SOFTWARE
Choosing software for a strong business backbone
For advisors in the retirement space , a solid retirement income planning platform should be the backbone of your financial planning practice .
Financial planning has not been immune to an increasingly technological world . There are hundreds of financial planning software options available . It can be overwhelming to determine which tech to adopt and which technology you should skip . For advisors who focus primarily on the retirement space , a solid retirement income planning platform should be the backbone of your financial planning practice .
Software to do heavy-lifting
Clients have a variety of vehicles for saving : 401 ( k ) s , 403 ( b ) s , IRAs , fixed annuities , certificates of deposit and more . Social Security and pensions also provide income to many retirees . But it ’ s not just the quantity of the different income options that can be daunting . Complex Social Security rules and current tax regulations can present very real challenges when looking at the interactions between different retirement income streams . Careful planning and precision are required help you determine which income stream the client should use and when to make sure your client isn ’ t hit with an unexpected tax bill or other potential issue . This many unique factors makes it difficult to craft a thorough retirement strategy quickly .
Learning , remembering , and calculating all the different complicated interactions can be incredibly time consuming . Using a retirement income planning software can make the process much more efficient and cut down on the amount of time you must spend on each strategy . The right software can remove the clutter and heavy-lifting and really allow you to do what you do best – advise clients !
Key elements for effectiveness
Joe Elsasser , CFP ®
Joe is founder and president of Covisum , a financial tech company focused on creating software that improves lives through better financial decisions . Covisum helps financial advisors serving clients in or near retirement and powers some of the nation ’ s largest financial planning institutions . Contact Joe at jelsasser @ covisum . com .
Advisors have a lot of great options when it comes to financial planning technology , but no matter which software you choose . You want to make sure it has a few key elements to really be effective .
1 Full Integration
You want to make sure whatever retirement income planning software you select is deeply integrated with your other financial planning tools . This can get complicated . Many software companies say they are integrated , but they are only “ loosely integrated ” and don ’ t use the same methodologies or assumptions . When the software doesn ’ t use the same assumptions , you can get conflicting results . These issues need to be reconciled between the systems by you , manually . Even though these tools were originally sold to you to save you time on data entry , you end up spending more time reconciling the different assumptions . Additionally , you ’ ll have to explain to clients why the results in software A are different than those in software B . To avoid this tricky situation , make sure you understand how the retirement income planning tool you ’ re considering is integrated with your other software .
22 Perspectives Q3 2021