Mike, Heather, and Nicola on Health Driven Wealth (Ep. 14)

Welcome to Ideas by Mike, the podcast with Mike Milligan, where you will find one-of-a-kind financial planning advice for your one-of-a-kind life. With over 22 years of experience as a certified financial planner, Mike shares experiences and advice on crafting simple, easy-to-understand financial plans based on your values and priorities. He believes that taking a personalized approach is the best way to prepare for the future and give meaning to your finances. So, follow along as Mike, and from time to time, his guests, explore different strategies and tools that could help you secure your financial future in retirement. Now, onto the show.

Hello, and welcome to the Ideas by Mike podcast with your host, Mike Milligan. I'm Wendy McConnell. Hey, Mike, how you doing?

I'm doing great, Wendy. Just back from vacation and I'm fired up about being here today, as always.

All right. Sounds good. So you're relaxed, you're refreshed, and you're renewed.

And I got a tan.

Oh, yes, you do, mister.

I have a tan, which that's, that's always great to have at the end of October. So I'm, so I'm really excited about this.

You're a happy guy. All right. So we have some guests today. Would you like to introduce them for us?

I would. As part of this one-of-a-kind financial planning process we have, we've been talking about tax planning, retirement income planning, investment planning. Today we're going to talk about long-term care planning. And so I'm happy, really just happy to have Heather Holmes, who's the founder and CEO of Lumion, and Nicola Perry, who is vice president of sales. Ladies, it's so good to have you here today to talk about the growing problem that we have with long-term care planning in America. I always start out by asking all of our guests, Like what makes you one of a kind? So Heather, what makes you beyond the business you have been able to build, what makes you truly one of a kind?

Well, thanks, Mike. And of course, that's always a showstopper of a question here. But, you know, I would say that really, I've been really fortunate to live kind of a global nomad lifestyle and to be able to find a partner and a husband who lives life in a very similar similar way. So, you know, for the past, I don't know, decade and a half, being able to work in many different countries and be able to build, build a business and for him to be able to do the same thing and for us to support each other with that has been, I think, a huge part of, of who we are. I mean, Lumiant is an Australia-founded company and stepping in as a CEO there, you know, we're able to go spend time there, come back to the US, you know, then go with him to Europe. And that's been a huge part of our life and, and a complicated to plan for, but is then a key thing for us.

Wow, that's amazing. Uh, Nicola, I'll ask you the same question. What, what makes you truly one of a kind?

Yeah, wow.

Um, there's so many ways to answer that question. I, I believe, um, really what sums it up for me, I think, is that, uh, I'm an adapter, uh, and survivor. Uh, you know, life gives you a lot of different turns, as we know, and my life has. And, um, I'm here and I'm loving every minute of it. And not to really focus on the work aspect of it, but I, I do feel that the work that we do at Lumiant and that I get to participate in, uh, it's really exactly where I was supposed to be. And, um, over these last few years, I just continuously trust the timing. And that's, that's it. Trusting the timing of my life.

We, we all live, and I say this over and over again, so you guys haven't really heard me say this much, but we all live a one-of-a-kind life. It is, it's truly amazing that, uh, that we all have different expiration dates, different aspirations, different goals, different travels, different expectations of life. And that's why Ideas by Mike was founded, to be, to create the one-of-a-kind financial plan for your one-of-a-kind life. And you guys are huge parts of that because of the 5 elements of the One of a Kind Financial Plan, long-term care planning is a huge element. And so can you guys describe or like talk about how the company was founded and then what the major purpose you guys are trying to help people fulfill with the amazing solution you guys have?

