New Client Presentation on Income Planning Released by the Alliance for Lifetime Income

"Three Keys to Income Planning and Answering, 'What's Next?'" gives financial professionals new educational resources for clients and prospects

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Alliance for Lifetime Income

Aug 31, 2020, 14:12 ET

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Alliance for Lifetime Income has released a FINRA-reviewed presentation available free for financial professionals to deliver to clients and prospects who want to learn about how their retirement savings will generate a reliable source of protected income.

"Americans spend decades working, saving and anticipating retirement," said Jean Statler, CEO of the Alliance. "But many people have no clear idea of how their savings will reliably support them in their post-work years."

The presentation, "Three Keys to Income Planning and Answering, 'What's Next?'", shows people how to take the initial steps to analyze their situation and start to plan how they'll cover their basic expenses, and more, in retirement. Statler said, "as so many boomers are preparing for retirement and planning for 'What's next?,' there's a real need for them to understand the income planning aspect of retirement planning."

The Alliance's 2019 Protected Lifetime Income Index Study showed that eight in 10 pre-retirees don't have a financial plan that they closely follow and they face a lot of unknown and unanswered retirement questions. The global pandemic is also impacting individuals' thoughts and behaviors when it comes to retirement planning, as revealed by the Alliance's "Retirement Reset" tracking surveys, conducted in March, April and June. The surveys showed that 56% of respondents are considering a change to their retirement plans, while an overwhelming majority reported being less optimistic about their plans. "We want to help financial professionals meet with people to start working through the income planning process," said Statler. "Americans are seeking more protection for both investments and retirement income so they can again feel good about the prospect that they'll live a full life in retirement."

Two ways to think about income planning

"Many Americans don't realize that there's more than one way to think about creating an income plan in retirement," said Michael Harris, senior education advisor for the Alliance. The presentation introduces them to two main schools of thought about income planning: the "systematic withdrawal" approach (also known as the "4% rule") and the "safety first" approach.

"People are familiar with the systematic withdrawal approach—they've heard it called the 4% rule in the personal finance press," said Harris. "But not as many realize that there's another important and popular way, the safety-first approach, that makes sure your basic living expenses are covered by protected lifetime income."

The presentation helps Americans see the differences between the two approaches. "Systematic withdrawal accepts the risk of the markets and provides retirees with income through consistent withdrawals from their investments that they hope last as long as they live," Harris said. "The safety first approach removes the anxiety of running out of money by making sure that at least a portion of a retiree's income plan includes protected income."

Income hierarchy analysis

The presentation introduces Americans to the exercise of creating an "Income Hierarchy Analysis" to help them understand how the money they've saved for retirement will be applied as income to cover their needs, wants and wishes in retirement. The analysis has people review a list of more than 60 common retirement expenses so they can start the process of deciding how much protected income their income plan might include.

"The goal is to get people to determine their anticipated expenses; sort them into needs, wants and wishes; and then match their existing resources with those expenses," said Harris.

Goal: Have an income planning discussion

The goal of the presentation is for financial professionals to present these ideas to clients and prospects so that they can see the critical role an income plan plays in smart retirement planning. "Income planning helps people identify possible 'security gaps' where their anticipated expenses may not yet be matched with protected income," Harris said.

He continued, "when a financial professional can work with clients to understand their situation based on their goals and help them to choose investment options that generate steady income regardless of markets, they're in a good position to pursue a full life and have a comfortable retirement."

How financial professionals can get started

The "Three Keys to Income Planning and Answering, 'What's Next?'" presentation is available for free to any financial professional who creates a complimentary account at the Alliance's Financial Professionals Resource Center located at resources.protectedincome.org.

Financial professionals can download the Microsoft PowerPoint® presentation and FINRA-review letter at resources.protectedincome.org/presentations.

About the Alliance for Lifetime Income
The Alliance for Lifetime Income is a non-profit 501(c)(6) educational organization based in Washington, D.C., that creates awareness and educates Americans about the value and importance of having protected lifetime income in retirement. Our vision is for a country where no American has to face the prospect of running out of money in retirement. The Alliance provides consumers and financial advisors with educational resources, interactive tools, and actionable research and insights to use in building retirement income strategies and plans. We believe focusing attention and conversations on retirement income that lasts throughout life leads to greater retirement security for millions of Americans. Learn more at www.allianceforlifetimeincome.org and www.ProtectedIncome.org.

SOURCE Alliance for Lifetime Income