Year-End Checklist for Advising Seniors

As 2023 winds to a close, the economic data shows that seniors have faced challenging circumstances over the past 12 months. The prolonged inflationary environment has been tough for those living on fixed incomes, as the prices of everyday items have risen significantly from just a couple of years ago.

Seniors and Economic Trends

Recent Social Security income increases have outpaced cooling inflation as the year progressed, according to The Motley Fool, enabling seniors to enjoy a small margin of improvement to their monthly bottom lines.  The timing was fortunate, as consumers over the age of 60 are the only segment increasing their spending year-over-year.

“Older generations have been more insulated from the negative aspects of the current economy,” reported Axios. “They’re less exposed to interest rate risks and higher housing costs while enjoying income from a diverse set of sources such as rental properties, interest, and dividends. America’s seniors continue to be a key driver of consumer spending.”

Financial Advisors' Role

For financial advisors who serve as a trusted voice to older adults, the end of the year and the beginning of 2024 is a good time to review retirement goals and measure financial progress toward those objectives. Seniors have unique financial needs compared to young families and even mid-career professionals. They are seeking to make the most of their retirement years and can avoid leaving their loved ones with unwanted financial surprises.

Here are a few tips to help guide end-of-year discussions:

Insurance Policy Audit

Locate copies of and review all current insurance policies — life insurance, health insurance, long-term care insurance, home, and auto insurance. Help clients learn how to store these documents in the cloud for a safe, manageable storage solution.

Ensuring Life Insurance Policy Status

Make sure that a trusted person (family member, friend, or legal representative) has access to those policies and premium payment notices so the policies do not lapse. There are a number of options available to seniors who no longer want or can afford their policies, but there are few alternatives once a policy has lapsed or has been surrendered.

Beneficiary Verification

Verify the beneficiaries for all life insurance policies and confirm that those choices are still desirable. It is common for some relationships to change or end altogether as seniors rethink which individuals they want to receive the benefits left behind.

Long-Term Care Planning

Explore options for long-term care insurance or umbrella policies that may be valuable for this stage of life. The long-term care insurance business has struggled to find the optimal and affordable product for most seniors, but you can advise your senior clients on a number of sound financial planning strategies to prepare for these potentially substantial expenses.

Life Insurance Policy Review

Schedule a review of your clients' life insurance policies to help them evaluate whether they still want or can afford their existing life insurance coverage. This is especially important for any clients who need liquidity to fund retirement expenses or whose life circumstances have simply changed and the policy is no longer fulfilling its original intent. A life insurance policy is a form of personal property, just like a car or a house, that can be sold for cash, and there is a regulated, growing market to facilitate such transactions. 

Life Settlements: A Valuable Financial Option

For some clients, selling their policies as a “life settlement” is a more attractive financial option than allowing them to lapse or surrendering them back to the insurer. In these cases, a life settlement transaction achieves two financial objectives simultaneously:

(1) Reduce expenses by eliminating potentially burdensome and expensive annual premiums; and

(2) Create liquidity by selling the policy for a cash payment.

The only way to ensure that your client is obtaining the maximum value for a life insurance policy is to work with a financial professional who has a fiduciary duty to represent his best interests. At Welcome Funds, as a licensed life settlement broker, we are obligated by state regulations to represent the best interests of the policy owner during the life settlement process.

Upon sharing some basic information with us about the client and his life insurance policy, we will provide a free, no-obligation valuation of that policy.  If the policy qualifies, Welcome Funds presents it to the life settlement market of licensed buyers through its auction-like platform. The competitive marketplace, aided by the experienced and thorough negotiation of our team, determines the life insurance policy's worth as offers increase from the first bid to the final bid.

For more information or to schedule a consultation regarding a specific policy that may be a good candidate for a life settlement, please call 1-877-227-4484 or go to www.welcomefunds.com.

Farewell to 2023. Here’s to a happy, healthy, and financially prosperous 2024!