Sure, Mike, I'm happy to jump into that. So the product that I think we're talking about in particular is called Halo. And so, and Halo was acquired by the company Lumiant. So, so just to kind of make it a little bit more specific here, Halo is all around helping people really understand their longevity and understand their health and understand those in a lens of how health and wealth connect together. Because if you think about it, it doesn't matter how much wealth you have if you don't have good health to be able to enjoy it. And so Halo was— the concept of Halo came from my work in the healthcare industry. So I had the fortunate opportunity to not only work in the US healthcare system, but also work in a global role. So it didn't matter when I was— whether I was— when I was living in Singapore and working in Southeast Asia or spending time in Latin America, I saw these similar trends where people would delay choices and care around their health, oftentimes because they were concerned about the financial impact and not realizing that delaying some of this preventative care, delaying some of these things that we know we should be doing can actually be more financially catastrophic later. And so the whole idea of Halo was to take what I was seeing in healthcare in different situations around the room or around the world and help people understand the financial choices and impact and what is the things that they could do to help themselves live well longer and hopefully reduce financial impact at the same time. So that was really the genesis of Halo.

We know that longevity has increased, right? For especially in America, if we just talk about America, because that's really where our audience is targeted. We know that longevity has increased, but we also know that wellbeing or your health expectancy hasn't increased the same as your longevity. So, Nicola, when we look at how Halo can help an individual see their health expectancy versus their life expectancy, what does a report generally show folks?

Well, the report goes through, it's an assessment that the client or prospect will take. We ask several questions about your personal lifestyle choices, and then we pull in that science information. We're going to ask about your ethnicity and then any family history of major diseases. So, as we go through that, we then ask, okay, this is what you want to do as far as retirement.

Mm-hmm.

What age do you want to retire? Where do you want to retire? And then what comes out in that report is a full assessment of their individualized longevity. You know, you're not an actuary table, you're more than that. And so we allow those conversations to get started. Let's talk about the things that you're making choices on as far as your lifestyle. Maybe you're not eating enough fruits and veggies. Let's maybe put some more of those in, or maybe exercises on the agenda for you to incorporate a little bit more in there, but you haven't been. So we'll be able to show you on that longevity spectrum within the report what you could do to really optimize your healthcare and your longevity projection. And that's what we do. So we go through that and then At the, within that flowchart, we show you where you are today. So you have, for example, 10 working years, and then we've got 21 of those go-go years in retirement. So those are the ones where you're out hiking the national forests. And then we maybe have those 3 years of extended care need. And then we break that down. Into that home health, that assisted living, and then possibly that nursing home scenario. And then we talk about how that lifeline, as far as how long you're going to be here, you're not just again that actuary table. We're going to be able to plan to when you're 98 years old instead of sticking in a 90-year-old statistic. Go on to help you. Uh, with giving suggestions of changing some of those lifestyle, uh, um, choices that you're making. And then also we talk about the hereditary aspect because there's a ton of science that goes into the algorithm. Uh, our proprietary algorithm, uh, it compares each individual to people that are just like them. So it's very much customized to who they are. And then at the very end of it, we talk about those needs, that extended care need, and then we're able to put in the cost specific to the state that they would like to retire in. So as an advisor, you can utilize this talking to your client, planning for the future.

And that's what, and that's where we come in, right? So as a certified financial planner, we then take that report and just like somebody would say for a home, or save for retirement income or save for a kid's college. We can then take your guys' data, your specific algorithm, and then use what we know, what we know best, and that's money, and be able to help you solve for that. And so like, that's like, it's, it's a perfect tool as part of our long-term care. Um, we, uh, the conception of retirement, right, has— it used to be, right, everybody moves to Florida, like The Villages, right?

Right.

And they— I don't know if that's going to be the same going forward with like that becoming Hurricane Alley now, but But if you think about it, right, the conception was, is people in the Northeast, the Midwest who were used to cold weather, they would just move down to the villages, be in harmony with everybody. And everybody thinks that's what retirement is. But let's talk about some of the misconceptions, if we can, about what happens to your health in retirement. Because one of the things that we know is the choices you make today impact your future. Like people that suffer You know, an extended long-term care, it could be genetics, but it's also about choices you make. So let's, let's talk about, Heather, if you don't mind, let's talk about some misconceptions people have about long-term care.

