American Retirement AdvisorsIan Schaeffer
Chief Operating Officer
You will probably never sit in a meeting with Ian. You will feel his work in every meeting you have with us.
Ian is ARA's Chief Operating Officer, and he does not take client appointments. He builds the systems, the shows, and the client experience that get the advisor at your table ready before you walk in.
Scottsdale office · (602) 281-3898
Ian holds active insurance licenses and does not practice as an agent. Book a Discovery Day and your first call is with our client care team, who match you with the advisor who fits your situation.
We are here to optimize the client experience.Ian
How Ian contributes
- He sits in on the meetings he does not run. The same question comes up fifty different ways, week after week. He builds the answer once so every family gets it, not just the one who asked.
- Every weekday morning: he writes the article, Eddie and Betty talk it through on the podcast, and a Short goes up on the channel. Three ways to get the same answer before you ever book.
- Your advisor opens your file before you sit down: your coverage, your past conversations, what you asked last time, what changed since. Ian built that.
- The annual check happens whether or not you call. He built the outreach that reaches every client on the books before the deadline.
- Sixty-four episodes across twelve series in the Retirement Insights library, each one an article and a podcast, all pulled from what families actually ask.
- He holds the standard for everything around the advice: the marketing, the content, and the systems client care and the front desk run on. The advice itself always comes from your advisor.
The Shorts
A short every weekday on the ARA channel, in plain English, from the questions our advisors heard that week. Tap one to play it here.
Written every weekday
Ian writes the day’s article from the questions our advisors heard that week, one answer at a time, for everyone who is not in the room.
September 8, 2026COBRA does not stop the Medicare clock. Here is the math, and the trap of trying to keep both.The company hands you 18 months of COBRA on the way out and it feels generous. Medicare's 8-month clock started the month you left, COBRA usually costs more than Medicare would,...Read →
September 7, 2026Three plans at work. What feels like three hundred at 65. Happy Labor Day.My wife just started a new nursing job and picked her health plan in one evening from a list of three. At 65 it feels like three hundred, and the person down the hall who used to...Read →
September 6, 2026More than 2,000 of you have already checked in for enrollment season. Thank you.Our client care team has walked more than 2,000 clients through this year's enrollment check-in. Here is what happens to your answers next, and why the early birds sleep better in...Read →
September 5, 2026Friday, Hayes ran the show. Thank you, and get ready for the next one.Fiscal Fridays taped Friday with my dad and Greg Frantz, and for the first time Hayes Clement was fully in charge as director and producer. He was incredible. Here is what...Read →Eddie and Betty, every morning
Two voices, one conversation. Eddie and Betty take the day’s article and talk it through the same morning, the way you would with a friend who happens to know retirement. Ian built the show. Press play.
Your Discovery Day
Takes about a minute. Adam from our office calls you back and matches you with the advisor who fits your situation, in the office or on Zoom, whichever you prefer.
- About an hour with the advisor who fits your situation.
- Bring whatever is keeping you up at night. That is the agenda.
- Discovery Day, not decision day. You decide when you are ready.
Rather talk now? (602) 281-3898
Request your Discovery Day
We will call you to set the time.
Got it. Adam will call you.
Usually within one business day, to set up your Discovery Day with the right advisor. Would you rather pick a time yourself right now?
Choose a time on the calendarThe questions we hear most, answered once, for everybody
Twelve series, sixty-four episodes, every one written as an article and recorded as a podcast. It exists because the same questions come up in meeting after meeting and most families are not in the room to hear the answer. Start anywhere.
Subscribe on YouTubeBrowse the Retirement Insights libraryFiscal Footnotes · @fiscalfootnotes
Things Ian says in almost every meeting
People doing people's jobs, and computers doing what computers should be doing, which is the repetitive stuff.Ian
We are here to optimize the client experience, not the advisors.Ian
David built the firm. My job is what comes next.Ian
What Ian is good at
What that means for you
You get an advisor who already knows your file, a firm that checks on you whether or not you call, and answers you can read or listen to before you ever book. That is Ian's job. The advice always comes from the advisor at your table.
Three offices, one team
8501 E Princess Dr, Suite 210
Scottsdale, AZ 85255
Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM Arizona time
4140 E Baseline Rd, Suite 101
Mesa, AZ 85206
Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM Arizona time
8072 W Sahara Ave, Suite A
Las Vegas, NV 89117
Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM Pacific time
Call any office, or request a time right here. Your first call is with our client care team, who match you with the advisor who fits your situation.
Book a Discovery Day(602) 281-3898