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Jan 22, 2024|Retirement Plans

Do you require a Financial Planner?

Choosing an Expert to Guide Your Retirement Plan

Retirement Planner in Phoenix

Retirement planning can be complicated but having the assistance of professionals to guide you through the process can make it easier. Two common experts are financial planners and retirement planners, but which is the best option? Each type of planner has the knowledge to help you reach your goals, but they have different areas of focus and expertise. Let us look at the differences so that you can make an informed decision on how to choose a financial planner for retirement.

Retirement Planner vs Financial Advisor

Financial planners help people create a financial strategy to manage their finances, particularly at pivotal moments in life. It would seem logical, then to choose a financial planner for retirement. You can certainly do that, as, for a financial planner, retirement is just one more in a series of important life changes. Financial planners help you with budgeting, saving, investing, retirement planning, estate planning, and tax planning, and they can help with complex financial situations, like starting a business. If you already have a financial planner you have worked with in the past, he or she may be perfectly suited to serve as your post-retirement financial planner.

However, a retirement planner may be a better fit for the task of helping with retirement. Retirement planners have financial training, along with retirement training a financial planner just does not have. Retirement planners are financial planners who specialize in the financial challenges encountered after retirement, and they can help you with things like maximizing Social Security benefits, managing your retirement accounts, creating a retirement income strategy, and planning for your healthcare costs after retirement.

Main Differences Between Retirement Planner or Financial Planner

  • Focus: While financial planners focus on all things financial, retirement planner focus is directed at needs specific to retirees. Social Security planning, Medicare, and retirement income are all part of a retirement planner’s area of concentration.
  • Scope: If you need someone to help you with a variety of financial matters, a financial planner can do that. The best financial planner for retirement, though, may be a retirement planner, whose scope is everything retirement-related. The best retirement financial planner will be the one who can help you strategize a way to make your retirement savings for the entire length of your retirement.
  • Timeframe: You can work on financial planning for many years, but retirement planning involves a much shorter period.
  • Expertise: When you have questions to ask a financial planner about retirement, a retirement planner will have more specialized knowledge on which to draw, regarding planning strategies, tax planning, estate planning, savings products, and benefits both works related and federal. A retirement financial planner has in-depth knowledge and expertise on these topics.

Area of Expertise

While financial planners can help you accumulate and invest your money, retirement planners have the comprehensive knowledge needed to help you use this money to successfully navigate retirement. They can offer customized advice on:

  • Social Security strategies, including pitfalls to avoid and spousal, ex-spousal, or survivor benefits to which you may be entitled.
  • Pension distribution options to help you find the right way to receive your pension.
  • Retirement withdrawal strategies
  • Tax reduction strategies
  • Investment approaches to protect your income in a market downturn
  • Strategies to make your money last if your retirement
  • The pros and cons of long-term care insurance
  • The effect of inflation on your retirement money
  • Choosing annuities and other products
  • Reverse mortgages
  • Budgeting for healthcare and information on Medicare

Validate Credentials

If you have a financial planner you have used for years, that is someone you can trust. If you decide you need to hire a retirement planner, you will need to do some research to find the right one. There are several different types of credentials indicating that someone is qualified as a retirement planner. For instance, a Retirement Management Advisor (RMA) designation means the person has a master’s degree in retirement planning. A CRFA designation means the person is a certified retirement financial advisor who understands the complexities of planning for retirement. Other, similar designations are CRPC (Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor) and FSRI (Fellow, Secure Retirement Institute) certification.

Which One Should You Choose?

The decision on whether to hire a certified retirement financial planner or stick with a traditional financial planner is subjective. You should consider your own needs and goals, to determine whether you want a financial planner with a wide scope of expertise or a retirement planner who is laser-focused on your retirement needs. Whichever you choose check credentials to ensure that you are working with a qualified, trustworthy, experienced professional.

Sun Cities Financial Group is a Top Choice for Retirement Planning in Phoenix

Choosing the best retirement planner in Phoenix requires careful consideration of your needs, credentials, reputation, services, approach, fees, and ongoing support. When you need a financial adviser, trust the firm that has served individuals and families in Phoenix, Arizona for over 15 years and is a top choice for retirement planning. Sun Cities Financial Group provides clients with high yields from insured and guaranteed deposits not available in traditional banks and brokerage houses, as well as comprehensive services, a personalized approach, and a transparent fee structure. In addition to working with more than 6,000 Federally insured banks, all covered by the maximum FDIC insurance protection, we also employ only dedicated and honest professionals committed to their clients’ best interests.

Accredited with an A+ from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) for providing outstanding services to our clients, we have been in business since 1998. Founded to provide safe and guaranteed returns to our clients, we protect our clients’ savings in ways they are not even aware of, and our staff gets excited about the clients’ reactions. When you invest with us, we will go above and beyond to exceed your expectations, and do the work so that you can reap the benefits by earning more interest while maintaining the safety of your principal. When you are ready to begin your journey towards a secure retirement by scheduling a consultation with financial advisors who have your best interests at the heart of everything they do, contact us by calling 623-207-8423 or visiting our website to learn more.

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