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RICP®

Retirement Income Certified Professional®

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Best For

Financial professionals seeking flexible retirement planning education.

Timing

<4 Months

Format

Set yourself apart as a certified retirement planner through our online curriculum and support from the nation’s preeminent retirement planning thought leaders.

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Tuition

Starting at  
$995/course 

Packages available with reduced tuition.

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Prepare for Peak 65 Planning

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Specialize for Success

Deliver holistic guidance that supports long-term security to enhance your value to clients and build relationships.

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Take the Fast-Track

CFP® professionals and ChFC®s can earn their RICP® faster with only two courses — and save $845!

Get Started Today
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Flexible Learning Options

Complete each course in as little as five weeks or take up to 10 weeks with the fully online RICP® Program.

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Specialize in Retirement Income Planning

Tour the Program Now

Join Program Director Eric Ludwig, PhD, CFP® and Assistant Provost Elizabeth Pearsall, PhD for a look inside the RICP® Program and a curriculum overview!

Take a Tour
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Admissions Requirements

There are no prerequisite courses, financial planning certifications, or prior experience in retirement income planning required to begin the RICP® Program, but you must have three years’ experience in financial planning or a related profession to use the designation.

To earn the RICP® designation, you must:

  1. Successfully complete two required courses and one elective course (only two required courses for CFP® professionals and ChFC®s since the elective has already been satisfied)
  2. Agree to comply with The American College Code of Ethics and Procedures

Participation in the annual Professional Recertification Program is required to maintain the designation.

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What You'll Learn

As a financial planning certification specializing in retirement planning, the all-online RICP® Program gives you the practical, applicable knowledge to build sustainable, holistic, and integrated retirement income strategies for every client situation and income style covering all of these elements:

  • Strategies for Social Security claiming
  • Approaches to contain healthcare and long-term care costs
  • Tools for estate and legacy planning
  • Managing taxation
  • Solutions for employee retirement plan savings
  • Investments, annuities, and other products
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Course Delivery

Earn your retirement planning designation online while studying the curriculum at your own pace and get support from our academic advising team and the top thought leaders in the industry today.

  • Finish Faster: An accelerated learning path enables you to complete each course in as little as five weeks, though you have up to 10 weeks!
  • All-Online Resources: All-virtual lessons organized in sequential units and supported by short videos, knowledge checks, quizzes, and case studies.
  • Flexible Start Dates: Courses start the first Monday of each month and are accompanied by a “welcome” unit which is available two weeks before your start date. Register up to a month before or as late as two weeks after the course has started.
  • Grading: Earn a final course grade of 70% or higher to pass, and quizzes count toward your final grades.
  • Testing: There is no high-stakes final cumulative exam in the RICP® Program; each course features its own exams, quizzes, and knowledge checks. 
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Tuition Overview

Single Courses

Just $995 per course

Single courses in the RICP® Program are only $995 each. To complete the full program, complete three courses (two required courses and one elective) or only two required courses if you are a CFP® Professional or ChFC® designee. Eligible courses include:

  • RICP 353 Retirement Income Process, Strategies and Solutions (Required) — Covers the process of creating an effective retirement income plan, including evaluating client goals, possible risks, and overall management strategies.
  • RICP 354 Sources of Retirement Income (Required) — Explores sources of retirement income, including their application in building a retirement income portfolio.
  • RICP 355 Managing the Retirement Income Plan (Elective) — Focuses on initial and ongoing retirement income plan management, including choosing the appropriate tax-efficient distribution options, navigating Medicare and other health care options, preparing clients for long-term care needs, and more.
  • HS 326 Planning for Retirement Needs (Elective) — Focuses on helping businesses and individuals plan for retirement.

Three-Course Package

$2,695

Purchase the full RICP® Program containing all three courses for only $2,695 (a $290 savings from individual course purchases!). Then take the two required courses plus one elective of your choice:

  • RICP 353 Retirement Income Process, Strategies and Solutions (Required) — Covers the process of creating an effective retirement income plan, including evaluating client goals, possible risks, and overall management strategies.
  • RICP 354 Sources of Retirement Income (Required) — Explores sources of retirement income, including their application in building a retirement income portfolio.
  • RICP 355 Managing the Retirement Income Plan (Elective) — Focuses on initial and ongoing retirement income plan management, including choosing the appropriate tax-efficient distribution options, navigating Medicare and other health care options, preparing clients for long-term care needs, and more.
  • HS 326 Planning for Retirement Needs (Elective) — Focuses on helping businesses and individuals plan for retirement.

