Enhance your retirement planning offer
Grow your book of business by helping clients achieve their retirement goals.
Overview
Why planning for retirement matters
With more than 10,000 Americans turning 65 daily,1 retirement planning is more important than ever. Your clients need your help to navigate its growing complexities, as the impact of subpar decisions can be severe. Advisors who offer clear, strategic guidance can build stronger relationships and improve client satisfaction and retention, and increase referrals.2 Our comprehensive resources help you meet these growing retirement planning needs with confidence.
Retirement stAGES
3 stages of retirement planning
Each retirement planning stage has distinct needs, concerns, and investment goals. This guide offers insights into each stage, helping you understand your clients' perspectives and the appropriate Vanguard products to consider.
APPROACHING RETIREMENT
Transitioning from receiving a paycheck to relying on income from different sources is top-of-mind for clients as they enter retirement. There may be a particular focus on helping clients understand which expenses are fixed versus discretionary, as well as determining their liquidity needs.
ACCUMULATION
Accumulating is a focus in this stage of a client’s investment journey, but many start thinking about what their retirement years might look like. These clients need guidance on how to determine the appropriate asset allocation, tax-efficient investing strategies, and staying on track to meet their retirement goals.
EARLY TO MID-CAREER
Savings and investing are the primary concerns for clients in the early part of their careers. Clients need quality financial advice to help build a solid foundation while balancing competing priorities.
1 to 3 years from retirement
Advisor’s role: Deepen client relationships and increase your value by helping clients in this stage navigate key areas including:
- How to turn assets into income.
- What options allow for tax-efficient withdrawals?
- How to plan for both discretionary and fixed expenses.
- What strategies can optimize managing for liquidity?
- How to fund liquidity needs and from which sources.
- How risk-tolerance levels affect taxes and client thresholds for funding liquidity needs.
Client needs: Top-of-mind client concerns are often about generating income streams. Questions often include:
- How well is the current estate plan positioned?
- Have they evaluated options for long-term health care coverage?
- How could possible health changes impact their health care strategy?
- When should they begin claiming Social Security benefits?
Investment strategies include:
Fixed income
Increase fixed income allocation for those with a lower risk tolerance. Consider the asset location of taxable vs. tax-exempt bonds.
Model portfolios
Model portfolios offer a variety of options based on goals and risk tolerance. Portfolio consistency and transparency can help with generational financial planning.
Personalized indexing
Benefits for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients.
Personalized indexing and tax-loss-harvesting may benefit HNW and UHNW clients that will encounter taxable events.
3 to 15 years from retirement
Advisor’s role: Help ease your clients’ minds and assess their portfolio construction to see if they’re on course to take the leap into retirement. Guide them through:
- How to maximize after-tax wealth.
- How to balance competing goals and priorities.
- What strategies can keep them on track to meet long-term goals?
Client needs: When clients consider what they want their retirement to look like, you can help answer some pressing questions that could include:
- How much money will they need to retire?
- What is an appropriate level of portfolio risk?
- When could market volatility impact their retirement goals?
Investment strategies include:
Fixed income
A core-plus allocation could work for clients with a higher tolerance for volatility (at this stage total returns are a priority).
Model portfolios
Offering low-cost, high-quality equity and fixed income investment options, models can be ideal for investors at this stage.
15 or more years from retirement
Advisor’s role: Help your clients define their retirement goals and risk tolerance levels to effectively design long-term, growth-oriented portfolios. Many will be seeking guidance around:
- How to determine optimal savings rates and account types for meeting their objectives.
- What budgeting, investing, and retirement basics should be their focus?
- How they can maximize benefits of employer-sponsored plans.
Client needs: Clients early in the retirement planning process have concerns and may need help in areas such as:
- How can they balance retirement savings with student loan debt, mortgages, and raising a family?
- What is their risk tolerance and are their assets properly allocated to match?
- When should they pay off debt versus saving and investing?
Investment strategies include:
Fixed income
A total-return-oriented fixed income portfolio might be appropriate for clients comfortable with higher portfolio volatility in exchange for higher potential returns.
Consider fixed income as a ballast to equity holdings.
Model portfolios
Offer early stage investors a variety of low-cost investment approaches that can align with their goals.
Methodology combines discipline and perspective of a trusted brand committed to long-term outcomes.
Health care planning for retirement
Health care cost planning and potential long-term care needs in retirement can be one of the most worrisome—and confusing—parts of retirement planning. Your clients need an advisor with comprehensive retirement strategy knowledge to help them navigate these complexities.
