Too many people look at retirement the wrong way, according to Eric Henderson, left, senior vice president of individual products and solutions at Nationwide Financial Services. Instead of focusing on a guaranteed stream of income for life, they work their entire career with a dollar amount in their head.
"This has harmed people," Henderson told me recently at the LIMRA Conference in Orlando. He stopped by for a quick chat before hopping onstage for a session on risk management.
Henderson said it's vital that the industry educate the consumer, so much so that it becomes a way of doing business. According to Henderson, there has to be a mindset shift from accumulating money for retirement to one of an income stream in retirement.
"Too many people have a dollar amount in mind," he said. "They have gotten it in their head that they might retire with $250,000 without really understanding what that means to them over a 20- or 30-year retirement."
