The job of an adviser is, more often than not, about understanding the needs and wants of people at different stages in their lives and how their finances can get them there.

Colin Dyer, 1825's national advice manager, sums up the client's role thus: "We have a responsibility to help clients see the big picture, and prioritise their objectives appropriately, taking account of a lifetime of potential needs."

Those needs only get more complex the older the client, as later life planning becomes increasingly important.

Facing up to the prospect of retiring and possibly also to ill health can be challenging but a good adviser should be able to steer clients effectively.

Mark Moran, director of intermediary sales at Golden Charter, acknowledges: "Clients need to know that delaying planning has consequences, and that those consequences could be financial or emotional.

"While we are all living longer, we also don't know when it's our time."

The average age of financial advisers' clients is generally fairly high, and there is evidence of an advice gap, so appealing to the next generation of clients is vital, not only because it provides a pipeline of new business but it also ensures millennials are not left out of the financial planning conversation.

This guide will look at how advisers can understand the needs of clients at various ages and stages of life, and in particular what their clients need to know about planning for retirement and beyond.

It will also consider how advisers can attract the next generation of clients, and how their financial goals differ from those of their parents.

Finally, is there enough product choice to help with generational needs, or is there too much choice? How are providers and lenders keeping up with government reforms?

This guide is worth an indicative 60 minutes of structured CPD.

Contributors include: Frazer Wilson, senior consultant at Thomas Miller Investment; Oliver Smyth, financial adviser at Walker Crips Wealth Management; Alison Treharne, chartered financial planner at Shore Financial Planning; Jade Connolly, head of advice at Ascot Lloyd; Simon Bashorun, financial planning team leader at Investec Wealth & Investment; Colin Dyer, national advice manager at 1825; Ian Price, divisional director at St James's Place; Jamie Clark, business development manager at Royal London's intermediary pension business; Mark Pearce, tax, trusts and estates partner at Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth; Kelly Greig, tax, trusts and estates partner at Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth; Nick Hutton, head of the BlackRock UK retail sales team; Mark Moran, director of intermediary sales at Golden Charter; Office for National Statistics; BlackRock UK Investor Pulse survey.

Ellie Duncan is deputy content plus editor at FTAdviser