When you include health care costs in your retirement planning conversations, you can help ease your clients’ minds and potentially save them money too. Top concerns often include:
- How to navigate Medicare options and supplemental health insurance plans.
- How to plan for potential long-term care needs like nursing homes, assisted living, etc.
- How to best use Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for medical expenses in retirement.
Explore how to optimize health care cost planning and become the trusted resource your clients need for retirement health care costs.
Strategies for retirement planning
Fixed income
Use fixed income as a powerful method for smoothing long-term returns and strategic diversification. Our active and passive mutual funds span maturities, durations, credit qualities, and sub-asset classes. Customize portfolios aligned to each client's unique goals.
Model portfolios
Streamline choosing investments that match each of your clients varied risk profiles with model portfolios. Choose from options that are weighted more on bonds, are heavy on equities, or fall somewhere in between.
Personalized indexing
Simplify the management of high-net-worth client accounts with our advanced technology that delivers daily, automatic scans for tax-loss-harvesting opportunities and enables you to customize accounts at the touch of a button.
Ready to match investment options to your clients’ retirement timelines?
Disclosures and footnotes
- 1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services posted to its website April 27, 2022. Statistic available at https://www.hhs.gov/aging/index.html
2 Francis M. Kinniry Jr., Colleen M. Jaconetti, Michael A. DiJoseph, David J. Walker, and Maria C. Quinn. Celebrating Vanguard Advisor’s Alpha: Clients and their advisors thriving together for 25 years. Vanguard, 2025.
Notes:
- For more information about Vanguard funds and ETFs, visit advisors.vanguard.com to obtain a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information about a fund are contained in the prospectus; read and consider it carefully before investing.
- Vanguard ETF Shares are not redeemable with the issuing Fund other than in very large aggregations worth millions of dollars. Instead, investors must buy and sell Vanguard ETF Shares in the secondary market and hold those shares in a brokerage account. In doing so, the investor may incur brokerage commissions and may pay more than net asset value when buying and receive less than net asset value when selling.
- All investing is subject to risk, including possible loss of principal.
- Investments in bonds are subject to interest rate, credit, and inflation risk.
- Be aware that fluctuations in the financial markets and other factors may cause declines in the value of your account. There is no guarantee that any particular asset allocation or mix of funds will meet your investment objectives or provide you with a given level of income. Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.
- Vanguard does not, and will not, make any representations about whether a model portfolio is in the best interest of any investor; is not, and will not be, responsible for the determination of whether a model portfolio is in the best interests of any investor; and is not acting as an investment advisor to any investor. It is the investment advisor’s responsibility to determine the appropriateness of the model portfolios, or any of the securities included therein, for any client.
- Although the income from a municipal bond fund is exempt from federal tax, you may owe taxes on any capital gains realized through the fund's trading or through your own redemption of shares. For some investors, a portion of the fund's income may be subject to state and local taxes, as well as to the federal Alternative Minimum Tax.
- Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management, LLC (“Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management”), formerly Just Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor, is an independently operated wholly-owned subsidiary of The Vanguard Group, Inc. (“Vanguard”). Vanguard Personalized Indexing is an asset management technology that has been developed and is offered solely by Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management.
- For more information on Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management and Vanguard Personalized Indexing, and to access Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management’s Form CRS and Form ADV Part 2A disclosure brochure, please visit the Vanguard Personalized Indexing topic page.
- Tax-loss harvesting involves certain risks, including, among others, the risk that the new investment could have higher costs than the original investment and could introduce portfolio tracking error into your accounts. There may also be unintended tax implications. We recommend that you carefully review the terms of the consent and consult a tax professional before taking action.
- Neither Vanguard nor its financial advisors provide tax and/or legal advice. This information is general and educational in nature and should not be considered tax and/or legal advice. Any tax-related information discussed herein is based on tax laws, regulations, judicial opinions and other guidance that are complex and subject to change. Additional tax rules not discussed herein may also be applicable to your situation. Vanguard makes no warranties with regard to such information or the results obtained by its use, and disclaims any liability arising out of your use of, or any tax positions taken in reliance on, such information. We recommend you consult a tax and/or legal adviser about your individual situation.
Social Security and retirement income
Social Security is a top source of income for many retirees, replacing about 30% of an average worker's income. However, it can be daunting for your clients to effectively manage alone.
Advisors who know the ins and outs of Social Security can educate clients and help guide them to make optimal choices to support their overall retirement goals. This is essential for effective retirement planning. Common questions could include:
These are a few areas where you can provide your clients with much needed education and guidance.