The market is ripe for workplace financial planning

The financial condition of the lower, middle and upper middle class has slipped lately as evidenced by climbing home foreclosure rates. In reality there has been a negative trend for decades: The average savings rate continues its decline, reaching a new low – the worst since the Great Depression in 1933, and household debt has been growing steadily and is up 80 percent compared to 1990 (inflation adjusted).

Will the fee-only financial planning industry come to the rescue? Don’t hold your breath; they continue to pursue only the top 5 percent wealthiest people, leaving the other 95 percent underserved. In fact, less than 3 percent of 108 million middle- and upper-income households are served by accredited financial planners, according to the May edition of The Journal of Financial Planning. They concluded that people who really need financial counsel can’t afford the services of financial planners.