Life Shift

Change in Living Situation

Meet Renee & John

Downsizing to live larger

Life shifts don’t occur in a vacuum: many people experience two or more at once. This is particularly true of those in the Change in Living Situation life shift – the group with the highest incidence of overlap with other life shifts. While people in this demographic tend to be excited to call a new place home, they have their challenges and there are plenty of ways for financial professionals like you to create better experiences for them. “Renee & John” are two research-based personas we built to help you do just that. See their profile and tips below.¹

¹The "Renee & John" personas are based on findings from the 2019 study, “Hacking Life Shifts,” a research project conducted by RTi Research, The Business of Aging, aha, AARP, and COLLABORATA in collaboration with Global Atlantic and other leading organizations.

Renee & John’s profile

With the kids now on their own, Renee and John simply don’t need their big house anymore. Plus, a smaller home also means less to maintain. Here are their key stats:

Renee's age

John's age

Civil status: Married

Their life shift details

In addition to downsizing, Renee and John also are moving to a warmer climate to escape the cold winters they’ve endured for so long. They also:

Want greater safety, more convenience and a tighter community
Are new grandparents and want to be closer to their grandson
Are moving to a residence they will own

Renee & John’s state

Renee and John are excited to move and feel they’re living their best years right now. But they also:

Feel some financial strain both with their current living situation and the costs of their move
Have cut back on living expenses like cable and are cleaning out their possessions
Are cooking more at home and cutting back on some entertainment expenses
Feel some stress over making the right choices, anxiety over what life in their new home will be like, and so forth.

Here’s your playbook to help your Change in Living Situation clients thrive.

The Change in Living Situation life shift is a pragmatic one: people are in it to save money, downsize, be closer to family and/or live in a more preferable climate. Here are some simple ways to help this demographic with their move.

Tips

Tip #1

Create a community platform where your clients who’ve completed their Change in Living Situation have an opportunity to share their story and potentially mentor another couple on their big move: to share what worked, what they would have done differently, what resources they used, etc.

Tip #2

To help them negotiate the selling price of their new home, talk to them about the “shock” expenses they might encounter like major repairs and necessary upgrades.

Tip #3

Save boxes for their packing needs and offer ideas on how to get rid of stuff (e.g., Facebook market place,* an estate sale, auction, etc.).

Tip #4

Create a downsizing checklist for them.

*For illustration purposes only. These third party websites are not affiliates of Global Atlantic and their mention is for informational purposes only.

Resources

Resource #1

The Alliance for Lifetime Income (ALI) wishes, wants and needs pyramid : Offer your change in living situation clients ALI’s pyramid worksheet to prioritize their “needs, wants, and wishes.” This is a great exercise to understand the “negotiables” and “non-negotiables” in their lives. And use the “Spring Cleaning” Audit worksheet concurrently – combined, these tools could help your clients fulfill their priority buckets and “right size” their expenses*.

Resource #2

The life-changing magic of tidying up by Marie Kondo: Star of her own Netflix show, “Tidying up with Marie Kondo,” this book may make a great gift to help your clients trying to simplify and organize their old and new homes.

*For illustration purposes only. These third party websites and resources are not affiliates of Global Atlantic and their mention is for informational purposes only.

Events

Event idea #1

Partner with a real estate broker and host a getting-ready-to-sell seminar: Have a real estate broker cover what matters most when getting ready to sell a home including must-have repairs, painting and remodeling projects with the highest Return on Investment (ROI). Make sure your clients leave with a checklist to get the most out of their properties.

Event idea #2

Host a SMART home technology event: Coordinate with a SMART technology expert to detail how key SMART upgrades may improve a home’s value.

Event idea #3

Host a downsizing event with a professional: And give away copies of The life-changing magic of tidying up by Marie Kondo as well.*

Event idea #4

Host an event with a CPA: Share strategies on the best ways to pay in full, whether or not it makes sense to take a small mortgage for the tax write-off and other best financial practices when making a change in living situation.

*Check your firm’s non-cash compensation policy prior to giving gifts.

Want more? Request a review

Looking for more ways to create better experiences for your clients in any of the five major life shifts? Request a one-on-one practice review with a Global Atlantic Consulting Group team member today.

Request review

Additional Resources

Here’s more on the other four life shifts, plus specific strategies below to help your Change in Living Situation clients thrive.

Meet Mercedes

Caregiver

Meet GeGe

Aging Single

Meet Ruby & Erik

Grandparents

Meet Paul

Career encore

ForeAccumulation II

Give your Change in Living Situation clients growth opportunity with no down market losses plus a way to guarantee their legacy with this fixed index annuity.

View ForeAccumulation

ForeIncome II

This fixed index annuity offers your Change in Living Situation clients an opportunity to secure protected lifetime income.

View ForeIncome

ForeCare

A long-term care event could derail your Change in Living Situation clients’ retirement strategy – this fixed annuity with long-term care benefits may help.

View ForeCare

Need help?

Find all the contact information to submit and service your business.

Request a call