Helping Clients to Retire Well

Helping our clients retire well

One of the primary reasons clients are reaching out to us is to help them plan their financial security in retirement. Of course, as financial planners we strive to help our clients save money for the future, visualise what their retirement will look like and develop a plan to achieve key retirement goals.

Retirement can throw up a few bumps in the road and some clients struggle with the transition from being very busy to not having a lot to do. Not working can create a huge void and a recognition of the role work and ex-colleagues play in their social fabric. Ideally, the daily interactions and routine need to be replaced with a new challenges and a sense of purpose in retirement.

As a Holistic Lifestyle Financial Planning firm, Smart Finance prepares our clients more fully for retirement by expanding our conversations far beyond the financial aspects of their lives to include each of the following:

Being with their partner every day

This can take some time to adjust to as the working spouse or spouses develop new routines and spending every day with each other may be difficult. Finding a balance requires work and having an awareness of each other’s space, routines and hopes for the future and talking about it and working through it together with a Holistic Lifestyle Financial Planner to guide this conversation will help.

There is time to fill

There may be 40 and 60 hours a week to fill and thinking about how these hours will be filled needs to begin long before retirement. Having a variety of past-times, traveling, undertaking a course of study or doing voluntary work are all options and being prepared, socially active and having a financial plan make this much easier.

Encourage clients to mind their health

We have seen the cost of clients getting ill which goes to underline the importance we place on encouraging our clients to manage and reduce stress and consider good health practices as an essential part of their financial plan for retirement. Joining a golf club or a leisure club with a pool and gym, going for a walk every day and being socially active improves long term physical and mental health, reduces stress and provides peace of mind.

Reminding clients of their value

We find that many of our clients have so much to offer in terms of experience, knowledge, and time. Some people can retire with a perceived loss of value as their former employer and colleagues no longer rely upon them. A slight adjustment in thinking however can open up new opportunities to be involved on our own terms while adding enormous value in a voluntary or paid capacity by for example, coaching a sports team or mentoring less experienced business owners. 

How we help