Tackling special needs’ issues

Many people look to the past, lamenting mistakes they made and opportunities they missed. These are the kinds of regrets Ryall wants to help all his clients to prevent. This is especially true for clients with children who have special needs. Ryall, 61 years old and a 38-year veteran of the insurance sector, has spent the past decade specializing in planning for these families.

Ryall helps families sort through government benefits programs and then create tax-efficient estate plans for the benefit of their special-needs children. Ryall also gives seminars on financial planning issues related to special needs and is active in community fundraising events throughout southwestern Ontario.

Although Ryall has flourished as an insurance advisor, financial services was not his first career choice as a young man. A naturally talented athlete, Ryall tried out for the Toronto Argonauts football team in 1973 when he was 22. He signed on as a defensive halfback with the organization’s farm team; but, less than two years later, a neck injury ended his sports career.

Ryall was disappointed but determined to look forward and find a suitable second career. His outgoing and personable nature led him to the insurance sector.

Ryall began his advisory career as an agent with London Life Insurance Co., pursuing clients in his own demographic group. “I was a newlywed,” Ryall says. “I was after the newlywed market because they’re buying homes, having children. I [could] grow with them. So, that’s what I did.”

Over the years, Ryall honed his skills in dealing with clients and built his knowledge of insurance products. He eventually founded his own independent practice, working with IDC Worldsource Insurance Network Inc. as his managing general agency.

Ryall’s interest in families with specialneeds children began when two friends, who are estate-planning lawyers, told Ryall about clients of theirs who had disabled children. These lawyers had observed a demand for collaborative and specialized financial planning for parents of these children.

Ryall regarded the transition toward a specialization in families with specialneeds children as a way to set his business apart from other insurance practices. At the same time, Ryall saw an opportunity to provide genuine help to families in need.

“It’s a matter of how you differentiate yourself,” he says. “How do you get people wanting to find you? That’s [by] finding your own niche market.”

Working in a specialized market requires specific knowledge and intense study. It also means keeping up with ongoing developments within your area of specialization. Ryall keeps up to date with any changes to regulations within Ontario’s disability support program (ODSP) and the federal registered disability savings plan (RDSP). And, in addition to a life insurance licence, Ryall holds the certified health insurance specialist designation.

Through Ryall’s years of experience, he has become familiar with the main concerns of parents of special-needs children. Says Ryall: “Moms and dads tell me all the time: ‘Every night, when I go to sleep, I’m worried about two things: who is going to be taking care of my son or daughter; and will I have enough money for my son or daughter after I’m gone?'”

Ryall prides himself on simplifying the process. “Windshield thinking” means ensuring that parents’ wills, powers of attorney and family trusts are in place. These steps ensure that the children are provided for once one or both parents have passed away.

One important tool that Ryall uses frequently is the Henson trust, a financial structure developed specifically for special-needs individuals. It’s an absolute discretionary trust that holds money that is not counted as income and, therefore, will not result in a clawback of ODSP benefits. Ryall also provides parents with life insurance, for which the beneficiary is the Henson trust — a strategy that ensures the insurance benefit will not be taxed.

Ryall uses a collaborative process, often working with an estate-planning lawyer and an accountant who are familiar with disability tax credits, when devising strategies for clients with special-needs family members. If the client family does not have its own lawyer and accountant, Ryall brings in trusted professionals with whom he has developed long-standing professional relationships.

An important part of Ryall’s work involves simplifying the information for clients and making it easier for them to make decisions. Ryall recalls a client who had been in tears, overwhelmed by the complexities of dealing with her disabled family member’s affairs. After Ryall had sorted out that client’s problem, she said to him: “You’re an angel of God. Where do you come from?”

Ryall doesn’t let this kind of praise go to his head. It simply indicates the level of despair that some parents of special-needs children are feeling, and the gratitude they feel when an experienced advisor provides a viable plan.

Ryall shares his knowledge beyond his client base. He gives seminars — arranged by organizations such as Cystic Fibrosis Canada, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and Autism Ontario — on the topic of financial planning for families with special-needs members. Ryall does not bring a business card to these events, insisting that the objective of these seminars is to provide information.

Still, he says, these seminars, as well as referrals, have generated significant new business.

Ryall, an avid golfer, contributes to Cystic Fibrosis Canada by helping to organize an annual golf tournament. Twenty years ago, this event raised $957.12; now, it consistently raises more than $40,000 annually.

Maureen Adamson, CEO of Cystic Fibrosis Canada, says she was struck by Ryall’s commitment to the organization’s cause after attending her first golf tournament three years ago.

“This kind of community work and this kind of giving is rare,” she says. “This is a man truly committed to making a difference.”

In recognition of Ryall’s charitable work, he was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, which was created in 2012 to commemorate the Queen’s 60th anniversary on the throne.

It was Adamson who nominated Ryall for that award: “He’s in the right business for all the right reasons. He really wants to help.”

For all the attention that Ryall, a divorced father of three, has received since he accepted the medal, he understands who the warriors are in this story: “I look at the moms and dads of these [special-needs] children. And they’re the true heroes.”

What it takes to meet special needs

Special-needs families are an underserved market that could become a viable area of specialization for a financial advisor who is a team player and is willing learn, says Fred Ryall, owner of Fred C. Ryall Insurance Agency Inc.

However, specializing in this complex area takes time and commitment.

To work in the special-needs niche, you must be willing to collaborate and develop a strong relationship with an estate-planning lawyer. “You have to build trust and credibility,” Ryall says. “It could be years before that lawyer is comfortable [working] with you.”

You must be prepared to immerse yourself in the world of special-needs children by doing online research, as well as by attending accessibility and disability conferences. This learning process will take time.

You need to become visible to families with special-needs children by educating them on their turf.

“Are you willing to go out in the evenings to [different cities] to do a seminar?” Ryall asks. “Be prepared to do what’s necessary to see these people.”

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