Every day, business owners face a multitude of complex financial and business decisions, including how they will fund retirement, when and if they will step-back from the business, tax considerations and issues, long-term care costs and determine how they will exit their business. The sheer number of decisions can paralyze a business owner into non-action. Let’s review how you can, as a trusted agent and advisor, help business owners avoid decision paralysis and take proactive action for their retirement?
Planning Retirement through the Lens of Business Strategy
In your role as agent and advisor, you can support and guide your clients and address the unique needs of business owners as they plan for retirement. There are a few key questions that you can ask your business owner clients to assess their personal retirement needs and their business needs as you build personalized and custom retirement strategies. What are some of the key questions you can ask business owners to better plan for their future?
Key Questions to Ask Business Owners
Your business owner client’s face tough financial questions, like:
- Are your key people happy or do you risk their departure?
- Will your business suffer if a key person dies or becomes disabled?
- Do your rank-and-file employees have retirement options?
- Does your qualified retirement plan complement your business objectives?
- Do you want to step back from your business one day, or walk away and fully retire?
- Is most of your personal wealth tied up in the business?
- Who will take over when you no longer wish —or are no longer able —to run the operation?
Asking these questions can address the life stages of a business owner. The Annexus Securian BOLD Process considers the life-stage of your clients, factoring in not only unique stakeholders like the business owner, their family, and employees, but also personal and business retirement considerations.
Securian Financial Business Owner Life-stage Design (BOLD) Process
At DMI University, using the Securian and Annexus BOLD program, agents and advisors will have access to the BOLD strategies and tools including Financial Guide and Consumer Guides. The BOLD process also includes resources to guide your understanding of key business concepts and facilitate your strategy discussions with client and sales consultations.
DMI University Bold Action Webinar Sneak Peek
Learn how to efficiently leverage the BOLD Program for your clients and see it in action on September 22, 2021. Join us for “ Help Business Owners to Take BOLD Action” DMI University Webinar hosted by DMI and Luke Anderson of Securian and Annexus. DMI’s Director of Marketing, Glen Setchfield provides an overview. Register Now
The Annexus BOLD Process, designed and developed specifically for business owners to identify and prioritize business needs and develop customized solutions for estate planning, compensation, succession planning.
Explore additional resources to help your business owner clients. With the use of questionnaires, you will help identify the business owner’s stakeholders and assess their current situation, as well as outline their goals and priorities.
