Imagine being more afraid of going broke than dying. For two in three Americans, that’s the reality.1
This striking statistic cuts to the heart of why financial advisors matter now more than ever. While clients may appear focused on investment performance, what many truly crave is confidence, specifically, the confidence that they won’t outlive their money. The fear of running out of money in one's lifetime is a profoundly personal and pervasive anxiety for Americans. The good news? Advisors have the power to combat this anxiety on a large scale.
By embracing modern financial planning tools and delivering holistic guidance, you can become the trusted partner your clients need—and grow your business in the process.
Why clients worry: The real source of financial anxiety
A 2024 study found that among generations closest to retirement, just half of Boomers+ (49%) and Gen X (48%) believe they will be financially prepared when the time comes.2
Clients today are bombarded by uncertainty. Market volatility, inflation, rising healthcare costs, and increasing longevity all contribute to a growing sense of financial unease. Without a clear roadmap, even wealthy clients struggle to understand how their decisions today impact their future security.
Most clients don’t lack resources, but they do lack clarity. And in the absence of clarity, they imagine the worst. As their advisor, your ability to provide perspective and structure through financial planning can be the difference between sleepless nights and lasting peace of mind.
Financial planning that goes far beyond investments
Today’s financial planning is not just about asset allocation. It’s about addressing every facet of your clients’ financial lives. With the right technology, you can guide clients through comprehensive planning that’s deeply personalized and visually compelling.
Cash flow & lifestyle planning
One of the biggest, and most challenging, mental shifts retirees must make is moving from regular paychecks to a drawdown strategy. Tools like Envestnet | MoneyGuide help clients understand where their money is going today and what that means for tomorrow. Graphical views and projections make it easy to spot trouble areas—or uncover hidden opportunities.
Action Item: Proactively identify potential shortfalls and demonstrate the real impact of your advice and recommendations. This shifts conversations from fear to realism, showing clients the resilience of their plan under various conditions.
Estate planning clarity
It is shocking to learn that the number of Americans with a will (24% in 2025) has declined steadily from 33% of respondents in 2022. When asked why they don’t have a will or estate plan, 43% of survey respondents just “haven’t gotten around to it.”3
There’s no question that estate planning can feel overwhelming and complex to many investors, particularly those with significant assets. That’s where advisors can provide value.
Wealth Studios offers powerful visualizations of asset distribution, including family trees and views of first- and second-death scenarios. Features, such as Joint Revocable Trusts and Pour-Over Wills, enable you to capture even the most complex estate instructions.
Action Item: Help ensure client wishes are fulfilled, while potentially minimizing taxes, fees, and future headaches.
Tax optimization strategies
High-net-worth (HNW) retirees often draw income from multiple sources—pensions, Social Security, required minimum distributions (RMDs), capital gains, and investment portfolios. Without tax planning, they risk being pushed into higher tax brackets, resulting in avoidable tax erosion of their wealth. The years between retirement and age 73 (when RMDs begin) offer a prime opportunity to reduce lifetime taxes through Roth conversions, asset location strategies, and withdrawal sequencing. Missing this window can result in higher taxes down the line.
Features like Custom Liquidation Orders and state-by-state Tax Assumptions help model withdrawal strategies for maximum tax efficiency.
Action Item: Protect and preserve more of your clients’ wealth by aligning their plans with tax-smart tactics.
How scenario tools build confidence and trust
Clients don’t just want to be told what to do—they want to explore possibilities. Scenario planning enables collaborative, high-impact conversations.
Create various scenarios to model various life choices, such as early retirement, business sales, or lifestyle shifts, and instantly display their final impact. Modify assumptions, model strategies, and compare results side-by-side.
With customizable comparison pages, advisors can easily toggle between strategies and present side-by-side outcomes in real time.
If you’re client doesn’t know where to start, Super Solve in MoneyGuide automatically determines possible changes to improve the results for a client. It factors in the willingness of the client to adjust certain aspects of their plan, such as delaying their retirement age, increasing their current savings, or reducing their goal expenses to solve for the target Probability of Success. This can support:
- Higher engagement: Clients become co-creators of their plan, not passive recipients.
- More confident decisions: Visualizing outcomes removes ambiguity.
- Deeper trust: When clients see the impact of your advice, they believe in it and in you.
Deliver clarity. Earn trust. Grow your business.
The fear of running out of money isn’t going away. But with modern financial planning tools, you can help clients replace fear with clarity and uncertainty with confidence.
Advisors who embrace this approach aren’t just offering better service—they have the ability to build better businesses. By delivering scalable customization, you can differentiate yourself in a crowded market, deepen relationships, and win more referrals.
Most importantly, you can give your clients what they truly seek: peace of mind. And that’s the kind of value that lasts a lifetime.
Interactively demonstrate advanced estate planning strategies, address client cash flow questions prior to retirement, and model dynamic net worth over time. Demo MoneyGuide today.
