Ken Dychtwald and his new book.

The coronavirus pandemic is a shocking "intervention" whosebiggest impact will show up in retirement planning: The crisis has forcedolder people to consider the importance of matching health span tolife span and think about aspiring to a morestreamlined lifestyle, argues Ken Dychtwald, founder and CEO of AgeWave.

The "Pitchman for the Graying Revolution," as Fortune Magazinedubbed him, psychologist and gerontologist co-founded Age Wave in1986 to help companies and government develop strategies to servethe fast-growing aging population.

In the interview, Dychtwald, 70, discusses why only a smallportion of retirees — most of them in a quandary over financialplanning — have financial advisors.

For one, he says, there's the question of trustworthiness, whichneeds to be "resolved."

Author of 17 books, the Ph.D., who has devoted nearly ahalf-century to the field of gerontology, has a new one due on July15: "What Retirees Want: A Holistic View of Life'sThird Age," co-written with Robert Morison (Wiley). It representsthe authors' three decades of research on gerontology andretirement.

In the interview, Dychtwald, whose clients include Allianz,Ameriprise, Bank of America, Charles Schwab, Edward Jones andMerrill Lynch, stresses the need for older men and women to becomeadept at digital technology both for socializing and medical care,the latter made clear by the pandemic's lockdown-promptedtelemedicine visits.

Dychtwald co-founded Age Wave with wife Maddy Dychtwald uponperceiving that the approaching "age wave," based largely on thetrend of increasing longevity, would shift the focus from youngerconsumers to the needs of baby boomers and the generation thatpreceded them.

BenefitsPRO's sister site ThinkAdvisor recently interviewedDychtwald, a fellow of the World Economic Forum, speaking by phonefrom Orinda, California, where his firm is based. The Newark, NewJersey, native lamented retirees' lack of financial literacy andopined that the majority of financial books were of littlepractical help: "Most people don't want to get a Ph.D. ineconomics," he said. "They want to know what they should do whenmaking financial decisions."

Here are highlights of our conversation:

THINKADVISOR: How has the pandemic impacted the longevityrevolution?

KEN DYCHTWALD: It was an intervention. For the first timein our lives, or maybe ever, everyone in the world was given anear-death experience. Out of the blue a few months ago, everyonewas having discussions or thinking about, "What if I die? What ifsomebody I love dies?" Now they're giving a lot more thought towhat really matters: the essentials for living a good life, a morestreamlined life.

Please elaborate.

The pandemic isn't just about being sick or losing money. It'sabout the psychological impact of: What happens if I can't earnmoney or if my kids lose their jobs? We've all been given anopportunity to stop and think about what's really important. Forolder people, it means paring down to what matters most.

Has the pandemic changed planning for and expectations aboutretirement?

The pandemic has had the biggest impact on what we used to thinkof as retirement because now all the pieces on the table are movingaround. It's brought to light the importance of matching healthspan to life span. People are thinking more and more about theimportance of health and what they can do to optimize it.

In your upcoming book "What Retirees Want: A Holistic View ofLife's Third Age," you cite a study in which 8 in 10 retirees saidthey were willing to seek professional financial advice aboutretirement planning — but in fact only half as many work withadvisors. Overall, only 26% of Americans have a financial advisor,you write. Why the disconnect?

A few reasons. Some people feel they're not rich enough to havean advisor. They got that feeling from advertising years ago, which[gave them the impression] that only fancy people have financialadvisors. Another reason is that some consumers don't know who totrust, that maybe financial firms aren't really concerned abouttheir best interest but just about making money for themselves.That trustworthy theme has got to be resolved.

What other reasons are there for failing to hire anadvisor?

Many people don't like the idea of being scrutinized about howthey spend their money or why they may not have saved enough. Orthey don't want to be "looked down on" because they're heading intotheir retirement years and haven't prepared. That's unnerving andembarrassing for them.

Let's return to your argument that "the trustworthy theme"needs to be resolved. By whom?

By everyone. The movement of the last few years toward fiduciaryresponsibility was a step in the right direction. But part of thecollateral effect of [Sen.] Bernie Sanders [running for president]and even [President] Trump saying that Wall Street people don'tcare about you and are only interested in making themselves richeris that a lot of people don't know if anyone [in the industry]really cares or will look them in the eye and try to give them ahelping hand.

How valid is that perception?

A lot of financial services firms want to do the right thing —it's not as though there's some evil empire. But I don't thinkthey've done such a wonderful job of marketing and communicatingtheir intents. People often mistakenly assume they don't [qualify]to have a financial advisor; so they just stay on the path [ofgoing it alone]. That may not be in their best interest.

You point out in your book that most Americans aren't"financially fluent." Certainly financial jargon can be a turnoffto the average consumer, right?

Not only a turnoff — it could be Martian language, for all Iknow. I sit in the back of the room at financial meetings where I'ma speaker and hear people talking about "hedge" this and "403(b)"that and "529." I have no idea what they're talking about! It's theU.S. government as well.

What do you mean?

My Medicare statements say on the top left, "This is not abill," but on the top right they say, "This is your bill." Fiftymillion people are getting these incomprehensible statements everymonth.

Why isn't something done to correct this unintentionalobfuscation?

There hasn't been a public willingness to say, "Hey, I don'tknow what you're talking about. Why don't you make thisuser-friendly and understandable, and cut the crap!" That goes notonly for financial firms but for the government, too.

How much responsibility should pre-retirees take to learnjust what funding they'll need during their so-called goldenyears?

There are a lot of people who are, kind of, willfully in denialof taking this seriously, even though they feel they're drowning[in incomprehension]. One study found that 80% of the Americanpublic said they've never sat down and tried to figure out how muchmoney they'll need to last through retirement and how much theyhave to save. [For a start], they don't understand SocialSecurity.

Why are people so lacking in financial literacy?

Most have never been taught the basics of saving and finance.The Medicare and Social Security systems aren't user-friendly.There's a need for holistic financial education and guidance.People don't know who to trust and talk to about making financialdecisions.

What can you suggest to ameliorate the situation when itcomes to retirement planning?

We need a financial version of Google Maps or Waze navigationthat would navigate a route to where you want to go in retirementwith the least possible problems.

Anything else that the pandemic has brought into sharperfocus?

The idea that we've allowed older people to fall on the unhappyside of the digital divide, which isn't good for anyone. Of peoplein America over 75, only 62% use the internet and only 28% use orfeel comfortable connecting with social media, according to PewResearch. That's dangerous.

Why?

Because now it's about life and death. Four months ago it was akind of joke to say that grandma and grandpa weren't so good atemail or didn't know how to use Facebook or Instagram. But it's theresponsibility of older men and women to enable themselves to beexcellent with technology for both socializing and the delivery ofmedical care. It's essential that they're fluent, even talented,with technology.

In your book, you argue that "ageist" marketing practices are"hurting business" in general. In what way?

Including people over 50, [older consumers] are a group of 100million representing 70% of all the worth in America. So to bepaying less attention to older men and women because you've got apreference for the youth market is unwise. It's not a smartbusiness decision.

READ MORE:

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• Retirement is changing: Is it time for a new socialcontract?