Beau Henderson, RICP, is the founder and lead retirement planning specialist of RichLife Advisors, an Atlanta-based wealth and retirement planning firm that integrates financial and non-financial aspects of one’s life to create a “retirement by design.” He is a best-selling author and has published 10 books, including The RichLife—Ten Investments for True Wealth, The RoadMap to a RichLife: Success with Life, Relationships, and Money, Customized Social Security, and 12 Steps to a Successful Retirement.
Russ Prince: Your practice offers a service that you’ve deemed “non-financial planning.” Tell me about RichLife Advisors and how non-financial planning plays a role in your overall process when working with a client.
Beau Henderson: RichLife Advisors is a comprehensive financial advisory firm that goes beyond traditional financial planning to help individuals determine what it means to live a rich life in retirement. Like many financial advisors, my goal is to provide my clients with a strategy to guide them through retirement even in life’s unexpected events.
I’m also a firm believer, though, that this means taking the extra step to help them address the non-financial aspects of their retirement. By understanding how relationships, experiences and purpose play a role in a fulfilling retirement, I believe you can better serve your clients and help them to live their richest, most meaningful life.
In our office, the non-financial planning services are as standard as our income, growth, tax, health care and estate planning services. It’s part of our standard process with every client because it plays such an integral role in a person’s overall success and happiness in retirement. By helping them to address these areas early, you not only can make the transition into retirement easier, but you can also help your clients reduce their risk for divorce and depression.
Prince: What exactly does non-financial planning look like?
Henderson: When I meet with a client, my go-to question is: “What would make your retirement feel intentional, fulfilling and fun?” Ultimately, clients want to live a retirement that is invested in meaningful relationships and experiences—this is what they consider truly priceless. While the conversation surrounding non-financial planning can vary from client to client, here are three of the most common areas I address:
• Health: How will you stay mentally and physically fit in retirement? Maintaining one’s health is one of the most important non-financial points to address. Staying mentally and physically fit is vital after people leave the workforce and it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain as we get older. How will your client stay active? How can they stay mentally sharp?
• Relationships: How will retirement impact your loved ones? Understanding how retirement changes relationships, for better or worse, is an often-overlooked aspect of retirement planning. Many underestimate how retirement will affect their children or their marriage and other key relationships in their life. How will your married clients navigate the new normal of spending more time together once they leave the workforce? How will traveling the world in retirement impact your client’s relationships with their adult children? How will clients who have developed strong friendships with their colleagues maintain those relationships once they leave their job?
• Time: How will you spend your time in retirement? A fulfilling retirement often requires redirecting the energy that your clients once spent on their careers to something new. With freedom and time on their side, what projects or hobbies matter most to them? Planting the seed in their mind about how they plan to spend their time in retirement can save them the initial shock their lifestyle change can bring.
Prince: Can you share an example of how you were able to help a client by addressing their non-financial needs?
Henderson: A couple of years ago, after a 40-year career in the school system, a client of mine came to me ready to retire. Even though she was more than ready to move on from her career, she had crippling anxiety about what her future life might look like. Her pension covered all of her financial needs but what kept her up at night was the fear of the unknown.
We worked together to create a plan for her “first semester” of retirement. By creating a non-financial plan for the first several months of retirement, we were able to provide her with some peace of mind but also give her the flexibility to change and evolve as needed. We helped her determine hobbies or part-time jobs she could do that would provide her with the routine schedule she desired. We also discussed the people in her life she’d like to spend more time with and whether or not she’d want to consider dating now that her career was ending. I’m proud to say that after one year into retirement, she found herself living a happy and fulfilling life.
Prince: What is the future of non-financial planning?
Henderson: Not only do I think non-financial planning is the way of the future, but I think advisors who fail to adapt and incorporate it into their practice will be left behind. Consumers are asking for it and soon, they will come to expect it from their financial professionals. The good news is, we’re already starting to see the industry take steps in this direction. In fact, the CFP Board recently updated its curriculum to include its own version of non-financial planning education called “psychology of financial planning.”
I believe in the next five to 10 years, having a “retirement coach” will be as common as having a personal trainer at the gym. I think the majority of firms will soon have a designated person as a retirement coach and more advisors will be trained on both traditional and non-financial planning. Advisors and firms who are at the forefront of this trend and adapt it early will see the benefits and those who fail to do so will be scrambling to catch up.
Russ Alan Prince is the executive director of Private Wealth magazine and one of the leading authorities in the private wealth industry. He consults with family offices, the wealthy, fast-tracking entrepreneurs and select professionals. Connect with him on LinkedIn.com.
