There are three places people lean on for income during retirement. This includes pensions, assets and Social Security. That said, about one-third of Americans currently draw income from pensions and only a little more than half gain income from assets.

Taking these stats into consideration means that half of all Americans retirement income is in jeopardy making Social Security the main source of retirement income for most of the country, at around 33% of your client’s average wage from the year prior to retirement.

So the question is: how can you help your clients afford this more expensive retirement, brought on by factors beyond their control?

A strategy to consider may be to taking another look at assets in their portfolios that may have hidden value. For example, would a reverse mortgage make sense? Many retirees find that a reverse mortgage is a smart way to unlock cash flow from equity in their primary homes, especially if they are in their latter years of retirement.

Another place to look for hidden value is with your clients’ life insurance policies. Many seniors and their trusted advisors are unaware that a life insurance policy is an asset that — like all other assets — has a strategic purpose with costs and benefits with the potential to be sold by the client if the asset is no longer serving its purpose. Mostly due to lack of knowledge that an unneeded or unaffordable policy may be sold, more than $100 billion face value of life insurance each year lapses by seniors over the age of 65.

A third strategy would be helping your client capture some of those benefits rather than forfeiting them back to the insurance companies. Studies have found that had they been aware of the possibility, 90% of seniors who lapsed a life insurance policy would have considered a life settlement. Also, 65% of financial advisors have never recommended a life settlement to a client but claim they would do so under the right circumstances.

There is a very real and growing retirement security crisis in the country – but by carefully evaluating a client’s entire portfolio, including hidden assets like life insurance policies, advisors can help retirees generate cash flow that can offset the more expensive retirement they may have encountered.

For many policy-owners, education is the key to making decisions that will maximize their assets and provide for their financial goals. To learn more about life settlements and how to offer this valuable option to your clients, visit genesislifesettlements.com or email us directly to talk one-on-one with a Genesis advisor.