4 Tips for Finding a Qualified Financial Advisor for Seniors

Age plays a vital role in our lives and as we grow older, it has an effect on our interests, hobbies, finances, and health too. It is critical that you find the right kind of help that can allow you to sail through your new phase of life in a smooth manner.

Due to increased life expectancy, the number of people over the age of 65 is also steadily increasing in the US with each passing year. The United States Census Bureau released a study in 2020 which revealed that the percentage of people aged 65 and more has significantly increased (by as much as 34.2%) since 2010. Even the median age has seen an upward trend rising to 38.5 years in 2020 from 37.2 years in 2010. What these numbers show is that a major chunk of the population of the United States is made up of senior citizens.

Financial planning is as essential for senior citizens as it is for the working population who are saving for their retirement. There is a concerted effort to shift towards capital preservation when an individual is nearing retirement to safeguard their savings. Even post-retirement, you may need financial advice due to changing financial needs with time. Moreover, continuously rising inflation also plays a part in the decision. Thus, it is critical that you engage the services of a senior financial advisor who can guide you on how to continue saving and investing your money. With professional financial advice for seniors at your disposal, you can live a stress-free and financially secure life. If you are on the hunt for the best financial advisor for seniors but are unsure of where and how to find them, do give this article a read and follow the suggestions mentioned herein.

How to find a financial advisor for seniors
Let us discuss some ways to find the best financial advisors for seniors:

1. Seek recommendations for a suitable financial advisor:

One of the easiest ways to find good recommendations for financial advisors in your area is to reach out to your friends and family members. You can enquire about good senior financial advisors who are more common than you might think. A word of advice to you - ensure that you take suggestions from people you trust. This way you can be relatively certain of the advisor’s credibility and trustworthiness. In addition, exercise caution and do not simply hire someone just because they were recommended by someone you know. Conduct a meeting with them to assess their performance. Discuss your needs with them and ensure that you and the professional are on the same page. Make a decision after having a frank discussion with them where you communicate your concerns and expectations from them right at the beginning to eliminate the possibility of disagreements later on.

2. Try and find a fiduciary advisor:

There are primarily two kinds of financial advisors - fiduciary and non-fiduciary. Fiduciary financial advisors are legally bound to place their clients’ best interests before their own interests. If you hire a fiduciary financial advisor, you can take confidence in the fact that all investments and financial decisions are being taken for your benefit. If however, you choose to hire a non-fiduciary advisor, you open yourself up to the possibility of being exposed to a certain amount of bias. Non-fiduciary advisors generally earn their fees through commissions. They work with banks or investment companies and may recommend certain financial products and services to earn a commission through their sale. These investments may or may not be beneficial for you thereby, it is advised that you exercise caution and consider hiring a fiduciary to safeguard your interests.

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3. Explore online databases for certified advisors:

Online databases are a good platform to search for the best financial advisors for seniors. You can concentrate your search to identify potential advisors living in your area and as per your requirement. Some of the options that you can try are:

a. Certified Financial Planners (CFP):

You can browse the CFP directory to search for a Certified Financial Planner. A CFP offers an exhaustive range of financial services such as retirement planning, Social Security planning, budgeting, retirement health care, elderly care, inheritance, tax planning, and more. This database allows you to modify your search and search for a professional within 5 miles to 100 miles from your location depending on your preference and convenience.

b. Financial Planning Association (FPA):

If you are looking for a financial advisor who practices locally within your state, then the FPA is the right directory for you.

c. National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA):

If you have your heart set on hiring a fee-only fiduciary financial advisor, then the NAPFA is the perfect directory for you. The directory offers you the convenience of picking an advisor based on your location.

d. WiserAdvisor’s Financial Advisor Directory:

This particular directory allows you to search for vetted financial advisors residing near your area. The advisors are pre-screened and you do not have to shell out a match fee. Moreover, you are under no obligation to hire an advisor.

Directories serve as a great source of finding credible, vetted, and reliable financial advisors. You can find trusted advisors from the comfort of your home by accessing the online databases of the aforesaid directories.

4. Verify the credentials of the financial advisor:

Since the advisor would be managing your finances, you need to ensure that you hire someone that you trust and can rely on. Make sure that you verify the advisor’s qualifications and certifications before hiring one. Some of the certifications that you can look for in a senior financial advisor are:

• Personal Financial Specialist (PFS)
• Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
• Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP)
• Certified Retirement Counselor (CRC)
• Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA)

Additionally, you must also check the past performance of the advisor. Ask the advisor the number of clients that he manages at any given point in time to gauge whether he would be able to offer you the required time and attention you want. Do try and find out if any lawsuits, complaints, or criminal allegations have been made against the advisor. You can also check past clients' feedback on Google or the official website of the advisory firm to make an informed decision.

