OREANDA-NEWS. Aviva has launched a new retirement forecasting scenario planner to help advisers show clients how their finances might look in retirement.

The easy-to-use online planner, which is available on Aviva’s adviser platform, allows advisers to show clients how their retirement incomes may look, based on a number of different scenarios and using different income options. This in turn enables advisers to have constructive discussions with their clients, so they can make decisions about their future financial needs.

The planner takes account of the whole of the market, not just Aviva products, to help ensure that the client’s individual needs are met. It has been designed to help advisers have crucial conversations with their clients in the wake of pension freedoms, rather than driving them to a specific provider or product.

Key features of the Retirement Forecaster include:
• showing possible outcomes under three stochastically modelled investment forecasts
• advisers can choose from 10 portfolios of varying risk to demonstrate the effects of portfolio selection
• different income options can be blended to create and model different income profiles
• a joint planning facility is available for couples
• clients are given a clear overview of each scenario which can be printed if required

It also allows advisers to consider income streams from a range of sources including salary, all pension schemes, state benefits and ISA / investment withdrawals, so that a more complete picture is produced for the client.

The Retirement Forecaster has been developed with Distribution Technology, a leading provider of financial planning technology. All assumptions on the Retirement Forecaster will be reviewed and updated quarterly in conjunction with Distribution Technology.

Tim Orton, Adviser Platform CEO for Aviva says: “Following the biggest pension changes in a generation, there are now more options than ever for saving and for turning those savings into an income. A lot of people are worrying about what they should be doing now and in the future to plan for their retirement. The Retirement Forecaster offers advisers a way to start conversations with clients by modelling different savings scenarios and different income options, such as UFPLS, drawdown and annuities, to help them show clients what their income could look like.

“Our Retirement Forecaster also allows an adviser to present 'what if?' scenarios showing a client the impact of small changes, for example in contributions or retirement age, to demonstrate the impact on likely retirement income. Whilst of course we cannot predict the future, we can help people prepare for it and make informed choices.”

Ian McKenna, Director for the Finance and Technology Research Centre says: “The range of options available under pension freedoms mean consumers have to understand a wide range of complex options. Anything that helps the adviser focus customers’ thoughts on these issues is very helpful.”

Ben Goss, co-founder and CEO of Distribution Technology adds: “The retirement market has changed dramatically and while the pension freedoms are powerful, the challenge is making suitable decisions which meet an individual’s goals with so many variables. We believe that the retirement forecaster tool can help advisers to overcome these challenges by allowing them to discuss the risks and benefits of different approaches in a clear and engaging manner whilst ensuring suitability and reducing the cost to serve clients.”