Scott Lebin is not a fan of the word "retirement." To the 71-year-old president of Lebin Financial Planning, in Geneva, Ill., the term too often suggests "that we stop doing, we stop living and just kick up our feet. I think that's a faulty premise."
Lebin has been an advisor for nearly 30 years. He taught high school for 21 years before that. And although some in his position would be eyeing the door at this point, he has no plans to slow down. "I love what I'm doing," he says. "I've loved the practice of financial planning for the last 28 years and I don't see it as work. I plan on doing this for the next 10 years, because I'm fortunate enough to enjoy what I'm doing. "
The shift toward longevity
While Lebin's views on the concept of retirement are partly philosophical, they also contain a practical component. "I tell clients that the longer we work, the less saved money we need to have in order to account for longevity," he says.
The concept of retirement sprung up in the wake of WWII, he notes, when older workers were encouraged to leave the workforce in order to create jobs for soldiers returning home. But much has changed in the intervening years. "[Longevity] wasn't as significant a problem then, because if you were 65, you planned on living 5 to 7 more years, and then you were going to be gone. People didn't live much past 72. Now, I tell every client that I'm planning for them to live until 100."
His clients often question this approach, Lebin concedes. "They'll say, 'But my dad died young, or my mom died young.' And I ask them, 'Well, what kind of medicine did your mom and dad have? Did they have open heart surgery then? Did they have cholesterol medication then? Did they even look at cholesterol then?' We're living in different times and your potential to live longer due to modern medicine is huge. It's just huge."
One step at a time
When clients first come into his office, Lebin says they are often overwhelmed. They tell him, "This is so confusing to me. I see this on television; I hear this on the radio; I read this on Internet. I don't know what to do." Lebin asks them to take a deep breath and slow down. "It's not that complex," he assures them. "We're going to be here to assist you. Let's talk through this."
Early in his career, advisors were taught to create fear in clients in order to motivate them, but Lebin says that's no longer the case. "We're now trying to create a sense of calm, a sense of logic and understanding, so they can make their own decisions."
Advisors should never recommend something that their clients can't understand, he says. "It's their money and it shouldn't be a case of 'he told me to do it.' I see it as a partnership between us, and I don't want to be responsible for them saying, 'Well, you told me I didn't have to understand. That you know all.' Because I don't know all."
He cautions against arrogance and recommends that advisors remain "very humble about the privilege we have of working with people." The fact that they are willing to share their assets and let advisors help manage their money is "a tremendous responsibility that they're giving us," Lebin says. "Unfortunately, some people in our profession have not taken that very seriously, but I would say that the majority of us do."
A big part of that responsibility lies in helping clients understand that everything can change in a moment, Lebin says. "You can walk into a doctor's appointment and your whole world is upside down by the time you leave. You can go out in your car and 10 minutes later, someone hits you and nothing's ever the same. But we look at it very positively. We try to create peace of mind by going through all those things that might happen so we're prepared for them."
A lifelong journey
Before becoming a financial planner, Lebin taught theater, communication and English, all part of what he describes as "a progression of lifelong learning." Among other things, he says his time as a high school teacher helped him learn to meet deadlines and approach relationships more creatively. "You have to deal with a lot of different personalities, and you quickly come to understand that there's no one right answer for anything. You have to accept people for who they are and try to get them to the next stage. And that takes a lot of questioning and introspection."