For sure, Mike. And I would really say it's, it's long-term care, it's longevity, it's, it's misconceptions about kind of life. I think all of us really want to believe that we're going to live our best life and, and pass away in our sleep. But the reality is that the majority of us are, you know, maybe are not that fortunate. We're going to have phases of our life where we're going We're gonna have phases that we're gonna move into what we call that slow-go phase. And it's different for each person. And I think that's the important thing is understanding at an individual level what that could look like for you. Plan for the worst-case scenario, but then look at ways of how you can optimize to maybe improve and live your best life. So the things that we know is that the majority of Americans underestimate how long, how long they're going to live. And we can tell you, looking within the data of Halo, that the majority of clients that we work with who are working with an advisor live well beyond the average person. So think about the risk of that. If you're planning for the average life expectancy, and we know that working with Mike means you probably have an above-average longevity, that can put some of your lifestyle and your finances at risk. And then the other part is, Mike, you hit on is the kind of long-term care or extended care or however you want to play it, pay for it. So the first thing is like talking about the villages, that's a great example because community is important. And what we see in the longevity data is having good social connections is a really important part of helping to enhance longevity. But the reality is we're still gonna face those later in life challenges of slowing down. Unfortunately, we can't escape that, that part of it. So being able to have a good plan and understanding what that means to you in a personalized way is key. And for each person, that's going to be different. It could be, very minimal or could be a lot, but it's better to be prepared than not being able to have the care that you need.

So Nicola, when the, when's the right time to start planning for long-term care and what steps should be taken first?

Yeah, I would say the best time for long-term care, it's, it's now, you know, early planning allows You and your family to understand the available services and those costs. These are important decisions, and now is the time to make them. You know, we typically see the heaviest usage among Halo clients. They're between 40 and 70, and that aligns with that typical demographic of a And advisors' client base. While we do observe a few younger segments occasionally among older clients, our primary focus remains on those pre-retirees and early retirees. We emphasize the importance of engaging what we call those pivotal year families, which include individuals in their 30s and early 40s. These are your clients that might be starting to care for family. So they're entering that caregiving situation with their aging parents. And it's significant because they're navigating important life changes and often have their own concerns about planning effectively, especially in light of costs and impacts of caregiving. You know, not only fiscal fiscally, but just the stressors that is— that are placed on the family. Um, you know, we move into that sandwich generation, uh, where they're that mid to late 40s or 50s. And, you know, between the— you know, clients could be single, divorced, part of a couple, but they all share that common focus on their parents aging. So they have that heightened awareness. Of that fiscal aspect and then the time that it takes, you know, that you're committing to caregiving. And, you know, a lot of them express those concerns. We all do really about not wanting to be a burden on our loved ones. So, you know, as we go through this, as far as, you know, we want to have them, you know, leverage The data that we have, and put it into their healthcare longevity planning. It's important to just consult a professional like that's just like Mike. We want to be able to assess their needs, determine that level of care you think you might need, discuss those different costs, and that's again in the Halo report available to you, and then exploring those options. You know, we go into it, and we think that we have these assumptions. that my daughter is going to take care of me. Well, maybe your daughter has different plans. So really the very first thing to do is discuss with family, talk to your family about it, then create that financial plan with your advisor, and then move through, um, getting that plan in place and sticking with it.

Everything you've said there is just so true about like how different Different generations have different ideas about what long-term care is, and it's a conversation we're not having enough.

Yeah.

Um, I, I am, um, I like, I'm the founder of Ideas by Mike, but, you know, obviously Mike is, is why I did this, right? I, I'm always intrigued by founder stories. It's just like, they just like, why, you know, uh, a, a founder is just an entrepreneur who saw a problem and thought that they could fix it, right? So Heather, like, I'm interested, like, in the founding story of, like, Halo, right? Like, and why, why was it? I, I know why it was created because we use it with our clients, but just, just why, in your words, why was Halo created?

Um, just to give you the personal aspect of that, I mean, so, um, You, you know, my father had been very sick and he had been our key financial decision maker in the household. And he was the one that we always trusted and was that, was our person for that stuff. But what often happens when people start having a lot of health challenges is that it also starts impacting them as far as their financial decision making. They, they tend to go hand in hand.

Mm-hmm.

