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Why Advisors Struggle With Their Own Retirement
There are three key reasons advisors have problems letting go .
By Robert Laura
HAVe yOu eVer cOme AcrOss someone whose professional and personal life are contradictory ? Think of a carpenter whose house remains under constant construction , the family therapist who struggles to make family time , the chef who prefers to order out — or the retirement planner who can ’ t get their arms around actually retiring .
On the surface , the disconnect between work life and home life is easy to understand . The last thing many people want to do when they get home is more of their work . However , the problem is in some ways worse for financial planners helping people with retirement , because they face so many emotional decisions when they finally decide to leave their own businesses .
The subject is , in fact , an emotional minefield for advisors . They have to contemplate giving up the client and staff relationships they ’ ve spent years building and nurturing . That ’ s a perfect reason for them to procrastinate . It ’ s no wonder the average age of advisors continues to climb . The barriers to exit seem too high , so they put it off . my own big epiphany came when I was presenting at a national advisor conference on the psychology of retirement and started taking questions from the audience . Initially , I expected to get routine questions about client situations , but instead the audience of planners asked personal questions about their own exits from the business . They didn ’ t know how to talk about it with their spouses . They asked what would happen when they lost their work identities and had to replace the “ high ” one gets from helping people achieve their financial goals .
The primary role of financial professionals has been to make sure their clients don ’ t run out of money . But they haven ’ t made the switch when it comes time to helping people look and plan beyond the dollars and cents . Very few firms encourage this type of training and even fewer can provide it . But now advisors facing their own retirement have put it together : They ’ re quickly realizing that running out of money pales in comparison to running out of family , friends , good health and time .
Over the last couple of years , after having more conversations like these with planners , I have identified three key reasons that advisors struggle .
1 . The Emotional Void
When we leave our jobs , we lose a part of ourselves . That ’ s because when someone is enmeshed in their work , they overidentify with it . That ’ s especially true when they have roles so important in people ’ s lives — their ability to talk intimately about finances keeps them relevant , connected and highly sought-after .
Advisory clients trust us as the go-to people . They rely heavily on us for our expertise , knowledge and experience .
66 | financial advisor magazine | july / august 2022 www . fa-mag . com