What should you keep in mind when engaging the services of a senior financial advisor?

When you are considering hiring a professional financial advisor for seniors, you must pay attention to the following:

1. Do not make any large upfront payments:

Seniors are vulnerable to many kinds of fraudulent financial schemes and scams. Before hiring someone, conduct a thorough check about their credentials and look into their past records. If the professional asks for a large sum of money upfront promising a large profit in a short span of time, do your due diligence first. Try to verify the legitimacy of the claim. You could also go for a one-time consultation first and hire the advisor on a longer contract if he meets your expectations.

2. Have faith in your instincts:

Do not doubt your instincts. If you are feeling unsure of a person’s intentions, do not work with them. Your instincts may not be right at all times but they will offer you peace of mind. It is important that you make financial decisions when you are not feeling stressed. It is better not to engage someone with whom you have a mismatch in how you wish to attain your ideas and goals. The good thing here is that there are a plethora of qualified financial advisors available to choose from, and you can make an informed decision at your own pace and time.

3. Take care to verify the reliability of sources:

If you are searching for a professional financial advisor on the Internet, browse reliable and verified sources only. There are multiple frauds prowling the Internet who may be looking to scam you out of your money. Stay away from unverified websites. It can be risky if you hire someone from an untrustworthy source.

Why do you require professional financial guidance for seniors?

Let us explore some reasons why you require the services of a senior financial advisor:

1. Create a plan for managing your healthcare expenses:

Healthcare expenses form a core part of your retirement expenditure and if you are not adequately covered to handle them, it may become a source of stress and worry for you. You can consult with a senior financial advisor on how to manage your healthcare-related expenses. He can recommend certain strategies such as:

• • Insurance like long term care insurance, critical illness insurance, general health insurance
  • Federal Medicare plans like Medicare Part A, B, C, and D
  • Health savings account (HSA)

2. Create an estate plan:

Death is an unpleasant thing to consider and generally people do not wish to think about their own demise which is why they either delay or refrain from creating an estate plan. However, you need to pay extra attention to it once you go past 60. You may need to revise the plan and will if your relationship has undergone a change such as if you have either gotten divorced, remarried or widowed. Similarly, you may wish to alter your estate plan if your children get divorced, widowed, or remarried, or if they have biological or adopted children. Family feuds can also cause a change in your estate plan as you may wish to add or remove certain beneficiaries or alter their inheritances due to any recent events that may have occurred. All these changes must be made and reflected in your estate plan at the earliest. A senior financial advisor can help you carry out the needed modifications.

3. Help ensure that you remain financially stable for the rest of your life:

It is important that you have certain streams of income in retirement so that the money keeps flowing in. A financial advisor can prove useful here as he can help create other streams of income for you such as investments in low-risk investments (like debt funds) and fixed income instruments (like bonds, commercial papers, certificates of deposit, and more). By doing so you would have a steady stream of revenue coming in without exposing yourself to too much risk. You could also explore options to rent or lease your real estate property to earn some additional funds.

4. Deploy retirement-appropriate strategies:

You need to be careful when using your retirement funds. If you end up using them too quickly, you may risk running out of money during the later years of your retirement; and if you are too frugal, you may become unhappy and not enjoy the latter years of your life. Hence, it is essential that you reach a suitable compromise. Create a withdrawal strategy with help from your senior financial advisor w.r.t. your Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) so that you do not fall foul of penalties and are able to stretch your savings through your retirement.

5. Minimize your taxes:

Even after retirement, you are liable to pay taxes on your income. Thus, you must employ tax-saving strategies to lower your tax burden. With the help of an advisor, you can reduce your tax output, maximize your investment gains, and effectively use your money without it getting eroded by inflation or taxes.

To summarize

If you have turned 60, you must take care to employ measures to secure and safeguard your finances. Hire a senior financial advisor who can create a customized strategy for you to meet your unique financial needs and goals and offer you timely advice to protect your funds against market volatility.

To get in touch with a fiduciary advisor who may help you create customized and prudent investment strategies to secure your wealth in retirement, use the free advisor match service. Based on your requirements, the platform scans through registered and qualified advisors to match you with an advisor suited to your needs and goals.