Financial professionals are generally perceived to be more concerned with the fiscal side of your plans,
especially when it comes to retirement. And making sure you have a comfortable savings to retire on,
and enough to continue living the same lifestyle, are two extremely important things they do their best to
help you achieve. But it’s a deeper knowledge and understanding of you as a client that helps them truly
succeed.

In fact, in order for them to truly know you as a person, a friend, and a client, they need to be asking the
right questions and you need to be sharing with them more than just the bottom line.

These are just a few of the most important things to share with your financial
professional when you meet to discuss your retirement:

Activities – It’s vitally important that you inform your financial professional
what activities you plan on participating in the most during retirement. Often,
they assume that golf and traveling will take up the bulk of your time. While
that’s often an accurate prediction, it’s also sometimes too simple. Give
them a long list of things you want to do in retirement so they’ll be able to
understand what you plan on doing in the future. In the process, they’ll get
to know you better as a person.

Your Passion – What did you enjoy about your life’s work? What did you
enjoy doing the most? And what kind of activities will you participate in
besides the leisurely ones? If you spent your entire life working this hard,
then the chances are good that golfing and traveling won’t necessarily fill
that empty space that used to be occupied by long days at work. Make it
clear what other activities you plan on participating in, whether that be a job
or volunteer work.

Your Legacy – It’s essential that you make it clear to your financial
professional what you want to be remembered for. No one is a fan of
talking about death, but by making your wishes and wants completely
clear, your financial professional will be able to assist you with your estate
planning needs.

By informing them what charities or causes you want to benefit after you’re gone
(if any), they’ll be able to plan more clearly. Oftentimes things are left unsaid
during retirement and a person’s estate doesn’t always get distributed the way
they would have wanted.

As a rule of thumb, you should remember communication is the most important
aspect of retirement and estate planning. Always communicate your full wishes to
your financial professional, even the ones you may think aren’t as important.

The increased communication will mean that nothing is left unsaid, and in the process, your financial
professional will get to know you better and understand your wishes fully as they help you make important
financial decisions.

This article was submitted by Robert Valentine of Financial and Retirement Management.Robert Valentine is a well-known expert in the matters concerning investors. His articles on financial planning matters that concern investors have been published by several publications throughout the United States.