How are you counseling clients who have made dramatic changes, like switching what they do for a living, through the process?

I find that many people stumble because we are acculturated to 'get a job' with no support in thinking about what we want to get out of life. There are two questions I encourage people to answer: 1) what brings you alive? 2) what kind of legacy do you want to leave? So often work is something we do until we can afford to do what we want. COVID is great because it has provided a 'fallow' time to think and reflect. As we step away for 'busyness' we can get a better perspective on what we might be called to do.

I'm a serial entrepreneur, so I know you can make money from any idea, but you have to have the passion/drive to make it work. You can use the questions above to find employment too by discovering a target industry that maybe you had overlooked or even dismissed before. We seek purpose in our lives. Work is what we spend most of our time in, yet we rarely give it the thought it deserves.

There are several assessments you can take to get a better handle on your own personality and strengths from a more objective perspective and they help, but it all comes down to getting to know yourself and having the courage to trust in yourself. Life should be fun, meaningful and engaging. If it isn't then find the time to reflect and make changes. Take advantage of circumstances and explore unique options by choice, if you can.

You can test the waters through volunteering, trying out something as a 'hobby,' or interviewing experts to get a better feel for what a change might have in store for you. There is no better time than NOW to bring your life back into focus so that you can look back with pride at your contribution.

I would strongly recommend to meet or discuss with a professional advisor, so they can can an assessment of where they are now and what they need to do in order to get to their goals.  Situations change and it is how we adapt to them that allows us to be successful.

I am very fortunate to be in an industry that has been deemed "essential" by our state. I am even more fortunate to be a 1099 self-employed business owner within my firm. Very few, if any, large financial firms such as ours allow people to start part time and receive thousands of hours of training and mentoring at virtually no cost, while earning 1099 income and building their own book of business and helping the families that need the most help. I was able to transition out of my previous career over 20 years ago and I love what I do. I am always looking for people that would like to take a look at getting into our industry and change their lives as well as many other people's lives at the same time. 

The first question is whether or not this was a planned change or one thrust upon them by circumstances beyond their control.  For someone planned a change their financial planner should be part of the decision making.  There are many things to consider when contemplating a change.  1.  Cash Flow:  Will it differ and what adjustments to life style and long term planning will need to be made.  What are the short term and long term consequences?  2. Risk Management:  How will this change impact your suite of insurance policies?  Will you need to replace Group Benefits?  Pay close attention to disability insurance and medical coverage.  3.  Retirement:  Will I still have a pension?  What do I need to replace?  What do I do with the plan I currently have?  4.  Investment Planning:  Do I need to make new decisions on how my money is invested?  5.  Tax Planning:  How will I be paid and what obligations will I have for reporting and paying taxes.  6.  Estate Planning:  what are my obligations and how does this change alter how I plan for them?  If this change was forced upon you then the same criteria holds true but your options may be more limited.  Having a financial planner onboard when times are good will hold you in good stead when times are rough.

They are doing really well.  I do a lot of "Life Worth Living goals" work  with my clients in which we really look at how they want their life to be in 10 years.  They get excited about achieving these goals and taking the steps to get there.  Many times they have been staying in a job they hate and find the motivation to take a leap of faith.  No one has ever told me they regretted deciding to pursue the life of their dreams. 

We have looked at this issue with many clients due to the most recent Tax Changes for 2018 and 2019 Tax Returns. We are counseling with our clients regarding the anticipated changes and revisions of the new administration that have been in the news. 

It is wrong of us not to review these important matters with our existing and prospective clients. We communicate mask to mask, through our Secure Portal and via telephone so as to be fully available to our clients. 

We are open all year, so access is not an issue for our clients as Income Tax, Payroll and Bookkeeping are so affected by Washington DC and our State's Tax ambitions. 

I look forward to assisting both existing and prospective clients tackle this issue. After all, it is us (tax payers) against them (IRS) and understanding is better than hindsight. Thank you.

Reading the comments already posted, it seems that this is an outlet to do some free marketing. I do not intend my comments to be such but any response is likely an act of free marketing.

That said, the vast majority of my clients are secure in the positions they held prior to the pandemic. Several have changed positions and more than one has made a significant move. Many have seen changes to how they work, many more work remotely than prior to 2020. So, my experience this year is limited. That might be because job security, retirement, moving, and the like are not actions that are usually forced on someone in a secure position. 

It did happen to one client. At 74, her employer became aware of her mortality before she did. She was not ready to call it a career and resisted it at every move. As the company took responsibilities away, she, in some instances refused to train her replacement. In the end this sped her departure. It did give us the opportunity to plan better for when she would be without salary. She had a nice retirement savings but she did not think it was enough. It took a few months of her putting all salary and earnings in the bank and living on Social Security, dividends and income from savings for her to know she would be ok. We are always careful to require that clients live on the income from savings and not the principal. She is now comfortable in her new retirement lifestyle.

As to the question at hand, It is critical for the advisor to be ready to spring into action when events do not match up with prior planning. It is incumbent upon us to be able to devote the time a client needs to review options, make a plan, set it in motion and monitor/modify it sufficiently that we then know it works. It could be that the client has to find a new source of income. Depending upon skill sets and age, it could mean self employment. It could be that interim step between fulltime work and fulltime retirement. It could be test driving retirement then modifying as needed. For young clients, it simply means that the emergency money must be there to give the client time to find new work. The more planning that was done in 2017 - 2019, the better prepared the client was for 2020.         

My advice is what's their long term plan? What outcome do they desire for themselves and their family. And how do we still make that happen even with career changes. If they don't have a written plan, do they really have one? All of my clients do and know what their roadmap to retirement looks like...for them! Happy to help offline with anyone that would like their own customized roadmap with no charge for that map! Direction changes are always expected!

2020 has brought lots of change to all of us. That said, this year has clearly impacted many people with employment (or lack thereof). We've had numerous clients change jobs, move etc and with that often comes a perfect opportunity to reassess their financial goals. One major impact with a job change is often their 401k/retirement plans. Many times people simply move on and never consolidate their 401k or don't know how/why they should possibly rollover the retirement plan to a self-directed IRA. We're here to help in those discussions and analyze what makes the most sense. Lastly, this time of year is also a perfect time to evaluate retirement and overall financial planning goals. 

Matt's answer is spot on.  A few modest additions: 1) assess time and financial goals, 2) assess the emergency fund,  3)  control controllables as they make sense: take advantage of lower loan rates, if wise - Roth conversion, take max advantage of the new employers retirement account match, harvest appropriate losses based on past and expected future income, etc based on the individual sitatuation.