At times, selling life insurance and annuities can feel like an uphill battle. Not only are you trying to protect your clients’ #retirementplanning, but you also are trying to position these products to suit their best interests.

Throughout September’s Life Insurance Awareness Month (#LIAM26), AIP Marketing Alliance touched on ways to position the various types of #lifeinsurance with clients and how a Life Insurance Policy Review (LIPR) can assess whether the current policy protects their retirement, legacy, and loved ones.

During the last couple of years, AIPMA also has reminded independent wholesalers and agents about how #annuity rates have created a competitive environment that could benefit long-term accumulation goals, and which may protect these retirement vehicles from volatile economic conditions.

If you read AIPMA’s #linkedinnewsletter, our marketing expert even talked about social media and leveraging these platforms (using free or paid marketing) to keep in contact with your clients and attract more prospects.

That’s where the segue occurs for this article. According to new research from LIMRA's 2026 Retirement Income Readiness Report, many Americans approaching retirement spend more time scrolling social media in a single week than they spend planning for retirement in an entire year.

Nearly six in ten pre-retirees (59%) – workers age 45 and older who plan to retire within 10 years – rate themselves highly prepared for retirement, and 88% say they have thought about how they'll generate income once they stop working per the LIMRA study.

Yet that confidence and those good intentions are not always reflected in recent planning activity. Half of pre-retirees (50%) either have no written retirement plan or have one they haven't recently updated, and 76% have either no plan or spent fewer than five hours developing, reviewing, or updating one in the past year.

"Most Americans approaching retirement genuinely feel prepared, and that confidence matters," said Tina Beckwith, Chief Marketing Officer, LIMRA. "But confidence and planning activity do not always align. Many people who feel prepared have not put a written plan in place or have not revisited one recently. Thinking about retirement is a good start but having a plan and actively engaging in the planning process can strengthen people's sense of preparedness for retirement."

To put things into perspective, 26% of pre-retirees spent fewer than five hours in the past year planning for retirement according to DataReportal’s Digital 2026 Global Overview. Per LIMRA, Americans over age 45 spend almost 14 hours per week on social media.

As social media users may know, the distractions or detractions caused by social media platforms can eat away at time very quickly as videos, content, and conversations make the clock tick faster than expected.

According to Search Engine Land, this trend isn’t dying down any time soon in the United States as most internet users are on 6.5 social media platforms with 254 million active users in 2025 (74% of Americans). The percentage of Americans using social media is skewed towards Gen Z and Millennials with 84% aged 18-29, 81% aged 30-49, 73% aged 50-64, and 45% aged 65+.

The most popular platforms used worldwide are YouTube (2.65 billion) and Facebook (2.38 billion) per Search Engine Land. In North America, social media platforms rank as Facebook (177.5 million), Instagram (143.3 million), TikTok (112.1 million), Snapchat (91.1 million), Pinterest (87.3 million), and X/Twitter (50.5 million).

So how does an independent agent compete with millions and billions of views on social media? Become a distraction yourself!

Here’s a couple of ideas to start the last quarter of 2026.

• Use marketing outside of the internet: Write a quick note to your client. Send a letter thanking them for their business. Call them just to say hello, wish a “happy birthday” or “happy anniversary”, ask about their family, or to say how you were thinking of them. Don’t be salesy. You’d be surprised how a quick phone call could become a longer phone call as some people won’t use caller ID to avoid your conversation.
• Share social media yourself: Have you viewed a video or post on social media that may connect with your clients? Interrupt their personal social interest by sharing a social media post that could impact their lives. Send a living benefits life insurance article to a person with an older life insurance policy. Share an annuity article about accumulation or with long-term care benefits when the economy is fluctuating.
• The difference is personal. AIP Marketing Alliance uses this hashtag in our marketing efforts, because we believe in building relationships with our valued downline wholesalers and agents. Quick turnaround time responding to emails and phone calls can go a long way in nurturing your client relationships. Taking the time to say “hello” also helps. It’s not always about making a sale – it’s about protecting your clients and their loved ones. Send a video message custom to them – or even better, send a social media post that reflects their personal interests (sports, cats, cars, etc.).

Circling back to the LIMRA article, social media may distract from potential worries such as cost-of-living increases, healthcare expenses, inflation, and the fear of outliving their savings. These future situations weigh heavily on pre-retirees and even those who feel fully prepared report anxiety about whether their money will last. The issue is that concern isn't consistently translating into preparation.

AIP Marketing Alliance challenges you to be that distraction as we quickly wind down 2026 as October through December provides many opportunities for you to reconnect with clients and give them a break from their social media usage. Wish them a happy holiday season, send a theme-related note or card, and get them thinking about retirement planning before the family and friend gatherings.

If that distraction becomes a conversation or appointment to get retirement planning back on track or aligned with their goals, then AIPMA’s team is here to help with the tools and resources to create a personalized illustration that aligns with those best interests.

In the meantime, AIP Marketing Alliance also enjoys distracting our followers – feel free to check out our content on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. If you need assistance, contact our team at marketing@aipma.com.

We are #TheRightMIXin26 for independent insurance wholesalers and agents. For more than 40 years, AIP Marketing Alliance (AIPMA), an Integrity Company, serves as a premier life insurance and annuity distribution partner to provide full-service support to independent wholesalers, brokerages and agents from our Troy, Michigan office. NOT AFFILIATED WITH OR ENDORSED BY THE GOVERNMENT OR THE MEDICARE PROGRAM.

AIP Marketing Alliance is committed to supporting our independent insurance wholesalers and agents. Visit our blog on aipma.com to stay informed on these upcoming launches and learn why wholesalers nationwide choose AIPMA as their distributor for selling life insurance, annuities, long-term care insurance, final expense, and much more. Ask about lead programs, access to IntegrityCONNECT’s technology, myAIP CRM platform with customizable recruiter portal, and online tools/resources designed to grow your business. The difference is personal.

AIP Marketing Alliance, an Integrity Company, has developed this electronic communication for informational and educational use only. Be advised, AIP Marketing Alliance, Inc., does not provide legal advice, tax advice, or guidance on issues involving securities laws, insurance laws nor securities or insurance regulations. This material should not be relied on as providing any such advice or guidance to either agents or retail consumers. Within this communication, AIPMA shares links for usage as information only. This content should not be interpreted as solicitation to purchase life insurance, annuities, or other products or as advice designed to meet your clients’ specific needs. Content involving fiduciary, tax, or legal advice should be directed to your legal, tax, and financial professionals for specific advice or product recommendations. AIPMA will not accept any legal liability resulting from any use of 3rd party material(s).