And that was exactly what was happening at the time of his health failing. And so, As he was hospitalized, as we were going through this and trying to figure out how do we help get him well, we started to understand that there had been some financial decisions that seemed out of character for him. And my brothers and I and my mother weren't really sure who to trust and who to turn to to understand, were these good decisions since he had always made good decisions financially, or were these decisions that didn't feel quite right to us? not the right decisions. And, and for us, it was a scary time. I mean, A, because we're really concerned about our dad's health, but also because we weren't really sure to, if we could trust what happened. And we weren't sure if we could trust the people who had gotten him into some of these financial things, cuz they were new to us, not the normal financial people that we knew. And so I made a pledge to myself that if my father got well, I was gonna commit my life to trying to help making it easy for families to understand in an unbiased way. If there are different care potential needs, what do these costs look like? And to better understand and assess if they have the right insurance to help protect them. So everything about Halo is designed to protect the integrity of that client's information and data and to be used in that unbiased way. The only people who see that information is the client and their advisor to better understand, do they have the right products and services? Do these decisions make sense? And to be able to easily explain to other family members why the choices were made that were made. And so that's my commitment with Halo is to demystify the things that my brothers and my mother and I wish we would've had at that time. And I mean, just to wrap up that story, Mike, yeah, the, he, you know, unfortunately he was in a more fragile state and was approached by people with a product that would have been catastrophic to my parents. And, and so something like Halo could have really helped us more quickly unravel that and understand. And so that's really the power of Halo. And that's what I hope is a gift to other families, is to be able to not go through the things that we went through.

Wow, that's, you know, a lot of, a lot of founders create things because of Because it's very personal to them. That is absolutely amazing that you thought that you could create or change other people's outcome by what you created. And I will tell you, for somebody who uses it with clients, it's working, right? There's other people that are not going to experience the same thing you guys did. So I would just say, I mean, amazing. Your work is doing something that is radically changing. people's lives and helping them demystify what is a very scary time, you know, which is the end of their life. So, so, Nicola, if we identify that there's a need, right, for long-term care, um, the, the report, like you mentioned earlier, will put numbers, um, uh, to it from a family standpoint. With your financial background, how does the report that Halo generates for a client, um, make it easy for them to understand the end-of-life outcomes?

Yeah. Wow.

The, the assessment and the report that comes from it, you know, it changes the way you're sitting down with the client and having that conversation.

It—

so many times the response that I get, it just removes that sales aspect from kind of that misconception that clients have or prospects have that that's how what financial services do. That's how it works. It's not just about the service and the products. It's about the individual and what is important to them. We help to make that stickier client relationship because It's about the individual, and I really—I know I've emphasized that—but it really is what sets us apart from any other product that's out there. You're talking about this, you know, going through this report, talking to this client, and it is about them because they know that they filled this out, and it helps to say, okay. Here's where we are. We need to talk about what products and services we need to put into place, but it's about them, and that's where it starts, and it will end there too. Um, it's just creating that personalized experience that you might typically not be getting anywhere else. I would say that you don't unless you're using products Um, like Halo to help you understand those long-term, uh, care needs, uh, understanding your longevity, um, and then just creating that plan around it. That's what you do, um, because you care about your clients. So it— the report at the end of the day, I think, just accentuates the care that you already provide to them. And how important they are. It emphasizes it, and then you can put that plan into play.

Just, just 2 quick questions before you guys follow, before we, before we end our episode today. Um, Heather, when I hear her talking about what the peace of mind and the things that it gives people on this, this must cost a fortune for somebody to take the assessment. Is that, is that true?

No. So that's, so Halo is offered only through financial professionals who are wanting to do this kind of personalized planning with their clients and care to have that kind of level of good personalized data for them.

Right.

And so this is something that like clients or prospects can only get through you, Mike, and through other advisors. So obviously that's the service that you are providing to them.

