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Retirement planning can be challenging for everyone that is involved. For clients, it can be stressful to plan the golden years of your life and consider the possible costs. For advisors, it can be a drawn out process that involves a lot of personal questions and proper asset gathering. However, new LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute (LIMRA SRI) research suggests that this process of creating a retirement plan helps both clients and advisors achieve their desired goals.

Clients with a formal retirement plan feel that their advisors better understand them and their needs and were satisfied with their advisor (chart):

• Sixty-five percent of pre-retirees and retirees with a formal retirement plan said that their advisor understood their long term needs. Just 34 percent of those without a formal plan said their advisor had the same understanding.
• More than half (56 percent) of those with a formal plan felt that their advisor provides an excellent value for the fees they were charged; only 28 percent of those without a plan felt they were getting the same value.
• Twice as many clients with a formal retirement plan felt their advisor put their interests first as those without a plan (54 percent versus 25 percent).

In total, 65 percent of those surveyed with a formal retirement plan said they were extremely satisfied with the advisor, compared to less than one third of those without a formal plan.

Advisors also have a higher rate of customer satisfaction when they provide their clients with a formal retirement plan.

According to new LIMRA SRI data, 54 percent of those with a formal retirement plan strongly agree that their advisors put client’s interest first, as opposed to only one quarter of those without a plan. Almost one third of those with a plan say they are very confident they’ll be able to live their desired retirement lifestyle; less than ten percent of those without a plan feel the same way.

These findings, found in the fourth edition of The Retirement Income Reference Book, highlight the importance of how relationship building with clients helps advisors gain both their trust and loyalty.  Helping clients develop a formal retirement plan helps advisors learn more about their goals and helps them better serve their needs.