Pandemic Workers Need a Money Plan

Medical responders and frontline supermarket workers can take advantage of free financial planning through Investor’s Advantage Corp.The Westlake Village investment firm started offering a 90-minute in-person or Zoom consultation in August to help essential workers and families navigate toward financial success amid the pandemic, the company said. That translates to finding an investment strategy to meet a particular person’s risk profile, and given the nature of many frontline careers, that involves an emphasis on life insurance.“We take 90 minutes to do three parts: the first one is, how much money are you going to need to make work optional,” said John Grace, chief executive of Investor’s Advantage. “We also want to look from the standpoint of, heaven forbid, something happened to either bread winner.”The free plans are offered through the end of the year to doctors, nurses, EMTs and other medical professionals. Law enforcement officers, firefighters and essential retail employees can also work on a financial plan.“What we want people to do is not just say ‘we have insurance,’ we have to figure out how much insurance you need,” he explained. “We don’t want to just buy insurance or not without recognizing what you’re trying to replicate in the event of loss of income.”The last piece of the equation, Grace said, is the children or grandparents and their financial needs.