to help enhance these conversations

Lead the charge — help clients reach their goals and retire with confidence

Your guidance as a financial professional can help clients shift their view of retirement, rethink how they save for the future and address income gaps after Social Security, pensions and personal savings have been considered. While 72% of people who work with a financial professional feel confident they will be able to live their desired lifestyle, only 48% of people who go it alone feel the same. Even more, nearly 80% of Americans who have a formal written retirement plan are twice as likely as those with no plan to be confident that they can live their desired lifestyle in the future. This is your opportunity to really make a difference.