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Let's start with the good news: Today, older financial consumers tell us having a financial or retirement plan is a priority for them. In a new study we did in conjunction with the Million Dollar Round Table, some 85 percent of boomers and 87 percent of Silent Generation, ages 65 and older, consumers say having a plan was either a priority or a high priority on a five-point scale. In fact, the older the respondent, the greater percent think having a plan is a priority. That is good news.
Now, the bad news
Advisors and agents are not on the same page. In 2009, we asked 600 MDRT advisors and agents to tell us "how much of a priority do you think your clients would say it was to have a financial plan?"
There's a gap
First, there is a pretty significant gap among Silent Generation consumers. Advisors and agents told us they thought about 65 percent of their Silent Generation clients would say having a plan is a priority. That's 22 points lower than what consumers said.
For boomers, the gap is the same
Advisors and agents felt 62 percent of their boomer-age clients, ages 45-64 in 2010, would say a plan is a priority. This time, they were off by 23 points.
