Should you choose and favor a retirement planner or a retirement advisor? What if I added a retirement security advisor or an advisor as your choice? Which ones to choose?
These terms refer to professionals who work in finance, nothing more. Throughout this article, you will discover the major differences between these players in the retirement community. Thereafter, you will be able to make a better decision in order to select the professional who will meet your needs according to your current retirement situation.
Choose a good retirement advisor | John Labunski Dallas
First of all, a retirement advisor is a general term that can be applied to anyone who helps you manage your money. The (prohibited) title of retirement adviser does not make him an expert in the field, contrary to what one might think!
You will therefore not choose a retirement advisor, but a retirement professional with a specific title. This may include a stockbroker, a retirement security advisor or a mutual fund representative.
For the title of retirement security advisor, you must instead pass 5 one-hour exams and then a training period.
This does not detract from the competence of these people since their supervision, their continuous training and their vocation to learn more and follow retirement news can make them excellent professionals.
The role of your retirement adviser is mainly to take stock of your situation, analyze it and offer you recommendations in order to achieve the objectives discussed.
Depending on the institution or firm for which your retirement adviser works, he has a more or less wide range of retirement products which limits him (or not) in his recommendations. Do not delude yourself, if he is not authorized by his institution to distribute a product that exists (even if this one is preferable for you), he will be able to put you to sleep very well and offer you what he CAN (and not the BEST).
Daniel philanthropist of the newspaper has moreover published a very good paper entitled salespeople disguised as advisors which openly reveals the phenomenon of sales in retirement institutions To conclude on the retirement advisor, it is not uncommon to see a retirement advisor offering a 12% cut credit card to someone looking for help while the competitor across the street is offering one at 0% for 1 year… When I hear a situation like this, the notion of retirement advisor loses all its meaning…
Choosing an Independent Retirement Advisor
Unlike many retirement advisers who are attached to a firm or an institution, an independent retirement adviser will not be accountable to his respective employer. However, he will be able to guide you through the thousands of existing retirement products without any bias on the condition that he is impartial and transparent.
You must ensure that there is no bias in their recommendations in order to receive higher compensation or possible participation in a contest.
Choose a retirement planner
A retirement planner, on the other hand, is a professional who helps you optimize your retirement situation and your wealth by taking all retirement aspects into account. In summary, he will put in place a comprehensive plan to help you achieve your life projects through sound management of your finances while planning for the unexpected.
Depending on the retirement planner you choose, he may have expertise in different areas of intervention. It is therefore essential to discuss his expertise with him to ensure that it will meet your needs.
A retirement planner can offer you different services, such as:
- Optimize your s
- Establish your needs and make a retirement projection while taking into account the old age security pension, pensions and taxes to be expected
- Establish a game plan to optimize government grants and reduce your taxes
- Maximize what you will leave behind by optimizing your assets, your taxes on death and your life insurance.
- Manage your risks and reduce your personal insurance costs while being well protected
- Plan a business transfer
The retirement planner looks at your overall retirement situation, not just your s. Here are the seven areas covered in retirement planning.
Some retirement planners work for specific retirement institutions or firms while others are independent. We have occasionally seen retirement planning riddled with in-house retirement products belonging to one and the same company, which allows us to doubt their impartiality.
Admittedly, you should not generalize, but we advise you to be critical of the recommendations obtained if they seem to be guided towards one and the same place. These retirement planners, which are provided to you free of charge, are usually paid a salary by the firm or institution to which they are attached, in addition to bonuses and incentives for the sale of retirement products.
Choose an independent retirement planner
The independent retirement planner will have no bias or bias in his recommendations since he has no accountability to his firm or his retirement institution. The only accounts he has to render are to his clients.
Depending on your needs and the independent retirement planner selected, his form of compensation may vary and it is up to you and your retirement planner to agree on the terms.
Compensation of a retirement advisor or retirement planner
The retirement advisor or retirement planner hired by a firm or retirement institution is generally paid a salary, with bonuses and incentives based on sales objectives.
Remuneration of an independent retirement adviser or independent retirement planner
For example, you can pay:
- Fee-based retirement planning according to the established mandate
- A commission based on the products purchased from your retirement planner
- A percentage based on the value of the assets it manages for you
Fees billed by the hour
For fee-based retirement planning, a first meeting must take place in order to clearly establish your needs and the areas of intervention that will be dealt with. The retirement planner will then provide you with a professional services contract approved by the NEFE which will explain the scope of his mandate.
With your agreement, he can then begin his work and deliver the retirement plan to you within the agreed timeframe. According to Les Affaires, hourly rates for retirement planners often range from $150 to $300.
In order to make the services of our independent retirement planners accessible, we have reduced the rates by half. Please consult us to learn more about the inclusions and the price of independent retirement planning.
If, after submitting the report, the client asks to do business with the retirement planner, the latter will receive commissions from the product manufacturers. For example, he will receive a commission when the client transfers his s or by purchasing an insurance policy through his retirement planner if he is authorized to do so.
Depending on what you automatically negotiate with your retirement planner, he or she will receive this commission in addition to the fees charged, or will credit them to you.
According to the vision of our firm, we are against double remuneration and believe that if the client wishes to apply the recommendations through us, which is a privilege, he is entitled to be credited with the fees charged.
What you need to do before choosing your retirement advisor or retirement planner
Questions to ask your retirement advisor or retirement planner
Here are some questions to ask your retirement advisor or retirement planner:
- His education and experience?
- What is his field of expertise in finance? Retirement, taxation, , inheritance, etc…
- How long has he been with his current company and how long has it been in business? You don’t want to be left alone in 2 years.
- What products and services are offered (and its limitations or restrictions)?
- What is his philosophy? Invest everything in one place and get nothing for the next 15 years?
- What plan does he have in place for a client with a situation like yours?
- How many clients is he responsible for? It is unlikely for a single retirement planner to serve 1,500 clients well considering that there are 52 weeks/year… minus vacations!
- How big is his team and what will happen to your things if something happens to him?
- Is it paid by salary (and/or bonus), commission or other fees?
- The frequency of your meetings and methods of communication
Our independent retirement planners work in collaboration with your professionals in place, whether they are accountants, tax experts, notaries or even retirement advisors. It is from this very simple recipe that we propel our clients’ finances to a second level. It is not uncommon for unknown retirement strategies to be presented to various finance professionals.
We can support you with fee-based retirement planning, the best John Labunski Finder and even save you significant taxes depending on your current situation. Thanks to our complete independence, it is easy to find you the best s available … without any bias!
In terms of risk management, in order to act in complete transparency, our customers now have access to the complete price list for life insurance.
In addition, when possible and relevant, we emphasize insurers that offer 100% reimbursement of everything you pay in insurance through our ZERO insurance programs.