And so it's, it's, in other words, like, it's, it's something that's like one of a kind that financial people can give for people who live one of a kind lives. Did I hear you say that right? Isn't it absolutely amazing? Uh, but there, listen, I'm, I'm kind of on a mission to change the industry, not just for the clients that we serve, but just the industry. And like some of the people who listen to our podcast are in this industry also. So like if they wanted to reach out to you to offer this, because I don't want to keep things that benefit people and make them better to myself. Like, if they wanted to reach out to you guys to make it part of their planning process, whatever they call their planning process, how would they do that?

Sure. They can reach out to me directly, nicola@lumiant.io. I'm more than happy to schedule some time with them, discuss The Lumiant Halo product along with our Lumiant product. So yeah, all client engagement, all about your clients and what's important to them.

And Mike, if you don't mind me just jumping in, I would say one of the things that I really think is one of a kind about the way that you do planning is I love how you've incorporated a health coach and you are really thinking about bringing in that wellness aspect. I mean, that how you've embraced that and brought that in is truly one one of a kind and is something that I think is really special of what you're offering to clients specifically. And it just goes beautifully in tandem with Halo because Halo can help clients see if they make these changes, how they can optimize their life. And then you have that health coach right there that can help them really visualize what that looks like in the future.

Heather, this is, this is personal to me, like being a, being in this financial planning business and changing it. It's like, It's personal, right? I don't, I don't, uh, I don't want to be the biggest in the world. I just want to have the biggest impact to each person we come across. And it's like, that's what I think makes us unique. Uh, but like, my story is— has a health component to it that like, I, I just know that I'm going to expire, right? There's nothing in this, you know, that there's not— this world is going to keep going on without Mike. In it one day, but I want to be here as long as I possibly can. And like the tools like you guys have, like when I took it for myself, it was like a slap in the face, right? That, and you're right, it's as simple as like eating more fruits and vegetables, right? Increasing your steps, right? You know, doing memory games, right? I do Wordle every morning to help with like my memory. Right. And I do other games, right? Because I don't want to slip at the end of my life. And so, you know, you're the, the impact you're making because of what your dad's— your dad and your mom went through is helping me, but it's also helping the people in our firm. So I want to thank you guys, right, um, uh, for everything you guys are doing. And I know that you guys are constantly innovating and improving your algorithm and as data comes out. So I want to thank you guys for not only what you guys done in the past, but what you guys are going to continue to do in the future.

Wow.

Well, I just want to thank you in return, Mike, because, uh, just going to jump in here because you were, um, as we were bringing Halo into the Lumiant family, uh, you're my second sale and I was so excited about it just because the perspective that you had and the avenue that you were taking with your clients. It was so different, but so special. And I mean, talk about ideas. You have these wonderful ideas, but it creates an environment where people want to come and talk to their financial advisor because they want to engage with you. You've made this really special. Talking about ideas by Mike, Internally, it's something that happens often with us. You know, you just, you're making a difference. And I'm happy to be here today to share that part of how we got started.

Well, thanks for that.

Yeah.

So Mike, how do people get in touch with you if they want one of those one-of-a-kind financial plans?

Well, they go to Ideas by Mike. You can Google it. You can go to ideasbymike.com. You can go to Instagram @ideasbymike, Facebook @ideasbymike. YouTube @IdeasByMike. It's kind of a weird— it's a weird thing we have, but if you just go to Ideas by Mike anywhere on the web, you're going to find us. And, uh, as part of the One of a Kind Financial Plan, which includes retirement or tax strategies, which is the highest expense we're ever going to have in our life, right? If we can reduce those— retirement income, money that you count out— outlive so the anxiety is lived, investment management to take the risk out so that you can actually, uh, have some peace of mind and you're able to sleep at night, knowing what happens at the end of your life with long-term care planning, right? And we don't call it long-term care insurance. We call it long-term care planning because our idea is if we don't need insurance, don't use it, right? And let's just be as healthy for as long as we can. Let's get our health expectancy to our life expectancy. That's part of One of a Kind Plan. And then legacy planning, which we'll talk about next time, Wendy.

Okay, sounds good. Well, thank you to all of you. And Thank you for listening. Please like, follow, and share this podcast with your friends. Until next time, I'm Wendy McConnell.

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