From tax-law shifts to Social Security and ERISA changes, many retirement variables lie out of advisors’ hands. But that doesn’t deter financial advisors from working year after year to fine-tune the efficiency of their retirement planning strategies.
The need for better retirement planning is clear: Just 4 in 10 Americans are on track to maintain their lifestyle in retirement, according to Vanguard’s latest Retirement Outlook report. And many retirees are feeling that shortfall firsthand.
Data from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), a nonpartisan research organization, shows that while financial confidence among retirees has increased compared to the last couple of years, it still lags behind historic highs.
So where do advisors come in? In cases in which they can’t alter the circumstances, such as lackluster Social Security COLA adjustments, the job is often about communication: listening, explaining and helping clients work through their concerns.
But in plenty of other situations, advisors can make meaningful, tangible improvements to a client’s outlook — provided they have the information they need to act.
In 2025, Financial Planning highlighted many of those opportunities. Here are the strategies that rose to the top, each with the potential to gain even more traction in 2026.
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