Goals

Advisors have the option to inflate goals beginning today or on the start date of the goal. To make the adjustment, visit the Advisor Portal > Assumptions > Inflation tab and use the checkbox at the bottom of the screen to indicate whether goals begin inflating today or at the start date entered. When goals is checked at the bottom of the screen, values can be entered in today's dollars and will inflate into the future.

Expenses and goals are both typically viewed as outflows of funds within the financial plan. Expenses are generally focussed on pre-retirement, while goals are generally focussed on post retirement expenses, but not always. Goals generally represent the life events that the client is looking to fund aside from general expenses listed within the financial plan.

Long-term care costs are inflated using the health care cost inflation setting which defaults to 5% within the software. When younger clients are entered into the financial plan with 40-50 years of life expectancy ahead of them, the 5% inflation will grow the expense significantly.

Advisors use the Add Goal > "Other Goal" to indicate a life event they are trying to fund that doesn't fit into the other templates provided. This versatile goal allows advisors to customize star and end years, frequency, amount, and inflation on a customized event in the client's future.