"We have to recognize that what we are going through is unique in world history." – Dr. Alan Greenspan
Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Dr. Alan Greenspan spoke these words at the Boomertirement Industry Summit, held in New York City in late April. It was my distinct honor to interview Dr. Greenspan as part of the Summit. His explanation of the challenges – and opportunities – facing baby boomers truly helped put everything in perspective.
During our conversation, Dr. Greenspan noted, "Retirement is a relatively new phenomenon. As a society, we've dealt with it successfully in the past few decades, but we've never had such a huge group of individuals going into the system at once and then living so long in their retirement years."
Dr. Greenspan said that the government will find it increasingly difficult to keep all of the financial promises it has made through Social Security, Medicare and other programs in the coming years. He added that the longer we wait to deal with these key issues, the more difficult they will be to address.
This is where our role as trusted advisors comes into play – and the solutions apply to seniors of all ages, not just baby boomers. We must educate our senior clients that maximizing their quality of life during retirement requires them to take action on their own behalf, and "concern" them into immediately taking the appropriate steps.
