Whether you’re new to planning or have a few years under your belt, a retirement advisor can help you meet your unique goals.
A financial advisor and retirement advisor are the same in many ways. But there’s one significant difference. Where a financial advisor is concerned with your finances and goals generally, a retirement planner also takes into consideration pensions, Social Security, and all other factors that will affect your retirement specifically.
Many people save and invest for retirement perfectly fine on their own. But an expert helps demystify what you need and the best action to take in order to get it.
Here’s what a retirement planner can do for you:
The research is pretty clear. People who work with a financial advisor feel more confident, they save more, they take action (and don’t procrastinate retirement planning) and they make rational moves with their money. “What Do Financial Advisors Do” details the research behind six incredible benefits of working with a financial advisor.
People who are new to investing might see it as a mountain of complex information that only a select few really understand. While you really can handle some investing on your own, and probably without incident, there also comes a point for the serious investor when a retirement planner is important.
If you’ve decided to invest a lot more, and a lot more aggressively, than before, a retirement planner can help you find the best investments to meet your retirement plans. Because everyone’s plan is a bit different, the best advice for one person won’t be identical to the best advice for someone else.
Even the most savvy investors can use a little guidance sometimes.
Contrary to what you might think, hiring a retirement planner doesn’t mean you’ll relinquish control over all of your assets to someone who might or might not work out. CNN Money explains that a good planner can manage only part of your portfolio.
You can also hire a planner for a trial run. If you like the results in a year, you can add more assets and give your planner more control over managing it. But if you aren’t happy, you can terminate the relationship and walk away.
There are a few ways that retirement planners, and most financial planners, work. One is on commissions another is for a flat fee, and the third is a combination. Commission-based planners earn their money by making a commission from financial products that they sell to you. That could be a sticky situation, and it’s one reason why some people opt not to work with a planner.
With a fee-only planner, you’ll pay a flat sum for the work that a planner does for you. There aren’t any surprises, and you don’t have to wonder whether a product is right or if the planner only wanted to make a sale. A third possibility is the fee-based planner. They earn flat fees plus commission. You can choose which type of retirement planner you’re most comfortable with.
Advisors can help you regroup after a life change or find a new path.
Another misconception is that working with a retirement planner means creating a business relationship. That’s just not true. You can also get a little help when you need it without any sort of commitment, says CNN Money.
This is a good choice if you want to keep control but are confused about a few things and want a clearer picture. Maybe you aren’t sure when to take Social Security benefits, or maybe you just want a one-time review of a strategy that you created. Retirement planners don’t have to take control away from you; they can help you understand your options, too.
A retirement advisor is rarely a bad choice, the same as information is rarely a bad thing. The real questions are which parts of your portfolio could use a little help and who is the best person for the job.
NewRetirement can help you decide when or if you need a little help. We can connect you with the right advisor who offers the services that you need on terms that you’re comfortable with.
