A challenging year

By John Forcucci

As we’ve exited 2022, we can say with certainty that it has been a challenging year. For similar reasons, 2023 is likely to be challenging as well.

While these challenges — economic and otherwise — are the reality, they also provide opportunity.

About 10,000 baby boomers are retiring every day, and the runway for near-retirees is just as crowded. A triple whammy of high inflation, a rocky economy and fear of outliving savings as lifespans increase is facing this generation of new retirees and increasing their fear and trepidation about retirement. Should I retire? When is it OK for me to retire? Do I have enough in savings to retire? These are among the common questions, even among those who have saved close to seven figures in retirement funds.

Many retirees are seeking out part-time employment to make ends meet, while other near-retirees are postponing their retirement date.

With retirement a stark and imminent reality, the reassurance of having advisors providing guidance through this process is essential. In addition, spending in retirement has become another hidden worry for the current retirement generation. Due to factors such as high inflation, many are reporting overspending from their retirement savings. This is another area where guidance and reassurance have never been more important.

Addressing these concerns and questions should be a key part of how advisors work with clients in this demographic. Although clients may have planned well for decades leading up their retirement, executing the final steps and having confidence in their retirement plan is a challenge that advisors are uniquely able to solve.

At the same time as retirement angst grows for older generations, a raft of studies over the past year have shown that younger generations, such as Generation Z and millennials, are more tuned in to their financial well-being and eventual retirement than earlier generations are.

These young adults are thinking about savings and retirement from earlier ages and are starting investment funds sooner than most of the older generations did. They understand that time is on their side, and they are taking advantage of that, even if they have only a small amount to invest at the present time.

These generations also represent a great opportunity for advisors, especially as most studies have shown the majority of these younger investors are seeking human counsel, even as they rely on apps and social media for much of their financial information.

The recognition that younger generations are solidly ensconced in social media — and are often more comfortable using apps and texting than they are talking on the phone — provides key guidance for advisors who seek to build their client base. Connecting on social media is essential to a successful practice today. As with all social media, providing insights and expertise along with revealing something of yourself is essential so that a true human connection can be made between advisor and prospective clients.

Investing in daily posting, sharing expertise on appropriate platforms such as LinkedIn — or even TikTok — and making short videos on key financial topics are some of the pathways to building these connections.

Inflating car insurance and a stormy P/C landscape

The Consumer Price Index saw its largest increase in 40 years in June when it increased a staggering 9.1%. That, along with supply chain issues and the return of commuter traffic to near-normal levels following the declines during the height of COVID-19, has had an impact on car insurance. Forbes reported in Nov. 2022 that the American Property Casualty Insurance Association found that insurance claim costs had been rising faster than the CPI and outpacing increases by car insurance companies.

Drivers are expected to see significant rate increases when their policies come up for renewal or they shop for car insurance. As part of this equation, repair costs are expected to continue to rise as well, as original equipment manufacturer parts are harder to find and causing delays in repairs.

As with many other sectors in the economy, when these factors will abate is anybody’s guess, and their growing impact is sure to be felt until some cooling down takes place.

Some of those same factors, along with the ever-increasing severity of natural catastrophes including hurricanes, tornadoes and even severe hailstorms, are also throwing a wrench into the reinsurance market. Along with increased storms and damage, higher home valuations are playing a role. Florida and Louisiana are particularly hard-hit, but watch for this trend to grow and impact more of the country’s susceptible geography.