Education is a cornerstone of Markman Group's approach. What the professional agent learns and knows we expect will be passed along to their retiree clients. Everyone involved in retirement planning will be working off the same page. We believe the following publications reflect our thought leadership and commitment to education in the retirement market.

Educating the professional

Markman commissioned a white paper with the latest research about retirement market trends and information and the changing environment for retirees. A must-read for any professional in the retirement market.

• The State of Retirement in the 21st Century: New Priorities for an Emerging American Majority. Used in Markman professional development schools. View the white paper.

Educating the consumer

The following guides were produced to offer retiring or retired individuals, couples, or concerned family members about some of the issues in taking financial care in retirement.

• Planning for Longevity: A Modern Retirement Guide.

A general guide for consumer education about health care and financial issues in retirement (16 pages). (Download sample pages)

• Paying for Health Care in Retirement: A Modern Guide to Health Care Planning.

A first-of-its-kind, comprehensive guide for consumers and professionals about financing health care and services delivery options in retirement (28 pages). (Download sample pages)

Our knowledge is your knowledge

Our white paper and guides refer to some of the following information and ideas:

The current generation of retirees face several risks that require some type of independent provision for retirement income, preservation of assets throughout retirement, and health care needs:

• Many employer retiree pension benefits are inadequate or are being scaled back. Employees nearing retirement and retirees are simply exposed to more risk at a time when less is needed.
• Employers are reducing retiree health benefits as health care costs continue to rise. A number of large employers are cutting or considering cutting their retiree health benefits: General Motors, Delta, Northwest, Sears, Lucent, US Airways, Boeing, and Visteon.
• Government-supported pension and health benefits are unsustainable at current worker-to-beneficiary ratios. With fewer workers available as a tax base to support Baby Boomers' benefits, reductions in benefits will be needed to sustain the Social Security and Medicare programs.
• New economic realities such as an increasingly competitive global economy now impact employer health care and pension benefits, the economy at large, and the returns to invested money.
• Individual retirees will need to become more proactive about their retirement financials and health care coverage. The responsibility will increasingly shift to the individual as government and/or former employer benefits are too much of a moving target.

Suggested reading and articles:

Forthcoming…