How the Pandemic Has Affected Retirement for 68 Million Americans

A recent survey commissioned by Edward Jones and conducted with the help of Gallup and Harris polls found that 68 million Americans said they have changed their retirement timing due to the 2020 global pandemic. That number is even more significant when you think about the number of households affected. About one in four households have had their retirement plans affected, requiring them to rethink when they plan to turn on their Social Security benefits.

In addition to Social Security, they also need to determine how early retirement will affect their ability to pay for health care. At an individual level, there is a greater need to shore up the potential reduction of Social Security than ever before.

Social Security is set to decrease by 24% by the year 2034. With the pandemic and current economic downturn, it could happen even quicker. So, if your clients fit into that majority, it’s time to consider options that will protect their retirement despite this decrease.

What percent of your client’s retirement income will come from Social Security? And, even more importantly, what impact will this have on their retirement and the ability for them to enjoy their retirement years? And how will you prepare them?

We have solutions that can help mitigate income concerns for your clients.

Whenever meeting with a client to make changes to their financial plan, start by reevaluating some of the vehicles that were put in place 10 or 15 years ago. Maybe they have maxed out their income benefit. Or maybe there’s a better solution for their current needs. This is a great opportunity to determine the appropriateness of the current financial products.

And, once you’ve discussed how your clients’ goals have changed, and which products aren’t working anymore, you’re ready to discuss the future. JourneyGuide is a great way to do that. It offers a quick and accurate report of how to help your clients meet their goals, even in the face of decreasing Social Security. The JourneyGuide software can help you identify some of the gaps that have been caused by the global pandemic.

So, have a conversation with your clients. Ask them:

• How did this change their retirement income plan?
• Do we need to reevaluate?
• Do we need to accelerate income and close that gap up?
• Do we need to create a better legacy?

With JourneyGuide, I can show you the proper amount of protected income needed to leverage the rest of the portfolio to generate more estate value for the beneficiaries. Which is a long way of saying it can help people retire earlier. And, more importantly, JourneyGuide can help close any type of retirement gaps that might have come up due to the global pandemic.

Call your retirement income consultant at (800) 589-3000 to learn more about JourneyGuide and Ash’s Annuity Audit services. Both will give you the information you need to allow your clients to understand the changes that are affecting their retirement income today.