"Youth would be an ideal state if it came a little later in life."
– Herbert Henry Asquith, British politician (1852-1928)
With November upon us, many families will share a Thanksgiving dinner that would not have been possible in the not-so-distant past- one that includes family members who are 70, 80, even 90 or more years old. As they break bread with their families, these seniors certainly have a lot to be thankful for. After all, many are leading long, active and productive lives well after traditional retirement age.
As such, there is virtually no end to the marketing messages these seniors hear imploring them to take full advantage of their youthfulness. Each day, they are bombarded by images of seniors re-igniting the romance with their spouse, traveling to exotic destinations and participating in rigorous athletic endeavors.
Today's active senior lifestyle can be a dream come true for our clients, and they should absolutely be encouraged to enjoy it. But, we are also creating a generation of seniors with a growing sense of invincibility- a trend that will likely get even worse as more baby boomers approach retirement age.
As my friend and former Million Dollar Round Table president Brian H. Ashe, CLU, of Lisle, Ill., remarked at the recent MDRT Boomertirement Summit, "Lots and lots of people in the boomer generation really don't think that risk- for them individually- really exists. The prevailing attitude seems to be that 'no one really gets sick for very long any more, no one is probably going to die until they're 100 and nobody really loses money any more.'"
Speaking of us as trusted advisors, Ashe said, it's up to us to help our senior clients secure their financial futures by communicating the realities of risk more clearly, more consistently, and more dramatically. I couldn't agree more with his sentiments.
One way we can all do that, of course, is by sharing real-life examples that demonstrate the devastating impact death, disability, long term care, critical illness and other risks have had on other seniors in their community.
