“Despite some substantial improvements over the past five years, the vast majority of financial services professionals still fail to incorporate home equity
planning or reverse mortgages into their practices,” says Jamie Hopkins, professor
at the American College of Financial Services, Retirement Income Certified Professional program.
“And yes, this is a failure,” he continues, “In my opinion, not including home equity and reverse mortgages in the financial planning process is the largest failure of the financial services profession at this time.”
The article, Financial advisors should avoid error by omission and consider reverse mortgages, appeared in Investment News on
January 22nd, 2018. In it, Hoplins outlines why financial professionals, especially those with a fiduciary duty should talk with their clients
about, what is in most cases, their largest asset.
Hopkins states the reason to discuss reverse mortgages with clients, but also points out that not discussing this option can lead to possible liability.
“The failure to plan or the failure to consider an option can also lead to liability.” He reminds the reader how this was the case with long-term care
planning.
He recommends that financial advisors become informed about reverse mortgages and “be familiar with the research findings from experts like Wade Pfau and
Barry Sacks that illustrate the benefits of incorporating a reverse mortgage into a retirement income plan.”
Hopkins also reminds the reader that “even the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. states that reverse mortgages are a valuable planning tool
in the right situation and should be explored by advisers.”
This is a very interesting article that points to a number of reasons that every financial advisor should be educated about reverse mortgage program.
