Michelle Roche
Head of Senior Advice, Customer Engagement & Proposition, Bank of Ireland life
One of Ireland’s leading bank’s Senior Advisory Team provides impartial, tailored financial advice to help older customers navigate important decisions, ensuring informed choices, a fulfilling retirement and a secure future.
Irish people are living longer, healthier lives. In fact, it is predicted that the population aged over 65 will increase by 60% in the next 10 years (Source: CSO office). Michelle Roche, Head of Senior Advice at Bank of Ireland Life, discusses the opportunities and challenges this may present, particularly when it comes to financial wellbeing.
How do customers’ financial and banking needs change as they get older?
Michelle Roche (MR): Our customers have diverse and varying financial needs that naturally evolve as they get older. Some require assistance with day-to-day banking. Others are focused on managing existing assets for the here and now, ensuring they have sufficient funds for healthcare or making their pension and savings work harder for them. Other customers are navigating the management of wealth transfers and inheritance for future generations.
What are the most common concerns among the older customers that you meet daily?
MR: Many customers who contact our team are enjoying retirement with the funds that they have saved over the course of their lives and are simply looking for advice on how to make the most of these savings. One of the most common concerns we see from customers is that they are feeling uncertain about the future and whether their assets are adequate to support their retirement. Some seek reassurance about the potential of their discretionary spending, for example, a holiday or upgrading their car.
We provide holistic financial advice that
gives our customers peace of mind.
How do you support these older customers’ needs?
MR: A few years ago, Bank of Ireland established a Senior Advisory Team, based country-wide throughout our branches. We provide holistic financial advice that gives our customers peace of mind to help them live the life that they want to lead during retirement. This can help them make informed decisions about their long-term financial health, including optimising savings and personal loans and understanding available investment options. It can also provide customers with assurance that they have adequate funds saved and ensure they put in place provisions to protect them from the unexpected.
What would a customer expect from meeting with a Senior Advice Specialist?
MR: It is important that all customers, irrespective of age and personal circumstances, have the opportunity to access our full range of services safely. Our team can help customers set financial goals, prioritise their needs and create a personalised financial wellbeing roadmap for the years ahead, to ensure peace of mind. This detailed plan helps paint a clear picture of their financial situation both in the present and into the future.
We also provide customers with advice and information on a range of other topics, including the importance of creating a Will, or in certain circumstances, putting in place Power of Attorney and other considerations within the Assisted Decision Making Act. This is a new law, which came into effect in 2023 to assist people to continue to make their own decisions about important issues around their health, their finances and housing, for example, even if there are challenges in doing so.
Where do financial advice meetings take place?
MR: Meetings can take place in person, over the phone or digitally. Many customers prefer to engage face-to-face — whether that’s in-branch or in a location they feel comfortable, like their own home. We have seen an increase in digital meetings over recent years, which have the added bonus of being able to include other family members who may live in other counties or abroad, ensuring the whole family unit is involved in important financial decisions, should the customer so wish.
To find out more about our Senior Advisory Team and how we can support you in navigating important financial decisions, contact us at [email protected] or call your local Bank of Ireland branch and ask to speak to a Senior Advice Specialist.
