Consumer duty, retirement properties & room for improvement

Navigating the Grey Areas in Retirement

One of the hardest areas to navigate is “retirement” as it is not black & white, more a few shades of grey. Often approached by advisors as a financial decision or being financially led, rather than from a broader holistic approach of the opportunities, retirement is often seen as a wind down, a step back, taking things more slowly. But many don’t want this. They see developed retirement markets where the silver surfers actually go surfing, jump out of planes and ignite their remaining years into something a lot more enjoyable. This has a big effect on people’s wellbeing and this is something that has sprung up the advisor agenda over recent years, no doubt highlighted by the FCAs consumer outcomes focus.

But what about the day to day and not just the holidays and experiences. Can greater enjoyment be achieved more simply?

Most people, especially once retired, spend the majority of their time at home. So, living somewhere that fulfils their needs, and more, should be a high consideration. Many wouldn’t believe that they could live somewhere that resembled a five-star hotel with all the amenities, but new Independent Retirement Communities (IRCs) offer this choice.

Riverstone’s Kensington residence scored 87 per cent (an excellent) in its latest Customer Satisfaction score grading (CSAT), whilst the NPS (Net Promoter Score) was 88 per cent. Any score above 0 is good, above 20 is great and above 50 is amazing. As Google says “An NPS over 70 means your customers love you and your company is generating a lot of positive word-of-mouth from their referrals”. For reference that beats firms like Apple, Google, Netflix & Hilton hands down.

Unfortunately, the stereotypical images of dull dreary corridors, bingo and stale sandwiches prevail, but the reality is that for those in the know they can sit in an air-cooled library, pop down to the hydro pool, relax in the cinema watching their favourite film with their bestie or have an amazing dinner in the restaurant. All in the luxury of their own “home”.

And it’s affordable. Not only that, but the ability to utilise certain retirement living models that provide an IHT tax benefit (of up to 35%) enable greater financial reassurance and certainty around fees, whilst allowing wider flexibility in financial planning.

Thus, retirement living really can have a significant effect on clients’ wellbeing and advice around that plays a significant role.

To find out more see: https://www.riverstoneliving.com/advisors