How To Interview Your Retirement Planner
Once you have narrowed down your list of potential retirement planning advisors to a few, schedule an interview session with each of them to gauge their degree of preparedness for the position of your retirement planning consultant. Preferably, you should interview at least three candidates before you arrive at a decision. Take care to prepare questions that you would like answered. Begin by asking about his qualifications as a retirement planning advisor. Does he have credentials from recognized organizations in his field, like a Certified Financial Planner certification? Does he belong to professional organizations in his field? How active is he in them? How much experience does he have as a retirement planning advisor? Ideally, he should have a minimum of five years of experience. How does he manage to stay ahead of current trends and developments in his field?
It helps if your retirement planning advisor has specific knowledge of your particular business or profession. For instance if you're a self employed professional, like a doctor , then it helps if your retirement planning advisor also handles a lot of portfolios of people who are in the same profession. It gives him a better sense of the risks involved, and the possibilities for asset growth. Ask him about the background of current clients. Ask him if he has had experience handling retirement planning during economic meltdowns. A more experienced retirement planning consultant will have had experience making crucial financial decisions in all times of highs and lows in the economy, which helps him build your assets better, and plan your retirement more appropriately.
Get an idea of what kind of retirement plan he will design for you. This gives you an opportunity to sample his financial decisions and strategies. Does he strike you as being too conservative for your tastes, or too risky for your liking? Ask him what kind of retirement planning he has recommended for others in the same profession as you, and as much income as you. Decide if this plan works for you. Ask him how he prefers to be compensated. Most advisors will prefer a fixed annual fee. Many however, prefer commissions on products they recommend or services they provide. You can expect to pay anywhere from 1 to 5 percent for these services. Still others choose a combination of both these options. Whatever option he mentions, remember to get it all in writing, and leave no issues uncovered. Be clear that you know how much his services will cost you in plain dollars.