5 Tips for Picking the Best Retirement Planner

The baby boomer generation has been likened to a pig passing through a python. This huge bulge in the population was started when millions of GIs returned home from WWII at the same time; married at the same time; and started families all within the same 10-year period. The first waves of the retirement tsunami for this generation have already hit — and so, retirement planners abound. In such a “target-rich environment” potential retirees have to navigate a minefield of hacks and quacks, and find just the right retirement planner to suit his or her needs.

Finding the right retirement planner is every bit as important as choosing the right car, or home. In fact, it is probably more important. You can change cars, or homes — but make a retirement planning mistake and you could be in trouble you cannot reverse. Let us make suggestion about what to look for in a reputable retirement planner.

#1. He should listen first — and talk later. In order to do the proper job, a retirement planner must listen to you and understand your situation. Everyone’s retirement goals are different, each set of circumstances dictate original planning. If you think you’re listening to a canned speech or a pre-written sales pitch — leave! He does not have your best interests at heart; he is merely hawking a product.

#2. One Size Does Not Fit All. If a retirement planner can only offer you a single road map to achieve your goals, chances are he’s got a hidden agenda that benefits his wallet — perhaps at the expense of yours. Most retirement goals have different paths to achievement; you owe it to yourself to take a look at them all, and to choose the one that’s most comfortable for you. If a retirement planner can’t supply multiple paths to the goal, find someone who can.

#3. Honesty is the Only Policy. Avoid retirement planners who think their job is to hand you only the news you want to hear. If your financial circumstances dictate that you can’t retire when you want to, he should be prepared to deliver the bad news and work with the circumstances that are real. It is not his job to fill you full of hot air, promising you that you can do things your income will not permit. You do not need a “yes” man.

#4. No Retirement Planner Has A Crystal Ball. And don’t let them tell you they do. Any retirement planner who promises, suggests or even hints that he knows where interest rates are going is lying. Any retirement planner that tells you he knows the direction of any market (stocks, bonds, commodities or otherwise) is lying. Leave immediately and continue your search elsewhere.

#5. Your Ideas Count, Too. He is, after all, supposed to be the expert. But that doesn’t mean that your experience, research and knowledge are worth dirt — and he shouldn’t treat you, or your ideas, that way. There is no reason why an expert cannot consider the thoughts of an amateur. If you are wrong in your plan, he should be able to show you why you are wrongs with analysis, facts and figures. This is one case where he shouldn’t just say, “no.” Your opinions deserve respect, and if he doesn’t offer that important quality — find someone who does.

These are just a few of traits you need to find in a good retirement planner. Keep these things in mind when you get started, and you will achieve the outcome you desire.