Getting your finances in order is very important, as it can dictate many aspects of your life. While many people can easily manage their finances, others can struggle with money and might need help from outside sources. Financial advisors have the role of helping you balance your finances, ensuring that they’re in good stead and you can afford daily life comfortably. They are likely to discuss your salary, assets and spending habits.
However, one thing that is often overlooked when speaking to your financial advisors is your medical history. When you leave this out, you leave a big gap in your strategy. It can help with determining your retirement age to select the right insurance products, as your health history dictates how feasible your long-term goals can be.
This guide will explore why your financial advisor should know your medical history to give you the clearest idea of your personal money goals. Continue reading to find out more.
Benefits of Sharing Medical History with Financial Advisors
Accurate Life / Spending Ratio
Standard financial planning often relies on generic actuarial tables, which involves planning for age 90 or 95. However, if your medical history includes chronic conditions or a family history of longevity, your number will change. If you are expected to have a shorter lifespan, you should enjoy more of your wealth earlier and if you are likely to live longer, you might need to be more conservative with your spending.
Tailor Your Insurance Portfolio
An advisor who knows your medical background can help you navigate the complexities of creating a good health insurance portfolio. If your family has a long term history of particular illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, you should secure Long-Term Care insurance as soon as possible and factor this into your finances. Talking about your medical history with your financial advisor will allow them to find the best insurance deals for you that will preserve your funds.
Retirement Age Estimate
Many people plan to work until around the age 67, but medical issues often force an earlier retirement for some people. If your medical history suggests that it is a physically demanding job, it might not be sustainable into your late 60s. Your advisor needs to stress test your portfolio for an early exit, so you can have a financially comfortable retirement without having to worry about your finances. They could also suggest that you find remote work that doesn’t limit you, so you can have good finances later into your life.
Maximise Health Savings Accounts
If you have a chronic condition requiring regular maintenance, your advisor might suggest a different cash-flow strategy when creating your health savings account. Instead of using it as a long-term investment, you may need to keep it liquid to cover high annual deductibles. This will be under the discretion of your financial advisor and whether they see it fit for you or not.
When to Share Information
Chronic Diagnosis
Chronic conditions will impact you for the rest of your life, so you need to ensure that you have all of your finances covered to support you throughout this. If you have recently been diagnosed with an illness like diabetes, heart disease or an autoimmune condition, you should let your financial advisor know about it.
Family History
Significant trends in longevity or hereditary illnesses should be reported too, as your financial advisor can protect your finances so that you can be protected if you end up being diagnosed with family history illnesses.
Lifecycle Choices
High-risk hobbies or significant health improvements like weight loss or quitting smoking that could lower insurance premiums is also important for financial advisors to know. They can recommend the best course of action that will keep your finances up while allowing you to improve your health.
Medical Malpractice
If you’ve ever been a victim of medical malpractice, solicitors can help you start a claim and get money back for what you’ve been through. You will likely receive compensation if whatever went wrong resulted in significant financial losses due to it making you unable to work. Contacting your financial advisor is a good idea if you want to keep your finances balanced following medical malpractice.
Final Thoughts
Being transparent about your health, you are improving your financial future against the unpredictability of physical wellbeing. Your financial advisor can become a proactive partner who can turn your investments into ways of saving money. With healthcare costs being the leading cause of financial instability, having a good plan in place can help you save money and keep a steady financial record for the rest of your life.
When you hire a financial advisor to help you with your money management, you need to be honest with them about all of your health records to give you the best chance of maintaining a sustainable level of money.
