Be resolved ... plan now for your financial future, says Liberty Life
For those making New Year resolutions, the biggest gain for the least pain can be achieved by starting 2008 with a professional, needs-driven financial plan.
The tip comes from leading life assurer, Liberty Life.
Financial planning endorsed by the Financial Planning Institute (FPI) costs nothing yet can transform your financial future, says Howard Fox, Divisional Director of Marketing at Liberty Life.
He adds: “As a marketer and developer of both investment and risk products, we always applaud clients who decide to lead a healthier lifestyle, lose weight and stop smoking. But the New Year’s Resolution requiring the least willpower is the simple act of calling in a trained adviser to look at your financial situation, run a needs analysis and make objective recommendations that fit your needs.
“It costs nothing. You are not obliged to follow the programme. But if you do, there is every chance your future wellbeing will be significantly enhanced.
“You can never start too soon and it’s never too late to make a start.”
Feedback from those who engage in financial planning is that they have always meant to do it, kept putting it off and now wonder why they delayed so long.
“That’s why this time of year is so important,” says Fox. “A new year is a time for new beginnings.”
Late last year (2007), Liberty Life launched its multi-media ‘Get a plan, Get a life’ campaign to address the challenge of consumer inertia on planning matters.
The promotion offers a R1 million prize to the client who wins a national draw after calling in an authorised Liberty Life adviser (brokers, agents and contracted intermediaries) to develop a financial plan that respects FPI criteria.
The FPI recommends that advisers follow a six-step procedure:
- Establish and define a client-planner relationship;
- Assemble relevant client data and define client goals;
- Analyse and evaluate the client’s financial status;
- Develop and present financial planning recommendations and alternatives while drawing up a Record of Advice and suggestions;
- Discuss the implementation of the recommendations;
- Ensure ongoing monitoring of agreed financial planning recommendations.
The structure encourages a holistic approach encompassing retirement needs, risk cover, the capital and income required for specific objectives, targeted saving for educational purposes and other needs.
Liberty Life’s software tools facilitate a 360º scan of client needs while the use of compound interest tables often acts as a wake-up call for consumers who have neglected structured saving and risk cover.
Fox notes: “The ‘Get a plan, Get a life’ campaign is breaking new ground as consumers can enter without buying a Liberty Life product at all.
“It is in the national interest – and the interest of every South African family – that we all break the habit of putting off our financial planning. When death, disability or some other mishap occurs, it’s no use saying ‘If only I’d done it’.
“Plan now … there will be fewer regrets later.”