Two-Course Package

$1,850

For financial professionals who have earned their CFP® mark or their Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®) designation (as well as those who have completed course HS 326 Planning for Retirement Needs), you can earn your RICP® with only two courses! With your elective requirement fulfilled, purchase a two-course package for $1,850 containing the two required courses and save $845.

Your two-course package includes:

  • RICP 353 Retirement Income Process, Strategies and Solutions (Required) — Covers the process of creating an effective retirement income plan, including evaluating client goals, possible risks, and overall management strategies.
  • RICP 354 Sources of Retirement Income (Required) — Explores sources of retirement income, including their application in building a retirement income portfolio.
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Enroll Now If:

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You Want to Specialize in Clients’ Top Service

One Size Does Not Fit All

71% of your peers realize clients’ need for a retirement planning specialist3, and clients pick retirement planning as their most-desired service.4

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You Need More Than Foundational Skills

Gain Unmatched, In-Depth Knowledge

Only 18% of the CFP® exam covers retirement1 – and most other retirement designations are introductory or incomplete and don’t apply the concepts taught in an integrated manner.

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You Want to Catch the Peak 65 Wave

Secure Your Share of a Growing Client Pool

12,000+ baby boomers are retiring every day — and there’s a "massive expectations gap" between the retirement planning services clients want and those your peers deliver4.

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What Your Peers Say

83%

Of RICP® designees report notable improvement in client conversations.1

91%

Of RICP® designees report notable improvement in their retirement planning expertise.1

45%

Higher growth in client retention reported by professionals with multiple College designations than those with one designation.1

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The difference between your client having a $900,000 nest egg and having maybe more than $3 million in the bank can sometimes be as simple as a few small adjustments – and that’s the knowledge the RICP® has given me.

Terry Parham, Jr., MSFP, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®, RICP®, WMCP®

Founder & Wealth Advisor, Innovative Wealth Building

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As a young advisor, earning the RICP® designation has helped me better understand the challenges our clients are facing as they approach retirement. Being able to confidently discuss their options and introduce new strategies has been a huge building block for my career.

Claire Herrmann, CFP®, RICP®

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The RICP® set the course for me as a career-changer. The coursework fit perfectly into my commute back and forth to my active duty position and has positioned me for a massive impact as I transition to financial planning. The RICP® changed my life and set me up for getting my dream position.

Lawrence Raymond, RICP®

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I’ve got more value from my RICP® than from all of my other designations combined. It shifted how I do financial planning dramatically. I have extreme confidence in my planning and it allows me to help clients make the right decisions – decisions that will impact them for decades.

Avshalom Gad, CFP®, RICP®, WMCP®, LLB, ChFC®, CLU®

Financial Advisor, Eagle Strategies LLC

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The RICP® is wonderful post-CFP® certification material for anyone that's interested in a retirement income planning designation. I learned a lot of relevant information that I can apply immediately in my practice.

Joseph Pearl, CFP®, RICP®

Financial Advisor, Northwestern Mutual

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Learn From the Leaders in Retirement Planning

Eric Ludwig

PhD, CFP®, RICP®

Director of the Center for Retirement Income, Program Director for the Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP®) Program

Read Bio

Steve Parrish

JD, RICP®, CLU®, ChFC®, AEP®

Professor of Practice and a Scholar in Residence at the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics in Financial Services

Read Bio

Wade D. Pfau

PhD, CFA, RICP®

Professor of Practice

Read Bio
Ed Slott

Ed Slott

CPA

Professor of Practice

Read Bio

Martin L. Bretz

CLU®, ChFC®, CASL®, RICP®

Read Bio

Barry Feigenbaum

MA, MBA, RICP®, CFEI®

Adjunct Faculty

Read Bio

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Eric Ludwig

PhD, CFP®, RICP®

Director of the Center for Retirement Income, Program Director for the Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP®) Program

Read Bio

Steve Parrish

JD, RICP®, CLU®, ChFC®, AEP®

Professor of Practice and a Scholar in Residence at the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics in Financial Services

