If you are very new to financial services, retirement planning may seem like a mysterious snooze-fest.
You may be young. Your parents may still be young. You may think of retirement as a matter of turning 65 and suddenly being able to use Social Security to retire to a house in Florida.
Bu having a comfortable retirement is harder than it may look, and understanding the three stages of retirement planning is the key to ensuring that your clients sip piña coladas on the beach instead of stressing about their finances.
Stage 1: Accumulation.
Picture this: You're fresh out of school, armed with a degree and a mountain of debt.
Sound familiar? Well, fear not, because Stage 1 is all about building that retirement nest egg.
It's the time to sock away as much cash as possible while you're still young and spry.
Think of it like planting seeds in a garden: The earlier you start, the more bountiful your harvest will be.
So, what's the game plan?
First off, your clients need to get rid of that pesky debt.
Then, they need to start squirreling away that hard-earned cash.
Whether it's stashing 20% of every paycheck into their employer's 401(k) or maxing out on a Roth individual retirement account, the key is for your clients to start early and stay consistent.
Stage 2: Retirement and Annuitization.
This is where the rubber meets the road.
Retirement is no longer just a distant dream. It's staring your clients square in the face.
The goal here? Ensuring your clients have enough dough to live out their golden years in style.
Lloyd Lofton is the founder of Power Behind the Sales and the author of 
