Serena Williams' View Of Retirement Is A Warning Shot For Financial Advisors

Tennis GOAT Serena Williams recently announced her?‘retirement’?in the pages of Vogue. Williams said she did not like the word,?retirement, saying it sounded like a dated idea to her. Williams preferred to say, she was evolving. In her words in Vogue:

“I have never liked the word?retirement.?It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me....Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is?evolution.?I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”

The financial services industry and the business of advice should take note. Words in academic journals or market reports have far less influence on how people think about their lives than when an entire life stage is called out in the popular media by a respected social icon. Williams effectively fired a warning shot signaling to the financial services industry — retirement is being retired.?

Just as many firms are printing, posting, and placing an endless array of content that looks a lot like our parent’s retirement, many people are improvising what they want life to be for that one-third of life we refer to?with the 19th century moniker — retirement. Work, whether full-time, part-time is now a part of retirement. So is joining far younger generations in the on-demand economy. Going back to school, starting a new business, or volunteering -- and yes, maybe even pickle ball. And, then there are the complexities of managing health, providing care to a loved one, and assessing daily whether where you live now is where you can live tomorrow. Preparing for retirement is more than planning for financial security, it is about living well about ~8,000 days of your adult life.

At the age of 41, Williams is suggesting that she is evolving from one part of her life to another, to things more important to her. Yes, she is young and has a bankroll far greater than most, but she is echoing a sea change in client wants, needs, and ultimately expectations.?

Since the pandemic every generation is rethinking and asking?‘what?is important to me and to those that I love?’ Just look at how the once unquestioned social contract between employee and employer is being rewritten today. Retirement planning and financial advice is not immune from such social shifts.?

After decades of effective industry marketing, clients from Gen Z to Silent, have been successfully persuaded to believe that the business of advice is singularly focused on the complexities of money, markets, and portfolios. Today, clients remain convinced that financial security is critical, but advice focused solely on finance does not necessarily address issues beyond money management and what’s important to me.

A new model of advice is needed. Financial planning and security will always be necessary, but it may not be enough to deliver comprehensive client value — particularly to younger and middle age clients. Those nice neat segmented life stages that have informed products, advisory tools, and scripts are morphing.?

Clients are not following yesterday’s life script. They are now looking for financial advice?and?someone to help them navigate a longer life, full of uncertainty, and contextual and personal change. Call the new model of advice longevity planning, or just value-added advisory services, but whatever it may be called, if the only value provided by an advisor is financial planning and security, many clients will think,?‘there?must be an app for that, but who can advise me on all the things?important to me across my life course?'

To borrow from Serena Williams, the client is?evolving, is the business of advice?

Want to know more about the future of advice in the?#longevityeconomy?— visit MIT AgeLab’s Preparing for Longevity Advisory Network?(PLAN)?research page and check out my recent Forbes article?Serena Williams Serves Up A New Vision Of Life And Retirement.