Products October 26, 2010

AARP Revamps Retirement Calculator

AARP has revamped its retirement calculator “to enhance usability, but maintain accuracy in its results.”
Reported by

New features of the AARP Retirement Calculator include the ability to develop a retirement plan for a dual-income home, calculate and include individual Social Security benefit estimates as a part of retirement income, tabs, explanation of where an individual is currently at in their retirement planning, and the ability to experiment with various retirement scenarios to create a plan that is right for each individual.

According to a press release, upon completion of the calculator, individuals will be provided links to a number of AARP resources to learn more about Social Security, financial planning, and health care in retirement.   

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The new AARP Retirement Calculator does not promote any product or service.  

“We feel our new calculator strikes the right balance between giving users the information they want while making it engaging and easy to use,” said Jean Setzfand, Director of Financial Security at AARP, in the announcement. “It streamlines the process through the use of pre-populated answers, but allows for customization and adjustment of the assumptions if ‘power users’ choose to.”  

To try out the new AARP Retirement Calculator, visit http://www.aarp.org/retirementcalculator.
Data & Research October 26, 2010

Advisers Stepping Up to the Plate

Advisers are facing several new challenges in the “post-recession” climate, and many feel that they have to tackle these challenges on their own, according to a survey conducted by HNW.   
Reported by

The “HNW 2010 Advisor Study” asked advisers what they think are the most challenging barriers to their success and where they feel comfortable turning for help.   

The most commonly cited barrier to success, given by 84% of advisers, is the lack of trust many clients have in the post-recession climate.  The next most popular answers all had to do with regulation; 78% are concerned about more regulation in the future, 77% feel there is too much existing regulation, and 74% feel that staying on top of changes in regulations is an impediment to success. Fierce competition for new clients and dealing with products that are too complex were the next most common answers.

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Lack of trust in the financial services industry among clients may be a challenge–but it’s a challenge most advisers are willing to take on:

  • Almost three out of four advisers see more opportunities now than they did before the recession began.   
  • Eighty-nine percent of advisers say their clients are requiring more time and attention.
  • Eighty-six percent of advisers say their clients want a more comprehensive wealth management approach.
  • Eighty-one percent say clients are better informed and demanding greater transparency.

With these newly-demanding clients, where are advisers getting support?  HNW found that many advisers are “dissatisfied” with their firms’ lack of support during and after the economic crisis–87% think that firms should be doing more to mend clients’ “tarnished perceptions” of the financial services industry.   Because of the “tarnished perceptions” advisers are facing, HNW found that 76% of advisers are relying more on their own marketing efforts, rather than those of the company.   

HNW also checked in on the use of social media among advisers.  Seven out of 10 surveyed do not use any form–Twitter, Facebook, nor LinkedIn.  But it’s not because they don’t want to be on it; 78% responded that company regulations make it too challenging and 74% cited industry regulations as why they’re not engaged in social media.   

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