Two New Resources Are Available:
We’re excited to announce two new resources this month centered around Student Loans. This topic is one of the most requested topics right now. That’s not surprising since student loans have become very complicated and are filled with interesting planning angles to discuss with clients. In addition, we have also made two important improvements to fpPathfinder. Details are below:
New Checklist: What Issues Should I Consider When Paying Off My Student Loans?
With more than 44 million borrowers in the U.S. holding more than $1.6 trillion in student loan debt, you are very likely to have clients managing federal or private student loans. There are many factors to consider when choosing a repayment plan or deciding to refinance or consolidate. Each client’s unique circumstances will determine what strategies are available and favorable to them. This checklist helps to ensure that the majority of the planning opportunities are discussed with your clients.
New Flowchart: Am I Eligible For An IDR Plan For My Federal Student Loans?
Income-Driven Repayment (“IDR”) Plans can be an attractive option for federal student loan borrowers. These plans can make monthly payments more manageable, and offer forgiveness after a term of years. Eligibility depends upon a variety of factors, and must be determined on a case-by-case basis. This flowchart helps to guide you and your client through the available options.
If you are a member, review these new resources in our membership and:
- Proactively reach out to current clients for planning opportunities
- Proactively reach out to prospective clients as a touchpoint
- Deluxe members create your own custom branded resources and share on your blog and newsletter
- Deluxe members incorporate your custom branded resources into your marketing (learn more here)
- Premier members can complete interactive versions of the checklists and integrate with Redtail (learn more here)
If you are not a member, you can view a sample checklist or sample flowchart and get a membership here. Then, take the steps listed above for our current members!
See our Summary Resources Guide, which shows all the resources.
Website Improvements:
This month, we’re excited to roll out two important (and needed) improvements to the site:
- Better searching in the member section. We’ve enhanced the search function to make it easier to find the resources you’re looking for. Now that there are 70+ resources on the site, the need to search for a resource is more important than ever.
- Better One-click Downloads. For Deluxe and Premier members, you can download all of the resources with one click. However, we had noticed several glitches occurring for our members that prevented them from using the feature (without needing to reach out for assistance). Well, it has been addressed! We’ve even added a little progress bar so you can see how much more time it will take.
As always, we welcome feedback from advisors who are having these conversations with their clients. How can we improve these resources? We want to hear from you. And if you have an idea for a resource, let us know.
To diligent planning,
The fpPathfinder Team