PROTECTION FOR WHAT’S NEXT
Better retirement conversations begin with better questions.
Retirement planning often focuses on how savings can grow. Protection matters, too.
This September, use Oceanview’s Retirement Protection Conversation Guide and Retirement Protection Checkup to help clients consider what they understand clearly, what they can rely on and what may deserve a closer look.
For financial professional use only
Share with clients
FOR FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS
Two resources. One better conversation.
The Conversation Guide and Checkup are designed to work together.
Retirement Protection Conversation Guide
For financial professional use only
Prepare for the conversation.
Use the Guide to:
The goal is not to score the client or rush to a product. It is to uncover priorities, clarify tradeoffs and earn permission for a deeper planning discussion.
Retirement Protection Checkup
Client-shareable educational resource
Give clients a place to start.
Share the Checkup before or during a client meeting. Its five questions help clients identify where their retirement plan feels clear and where additional discussion may be useful.
There are no right or wrong answers. A “Partly” or “Not yet” response does not mean the client’s plan is off track — it simply identifies an area where questions, tradeoffs or possible next steps may deserve attention.
WHY IT MATTERS
Protection belongs in the retirement conversation.
Clients often arrive with questions about returns and allocation. The Conversation Guide helps you shift the discussion toward what they understand clearly, what they can rely on and where additional planning may help — without rushing to a product.
The Checkup gives clients a simple, educational way to reflect on predictable income, market uncertainty, interest rates, longevity and the role of different portions of their savings.
HOW ADVISORS USE IT
Built for the meeting room.
Share the Checkup before or during a client meeting. Use one question at a time, listen for what matters most and clarify the priority before comparing possible approaches.
The Guide includes recommended follow-ups, transition language and a four-step process — Ask, Listen, Clarify, Connect — so the conversation stays centered on the client.
FOUR-STEP PROCESS
Ask. Listen. Clarify. Connect.
Use a simple four-step process to keep the conversation centered on the client.
Ask
Use the Checkup question as written.
Listen
Notice uncertainty, assumptions and competing priorities.
Clarify
Ask one follow-up question before discussing possible solutions.
Connect
Reflect what you heard and ask permission to explore strategies that may address the client’s concern.
FIVE QUESTIONS TO EXPLORE
Five questions to explore.
Use each question to open a client conversation, then the follow-up to go a level deeper.
Predictable income
“Do you know how much of your expected retirement income is predictable and how much may change from year to year?”
Which expenses would you most want covered by income you can predict?
This question can help distinguish reliable income sources from withdrawals or other income that may vary.
Market resilience
“Could your plan continue to cover essential expenses during a prolonged market decline without forcing an unwanted change in strategy?”
What would you most want to avoid changing if markets declined early in retirement?
This conversation may help identify concerns involving essential expenses, liquidity, withdrawal timing and the possible role of protected assets.
Interest-rate uncertainty
“Have you considered how changing interest rates could affect your savings, reinvestment decisions and income plan?”
Would you prefer a known rate, some ability to respond to future rate changes or different approaches for different portions?
This question can shift the discussion from predicting rates to understanding time horizon, liquidity needs and the value the client places on rate certainty.
Income that lasts
“Have you considered how long your retirement income may need to last, including the possibility of living longer than expected?”
How would the plan need to work if retirement lasted 25 or 30 years?
This conversation may surface longevity assumptions, survivor-income needs and differences between early- and later-retirement expenses.
A balanced role for every dollar
“Have you decided how much of your savings should be available for near-term needs, positioned for growth, protected from market swings or used to support income?”
What should remain liquid, what should be protected and what can stay positioned for longer-term growth?
This question can help the client consider whether different portions of savings have clear and realistic roles.
The five questions and recommended follow-ups are drawn from Oceanview’s Conversation Guide and client Checkup.
HOW TO USE IT
Use one question to earn a better next conversation.
The client does not need to complete all five questions at once. Begin with the topic most relevant to the client’s current situation. Listen for what matters most, clarify the priority and ask whether it would be helpful to compare possible approaches.
SUGGESTED TRANSITION
“What I am hearing is that protecting [priority] is especially important to you. Is that accurate?”
“Would it be helpful to compare a few strategies designed to address that concern?”
Before deciding whether anything fits, review the potential benefits, tradeoffs, liquidity, time horizon, guarantees and costs.
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Keep the momentum going.
Go deeper with a short article — then continue the conversation one-to-one with clients.
For financial professionals
Retirement Protection Starts with Better Questions
Learn how to use the Conversation Guide and Checkup to uncover priorities, clarify tradeoffs and earn permission for a deeper retirement planning discussion.
Client-shareable
Five Questions to Ask About Protecting Your Retirement Plan
Help clients see where predictable income, market uncertainty, interest rates, longevity and the role of different portions of their savings deserve a closer look.
Important disclosures
For financial professional use only. This page, the Retirement Protection Conversation Guide and the Retirement Protection Checkup are intended for general educational and conversation-planning purposes and do not replace a complete fact-finding, suitability or best-interest review.
The Retirement Protection Checkup is intended for general educational purposes only. It is not a recommendation to buy, surrender or replace any financial product, and it does not evaluate whether any product is suitable for a particular client.
This material is intended for general educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered investment, tax or legal advice. Oceanview Life and Annuity Company and its representatives do not provide tax or legal advice. Please consult your financial, tax or legal professional regarding your individual situation.
Annuities are long-term insurance products designed for retirement purposes and have certain limitations. Product features, availability, surrender charges, market value adjustments, crediting terms, rider availability and income options vary by contract and by state. Guarantees are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Annuities are products of the insurance industry and are not guaranteed by any bank or credit union, not insured by the FDIC, NCUA/NCUSIF or any other federal government agency, not a deposit and may lose value. May only be offered by a licensed insurance agent.
Annuities issued by Oceanview Life and Annuity Company, 1331 17th Street, Suite 1050, Denver, CO 80202. In California, doing business as Oceanview Life and Annuity Insurance Company.