Read Bio

Wade D. Pfau

PhD, CFA, RICP®

Professor of Practice

Read Bio
Ed Slott

Ed Slott

CPA

Professor of Practice

Read Bio

Martin L. Bretz

CLU®, ChFC®, CASL®, RICP®

Read Bio

Barry Feigenbaum

MA, MBA, RICP®, CFEI®

Adjunct Faculty

Read Bio
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There’s Even More to Explore

Download the Brochure

Read more about the RICP®

Access the Program Demo

Hear from a peer, a professor, and take a tour

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View a Competitive Analysis

See where the RICP® stands compared to other retirement planning certifications

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RICP® Program FAQs

The Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) is a specialized certification for retirement income planning offered by The American College of Financial Services. The RICP® designation gives aspiring retirement income planners the knowledge and expertise to build sustainable, holistic, and integrated retirement income strategies for every client situation and retirement income style. It is similar in concept to designations such as the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor® (CRPC®), but offers a more advanced curriculum with a focus on integrated and applicable strategies to help you become a retirement planning specialist.

To become a successful retirement advisor through the RICP® designation program, you must complete all courses needed for the program, including all associated classwork and a final exam for each course. These online courses make earning this financial planning certification easier to tailor to your busy schedule.

RICP 353, 354, and 355 are ten-week courses but can be completed in as little as five weeks.

Yes! Learners can move through the course at their own pace. However, each unit builds on the previous one, and all learning activities within a unit must be completed before proceeding. To be eligible for the final exam, students must score at least 70% on all learning activities. While students may complete their exam before Week Five, their final course grade will not be posted until Week Five.

Learners must earn a final course grade of 70% or higher. The final course grade is a combination of required coursework which consists of quizzes and multiple-choice mini case studies (30% weight) and a 100-question final exam (70% weight.)

Learners who complete their course during the first five weeks will have their final grade posted at the end of Week Five. Learners who finish between Week Six and Week 10 will have their grades posted within two business days of completion.

There have been some important updates to the content in the new versions of the RICP® that are important to existing learners in the program. You can stay the course and continue in the existing RICP® Program or switch to the enhanced RICP® by reaching out to our RICP® advising team at RICPadvising@TheAmericanCollege.edu. Our academic advisors are ready to help you with the transition!

The RICP® Program is designed to be taken in the following sequential order:

  1. Required Course - RICP 353: Retirement Income Process, Strategies and Solutions
  2. Required Course - RICP 354: Sources of Retirement Income
  3. Elective Course - RICP 355: Managing Retirement Income or HS 326 Planning for Retirement Needs

The RICP® Program can now be completed in as few as four months.

Yes! Learners who are recertifying designations earned through The College can use the new RICP® courses toward your Professional Recertification Program (PRP) CE requirement.

The Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) designation can be completed in four months or less and is considered a specialized financial planning certification for professionals who want advanced knowledge in the field of retirement income planning. According to FUSE Research’s 2024 Designation Outcomes Study, advisors who earn the RICP® designation report 71% higher growth in client retention, 45% higher growth in their number of clients served, and 26% higher growth in earnings over a three-year period than their peers with no designations.

Adding the RICP® to complement another financial planning certification brings with it even greater benefits. Along with becoming a retirement planning specialist able to serve the 12,000+ Baby Boomers retiring every day better, advisors with multiple College designations showed an additional 45% higher growth in client retention and 19% higher growth in earnings than those with no designations. With stackable course credits, the RICP® designation fits perfectly into a lifelong learning path that can start with a foundational financial planning certification program like the Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®) designation — which, if completed, allows those earning their RICP® to do it in two courses rather than three.

Each course follows a 10-week preferred schedule, however you can finish each course in as little as five weeks and then prepare to take your final course exam. You can expect to spend around 8-10 hours per week to complete each of the three courses. You must complete the entire three-course program within five years of enrollment; otherwise, you will be required to re-enroll. 

You only need a high school diploma or the equivalent to begin the program. However, in order to be awarded and to use the designation, you must have at least three years of experience in financial planning or a related profession. For more information, view Admissions Requirements above.

footnotes

1 FUSE Research Network. The American College of Financial Services Designation Outcomes Study. 2024. Based on reported three-year growth.

2 The American College of Financial Services. RIA Growth and Specialized Knowledge Survey. 2022.

3 CFP Board. 2025.

4 Spectrem Group. Expectations Not Always Predictable. 7/27/2021.

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