Summit Audio / Video

April 24, 2007

		Welcome and Opening Remarks Philip E. Harriman, CLU, ChFC - 2007 MDRT President; 25-year MDRT Member
		The Looming Baby Boomer Retirement Crisis: An Overview Jack VanDerhei, Ph.D., CEBS - Research Director, Employee Benefits Research Institute This session focused on the growing Baby Boomer retirement crisis and offered solutions. While Baby Boomers are rapidly approaching retirement age, EBRI surveys show that more than half have spent no time on retirement planning in the past year. At the same time, changes in the employer pension system means that nearly one in five (17 percent) have had their level of retirement benefits cut by their current employer, and 50 percent are less confident about the money they will receive from a traditional pension plan. Dr. VanDerhei also discussed possible solutions based on preliminary results of EBRI projection models.
		Exit Strategies for Retirement Savings Michelle L. Hoesly, CLU, ChFC - Principal, Capital Resources; 28-year MDRT Member Ed Slott, CPA - IRA Expert and Author As Baby Boomers enter the distribution phase, they stand to lose a significant percentage of their retirement savings to taxation. In addition, most Boomers don't realize that some of the strategies that helped them while they were building wealth can actually increase risk in the distribution phase of their assets. This session analyzed strategies for tax-efficiency and risk management during the distribution phase of retirement savings.
		Navigating the Complexities of the 21st Century Wealth Span Neal Cutler, Ph.D. - Associate Director of the Gerontology Program, University of North Carolina at Greensboro Dr. Cutler explored the "Wealth Span" that looks at the accumulation and expenditure of wealth over the course of a life span. His research shows that Boomers are becoming the "senior sandwich generation" as 60-year-olds care for their children as well as their 90-something parents - and it's changing the nature of financial planning. As Boomers move into and through middle age, it is becoming the most important "age" since it is when substantial financial planning should take place. New tools were presented to help financial advisors use financial gerontology to better prepare Boomers for retirement.
		Guaranteed Income For Life: Solving the Longevity Problem for Boomers John Huggard, J.D., CPA - Alumni Distinguished Professor, North Carolina State University Bobb Meckenstock, CLU, MBA - President, The Meckenstock Group/Main Street Securities, LLC; 27-year MDRT Member As Baby Boomers enter retirement and live longer, they face challenges previous generations never encountered: the problems of longevity and the sequence of returns spiral. Solutions previous generations developed no longer generate enough income to offset income taxes and inflation over the longer life span. This session discussed what actions Boomers need to take in order to overcome these major challenges, and presented solutions that can protect and grow investments and assets.
		The New Rules for Selling to Boomers Matt Thornhill - President and Founder, Boomer Project This session focused on how the Boomers are changing - and the "new rules" for selling and marketing to this unique generation. Author Landon Jones, credited with inventing the term "Baby Boomer," identified the first Boomer as born one second after midnight January 1, 1946. Today, the marketing world is focusing on how to sell products and services to those "aging" Boomers. Founded in 2003, Thornhill's Boomer Project is the nation's premier marketing research and consulting company focused on Baby Boomers. Boomer Project research has found that while Boomers over 50 may insist that they still feel as if they are 40 years old, they are not the same person as when they were 40.

April 25, 2007

		Welcome Philip E. Harriman, CLU, ChFC - 2007 MDRT President; 25-year MDRT Member
		Re-Visioning Retirement: A Financial Wake-Up Call for Baby Boomers Ken Dycthwald, Ph.D. - Futurist, Author and President of Age Wave Dr. Dychtwald provided an illuminating overview of the current state of retirement and a vision of tomorrow's new retirement dream. Meet the four retiree segments: the "Ageless Explorers," the "Comfortably Contents," the "Live for Todays" and the "Sick and Tireds." Attendees learned how each group is doing and their prospects for fulfilling their dreams. Dychtwald also discussed the role financial planning has played in getting them to where they are today and the role financial advisors must play to provide Baby Boomers with a financial wake-up call.
		The Calculus of Retirement Income . For Poets Moshe Milevsky, Ph.D. - Finance Professor, York University; Executive Director, The Individual Finance and Insurance Decisions Center Americans have long been pre-occupied with retirement planning. Now the dialogue has turned from thinking about retirement in future tense - with its focus on saving and allocation - toward a systematic methodology of generating income for Baby Boomers. With the decline of corporate pensions and their implicit salaries for life, many predict that the gap between the haves and have-nots will shape up to be the coming generational fault line. This session focused on the realities and what Boomers must learn in order to transition their retirement plans and non-sheltered savings into pseudo DB-pensions, as opposed to expecting pots of money from which they blindly draw income. Excerpt taken from previously recorded presentation.
		Round Table Discussion: Protecting Boomers' Assets and Independence Moderator: Stephen Piontek - Editor in Chief, National Underwriter Life & Health magazine Brian H. Ashe, CLU - President, Brian Ashe and Associates, Ltd.; 35-year MDRT Member and 2000 MDRT President Harley Gordon - President, The Corporation for Long-Term Care Certification, Inc. Thomas J. Lawton - Managing Director, Critical Illness Insurance Advisors; 7-year MDRT Member Today's retirees are living longer than any previous generation. But increasing life spans create additional risk. To maximize their quality of life, Boomers must employ "Lifeboats" to protect against the burden of unforeseen and uncontrollable expenses. During this interactive round table discussion, the industry's premier insurance experts explored how financial advisors can lead Baby Boomers to solutions that will protect their current lifestyles and future life income for themselves and their families. Solutions covered included life, health, disability, critical illness and long-term care insurance.
		Solutions to Meet the Challenge of a Changing Retirement Landscape Alicia Munnell - Peter F. Drucker Professor, Boston College Carroll School of Management; Director, Center for Retirement Research, Boston College Americans weaned on post-war affluence have come to expect an extended period of leisure at the end of their work life. And the majority of today's retirees are able to afford a decent retirement. But this "golden age" will fade as Baby Boomers and Generation Xers reach traditional retirement ages in the coming decades. The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College has developed a National Retirement Risk Index, and it shows that nearly 45 percent of today's working-age households will be 'at risk' of being unable to maintain their pre-retirement living standard. Despite this serious challenge, the situation is not hopeless. Dr. Munnell explored actions individuals, employers and the government can take to improve retirement income security.
		Panel Discussion: Boomertirement Solutions Summary, Perspective and Call to Action: Moderator: Tom Wheeler - Boomer, Author, and Private Equity Manager Philip E. Harriman, CLU, ChFC — 2007 MDRT President; 25-year MDRT Member Frank Keating - President and CEO, American Council of Life Insurers Robert Romasco, MBA - AARP Board of Directors This high-profile panel discussion was the capstone of the two-day Boomertirement Industry Summit. During the session, three premier retirement experts and thought leaders provided their insight regarding solutions to the Baby Boomer retirement crisis - including their perspectives on the specific solutions explored during the Summit. Moderated by Tom Wheeler, the discussion included one-on-one interviews with each panelist, followed by an audience discussion and Q&A.

April 26, 2007

Radio News Release: Boomertirement Conference