When it comes to retirement planning, some financial advisers may not be discussing the most important costs their aging clients face, suggests a recent article from Investment News.
While housing and health care costs remain top of mind in retirement planning discussions, transportation is the second-highest expenditure for Americans age 65 and older, and is something advisers need to factor into a financial plan, writes Investment News.
“Helping a client or couple navigate their mobility needs in retirement is the new job of retirement planning,” said Joseph Coughlin, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab and the New England University Transportation Center, in the article.
Whereas other expenses tend to decline later in life, many transportation costs are fixed, thereby giving them greater scale on the balance sheets of older Americans, Coughlin said.
Approximately 79% of seniors age 65 and older live in car-dependent suburban and rural communities, according to a report by Transportation for America, an organization that lobbies for investment in local transportation.
Despite the necessity transportation plays in a person’s life, a survey last year from the Insured Retirement Institute noted that only 66% of advisers discuss retirement lifestyle issues such as housing and relocation with clients.
“Advisers’ role is getting bigger and bigger,” said Mike Lynch, vice president of strategic markets at Hartford Funds, in the article. “It’s not just managing investments, but managing their lifestyle.”
Read the Investment News article.
Written by Jason Oliva
