Ep. 46: Reversing the Narrative on Reverse Mortgages

Sure.

And there's no question, and Eric, you know this, today's retirement is going to last longer, be more expensive and less predictable.

Today's retiree hasn't saved enough and is going to live longer and highly indebted.

So that means advisors today, elite advisors, have to know more, do more, solve bigger questions.

And they need to be looking at every viable resource that can help their client achieve a successful retirement.

So one of the questions I ask advisors is, are you a AAA advisor? And they say, what is that, some sort of automobile thing? I said, no.

I said, all available assets.

When you're sitting with your clients, Imagine asking them this question, Mr. and Mrs. Flintstone, as we prepare your retirement income plan, is it important to you that we use all of your available assets or should anything be excluded? Now, most clients will say, no, no, don't exclude anything.

And why would they? At the time of this recording, the World Cup was on television, and I didn't know much about football, football, soccer.

I didn't know there were 11 men on the field.

I didn't know that.

And so I've been learning a lot.

And you know what, Eric? No matter how great your team is, if you have a chance to start all 11 men, you do that.

You don't hold one off the field to prove a point.

And so in retirement income planning, all available assets are critically important.

So the average retiree has four buckets.

With three primary buckets, they have number one, their income bucket.

That includes Social Security, pension if you're lucky, employment of your work.

And number two, you've got your investment buckets, IRAs, 401K, brokerage account, crypto, a house in the Hamptons, a business to sell.

And thirdly, finally, you've got your insurance bucket.

That includes fixed and variable annuities and life insurance.

And all of those three buckets have to last you all of your life, maintain the purchasing power, and give you the lifestyle you desire.

And my question is, are you 100% certain, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, that those three buckets will be sufficient to last you your entire life? Now, most people say, no, I'm not 100% certain.

I say, well, here's the good news.

There's a fourth bucket, and that's called housing wealth.