LifeGuide Partners’ spokesman helping seniors face retirement reality in the wake of Trump’s Executive order

After nearly 30 years helping people sell their life insurance policies for cash settlements, Scott Page has shifted gears to a consultative role apart from the settlement industry he helped create. So, the guy who helped make Betty White a spokesperson for a senior financial solution is now serving as CEO for LifeGuide Partners, an educational resource for seniors who are searching for new ways to fund retirement.

Page says that, while President Trump's idea of retirement as a moving target may take into consideration the fact that people are living longer, trying to push back the Required Minimum Distribution Rules from the current 70.5 for a traditional IRA or 401(k) will not fix the problem. If that change goes into effect, many seniors may choose to live in fear near the national poverty level with social security as their only source of income by cutting corners with basic necessities such as healthcare and housing. A more effective Executive Order would instead fix the looming problems with social security and access to quality healthcare. Page says Americans should never have to live with the fear of getting sick and dying broke; we can work to change Washington, he notes, but, in the meantime, seniors have a right to know every option available to them when it comes to retirement planning.

“Understanding your own mortality (life expectancy) is critical to effective retirement planning,” he says. “Without this basic knowledge, you’re just rolling the dice with your retirement. And an important part of that equation is understanding how much time is left on the clock.”

Page says he likes to think of his work now as helping seniors and the people who care about them wake up and smell the proverbial coffee when it comes to finding the money to live without the fear of being broke. He made this career pivot to a more educational role upon recognizing that an increasing number of seniors face both unprecedented financial challenges and a myriad of corresponding solutions.

“I’m convinced I made the right decision to shift to a more tutorial role as I see things like a recent article in The New Republic about seniors who live abroad because retirement affordability in the U.S. is imperiled,” Page says. “And in the run up to the midterm elections I saw story after story of more tax cuts. A Wall Street Journal piece on that noted 44 percent of Americans no longer pay any federal income tax at all; that means benefits are not sustainable for our aging population.”

Among other things, LifeGuide provides an appraisal service for existing life insurance policies. That review produces a realistic valuation utilizing proprietary analytic tools coupled with expertise and specific recommendations based on individual objectives.

“Most life insurance companies’ primary concern is selling new coverage and collecting premium payments, while offering little customer service,” Page says, “so, we’re making sure seniors get helpful information that is easy for them to understand.”

For instance, he says that, based on a combination of age and health issues, some seniors may be able to cash out of a life insurance policy. He sometimes refers to this as reverse life insurance, akin to a reverse mortgage.

“Selling a life insruance policy could make the difference in someone’s golden years,” Page says. “The mainstream settlement industry is now well into its third decade and is highly regulated (a good thing for consumers). If it takes the social changes that led to the Trumpian Era and the aftermath that is adversely affecting our aging population to help get consumers informed about this option, well, maybe that’s a silver lining. I know it’s now my life’s work.”