Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
Most advisors are skilled at managing financial risks like market volatility, sequence of returns, inflation exposure, and tax drag. We excel at making clients feel financially secure.
But when we do that, we’re only halfway home. Beyond the portfolio, there’s another type of risk lurking in every client meeting and it’s almost never discussed, even though it may be the most disruptive of all. It’s the risk of emotional insecurity, which can grow as the client ages.
Emotional insecurity creeps in quietly when clients begin to wonder: “What if I get sick? What if my spouse needs care? Will my children be burdened? Will everything I’ve built fall apart overnight?” Just as we help clients feel financially secure, we need to help them feel emotionally secure. A long-term care plan can help with that, as it removes much of the uncertainty around the client’s future, allowing them to enjoy the present.
Emotional security is a client’s deep sense of confidence that, regardless of what life brings — illness, aging, caregiving needs, or market volatility — they are prepared, protected, and won’t face these challenges alone or unexpectedly. And I assure you that emotional security later in life is the most overlooked, under-addressed component of the financial plan.
Emotional security connects financial preparation and emotional readiness. It offers clients quiet reassurance that their loved ones won’t be caught off guard. It shows that their retirement preparations account for real-life messiness, not just balance sheets. It means someone — you — had the courage to guide them through it all.
The Long-Term Care Conversation
For many clients, especially Gen Xers and aging boomers, this emotional weight is heavy. And yet, advisors often avoid the one topic that brings it to the surface: long-term care (LTC). Avoiding this topic has consequences, yet it’s a hard conversation to have. It stirs strong emotions and forces clients and advisors to think and talk about decline, dependency, and losing dignity.
That’s why, even among financially savvy clients, denial is common. Most, if not all, of your clients might agree that planning for long-term care is important, but how many have actually done it? It’s not a lack of knowledge; it’s a lack of comfort.
It feels easier to focus on the parts of the plan that clients enjoy discussing — retirement income, investment performance, charitable giving. But the truth is, the one conversation that makes clients the most uncomfortable is also the one they’ll thank you for starting.
If you think your job is to help clients make informed, confident decisions about their future, not just their money, then LTC avoidance isn’t a side issue. It’s a core planning obstacle you must overcome.
The discussion about long-term care shouldn’t be about the products available today. Consumers don’t buy products. They buy what products can do for them. People don’t want long-term care insurance. They want what long-term care insurance can do for them. They want peace of mind, freedom to age on their terms, a plan that protects their spouse or kids from being forced into caregiving roles and a sense of control in an uncontrollable world.
When you frame long-term care planning through this lens, it’s no longer a tough conversation. It’s a human conversation, one grounded in values, not fear. And when you connect with clients at that emotional level, everything else gets easier, from trust to retention to implementation.
I encourage you to have this conversation with all your clients. You’re already halfway there. As a financial advisor, especially if you’re an RIA and holistic planner, you’re already a trusted guide. You’re crafting futures. You’re helping people articulate their goals, navigate complexity and prepare for what’s ahead. That means you’re in the perfect position to introduce emotionally complex topics like LTC.
Starting the Conversation
Here are three sentences you can use to kick off the discussion.
Firstly, acknowledge the elephant in the room. “Most people don’t want to talk about this part of planning. I get it. But it’s also the one thing that can quietly undo everything else we’ve worked so hard to build.”
Secondly, ask the emotional question. “If you (or your spouse) ever needed care, physical, cognitive or custodial, what would you want that chapter of your life to look like?”
And thirdly, extend a calm invitation. “There are solutions available today that are far more flexible and accessible than they used to be. I’d like to walk you through a few so you know what’s possible.”
This isn’t a script. It’s a conversation starter rooted in compassion and calm authority, the two things clients are looking for when facing the unknown.
I promise you, the time has never been better to have this conversation. Ten years ago, long-term care planning was a tougher conversation. Standalone LTC policies had underwriting hurdles, premium increases and the dreaded “use-it-or-lose-it” scenario. Many advisors were understandably reluctant to bring up something that felt like a tough conversation.
But that’s no longer the case. Hybrid solutions — especially LTC-embedded annuities and life contracts — are changing the game.
For example, there’s a hybrid annuity already available to clients that combines asset protection with long-term care benefits, designed to address past pain points, so clients can reposition existing assets to cover future care without the burden of premiums or the fear of unused benefits going to waste.
When clients see long-term care not as an “extra cost” but as a built-in benefit of their planning, they’re much more willing to engage. And when you present that option in the context of their values — protecting loved ones, preserving independence, maintaining dignity — the result is powerful.
Help Clients Achieve Emotional Security
In a commoditized industry where every advisor offers similar tools and services, the real differentiator is how you make clients feel. Emotional security is such a differentiator. It makes clients feel heard, prepared and reassured. It drives client loyalty, retention and referrals. It transforms you from a planner to a partner. And it’s what turns the LTC conversation from awkward to absolutely essential.
You can claim to be a holistic planner, but unless you are helping clients prepare for the possibility of needing care, your plan has a blind spot, one that could become a crisis down the road.
The question isn’t, “Will they need care?” It’s, “Will they be ready, financially, logistically, and emotionally, if they do?” Be the advisor who helps them answer that question with clarity and calm, and you will become more than a fiduciary. You become their protector, their advocate, and the one they trust to have the conversations no one else will.
And that’s how you deliver value beyond the portfolio.
Don Connelly is a speaker, motivator and educator for financial professionals, co-founder of Don Connelly & Associates and Don Connelly 24/7, with five decades in the business in various positions. If you’d like to learn more about an innovative financial planning solution he advocates for, visit https://longevityplanners.com/donconnelly or email [email protected].
A message from Advisor Perspectives and VettaFi: Discover something new! Click here to register for our upcoming webcasts.
Read more articles by Don Connelly
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
