Deloitte Access Economics’ Advice in 2030: The Big Shift report, produced in collaboration with Iress last year, uncovered that 23 per cent of the adult population is going to be aged 65 and above by 2034.
As financial advisers look to address the surge in retirement demand, a recent webinar hosted by Iress’ community platform Advisely explored the need for advisers to connect with other specialists in the retirement planning space.
Professor Joanne Earl at Macquarie University’s Department of Psychology said on the webinar that multidisciplinary advice will be critical to prepare for the upcoming silver tsunami.
“One of the big solutions is around multidisciplinary advice. I think about a couple, for example, who are going in to see an adviser and one of them has just suffered bereavement. So there’s not two people coming in, there’s only one person now,” she explained.
“The adviser is left with the situation where they are trying to help that person plan for their financial future, but the client themselves is navigating a lot of bereavement, so grief. How does the adviser then engage with that person to get them focused on the financial future, but at the same time, help them recognise and acknowledge that grief?”
To address this challenge, Earl encouraged advisers to be connecting with other relevant experts such as psychologists, occupational therapists, doctors and even pharmacists.
“We need to have a look and see if we can make that advice space more multidisciplinary, include specialists from outside the financial services profession and drag in other professions to provide a much more holistic, well-rounded service for the individual,” the professor said.
This approach of building up a referral network with outside specialists is a form of “low-hanging fruit” for advisers, Earl added, rather than upskilling your own team to address retirees’ complex needs.
“I think the low-hanging fruit is connecting with people in your local area who can provide those additional services. So having a look at where your psychologists are for example; are there any career advisers in the area, for example, who may be talking to retirees about when they’re going to be exiting the workplace. There’s an opportunity there to find your experts in your area without having to necessarily upskill within your own practice.”
The professor’s suggestions align with research from Viridian Advisory last November, which uncovered that 79 per cent of advisers said access to specialists is crucial for providing quality and holistic advice in areas including tax, estate planning and aged care.
Meanwhile, 72 per cent of advisers are frequently collaborating with other specialists when constructing financial strategies for clients, reflecting the advice industry’s growing reliance on external expertise to address a wider range of financial needs.
Particularly for high-net-worth investors, advisers can act as a “connector” between various specialists and offer expertise on matters involving from portfolio construction to succession planning.
