Retirement planners: It’s your time to shine

Hands up who knew the following: On 8 May last year, it had been 65 years since the end of the Second World War.

That’s 65 years since thousands of soldiers – the lucky ones, that is – returned home to help produce a generation that we now call “baby boomers”.

For those of you scratching your heads (that’ll be none of you), 65 was, until earlier this year, the UK’s default retirement age (DRA).

New legislation means employers will no longer be allowed to dismiss staff just because they have reached that age, but that is unlikely to stop thousands of people doing what they have been planning to do for years… retire.

But that’s not all. According to the Office for National Statistics, there will be 30% more people retiring this year than there were in 2009. And, by 2013, you can expect that figure to rise even further.

I am not trying to tell you something you already know, which is that retirees, generally, need advice more (and are more willing to seek it out) than younger people.

But the inescapable truth is this: now is the time to really push your retirement planning service (if you provide one), because never again will you be more in demand than you will be over the next few years.

Of course, you’re unlikely to have people queuing outside your front door because, sadly, the public’s perception of financial advisers is not as good as it should be.

There was further evidence of that last week, with the publication of a study by the International Longevity Centre that suggested young people trust advisers less than previous generations and see IFAs as “cold and overly bureaucratic”.

Some advisers said this was both unsurprising and unimportant, as young people tend not to have much money to invest anyway.

But this is to miss the point: today’s teenagers are tomorrow’s investors, and what they think of the financial services industry is important.

We all have a role to play in turning this supposedly poor perception around, including the media, and that is why Professional Adviser will continue its commitment to seeking out the thousands of good news stories that occur in financial services every day.

Even if – admit it – the occasional bad news story gets you reading.

Scott Sinclair is deputy editor of Professional Adviser and IFAonline.co.uk