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Announcing The Retirement Course
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. — March 5, 2025 - The American College of Financial Services is proud to announce the launch of The Retirement Course™.
The course aims to address the significant knowledge gap that research, such as The College’s Retirement Income Literacy Study, consistently finds among American consumers when it comes to financial literacy related to retirement planning. The Retirement Course™ is available to learners free of charge and focuses on key retirement topics, such as income strategies, goal-setting, health care, housing options, and the psychological aspects of retirement. The course was unveiled at Horizons, The College’s sold-out retirement planning conference taking place this week in Coronado, California.
“The more we can empower individuals with knowledge, the better prepared they’ll be to achieve positive retirement outcomes, including the ability to ask the right questions when engaging with financial professionals,” said President and CEO George Nichols III, CAP®. “At The American College of Financial Services, we have a long-standing tradition of providing unbiased, high-quality education. With The Retirement Course™, we are offering a unique opportunity for individuals who are planning to retire within the next 10 to 15 years or are already retired to gain the critical knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their retirement.”
The Retirement Course™ is designed specifically for “mass affluent” individuals, ages 50 to 67, with a household annual income of over $75,000 and investable assets of at least $100,000. These individuals tend to have complex retirement income sources and needs. They are typically within a few years of retirement, yet still have enough time to adjust their strategies for optimal retirement outcomes. The course provides unbiased, non-commercial educational content, ensuring that learners receive accurate, reliable information without a sales pitch.
The course is divided into 14 modules, covering a range of retirement topics, such as:
- Retirement psychology and finding purpose
- Income sourcing and distribution sequencing
- Long-term care, health insurance, and Medicare considerations
- Legacy planning
Each module is designed for completion in about 30 minutes or less.
“The integrity of The Retirement CourseTM lies in its unbiased content. Unlike other retirement education programs that may be linked to specific products, our course is entirely focused on helping people make better-informed decisions based on their unique needs,” said Sandy Herzlich, vice president of retirement strategy at The American College of Financial Services.
In addition to the benefits for pre- and current retirees, The Retirement Course™ offers financial advisors an invaluable tool to build and strengthen relationships with their clients and prospects. Advisors can leverage the course’s educational content to provide value to those considering their retirement options or seeking to adjust their current plans.
The course is delivered through The American College of Financial Services’ robust online platform, which ensures ease of use and access to professional, high-quality production. Those who enroll can expect an engaging and informative learning experience that is both accessible and actionable.
“By improving retirement literacy on a large scale, we aim to increase awareness around retirement planning and the pivotal decisions consumers must make as they approach or are squarely in this phase of their lives,” Nichols said. “Ultimately, our goal is twofold: to help financial professionals perform the ever-important task of educating their clients and to foster a better retirement experience for individuals, no matter how they choose to manage their retirement finances.”
For more information about The Retirement Course™, visit our course page or contact:
Sarah Tremallo
908-967-0381 / Stremallo@jconnelly.com
Jared Trexler
610-526-1268 / jared.trexler@theamericancollege.edu
ABOUT THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
Founded in 1927, The American College of Financial Services is the nation’s largest nonprofit educational institution devoted to financial services professionals. Holding the highest level of academic accreditation, The College has educated over 200,000 professionals across the United States through certificate, designation, and graduate degree programs. Its portfolio of applied knowledge also includes just-in-time learning and consumer financial education programs. The College’s faculty represents some of the foremost thought leaders in the financial services industry. Visit TheAmericanCollege.edu and connect with us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Discover all the ways you can expand your opportunities with us.
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Philanthropic Planning On-Demand Webcasts
Donor-Advised Funds as Charitable Giving Vehicle
With the increasing popularity of donor-advised funds (DAFs) as flexible philanthropic planning vehicles, it’s important to understand when they are — and when they aren’t — an appropriate charitable strategy.
Join industry experts Andrew Grumet from Holland & Knight LLP and Corey Ziegler from Greater Horizons for an engaging and informative discussion, including an overview defining DAFs, an exploration of their potential as a philanthropic planning strategy, and an in-depth look into the implications of possible legislative proposals on their functionality. See how you can meet a growing need and expand the services you offer clients!
This on-demand webcast is only available in Knowledge Hub+. Knowledge Hub+ is a robust, just-in-time learning platform delivering over 80 hours of on-demand CFP Board-approved CE by leading academics, practitioners, and thought leaders. Learn more about Knowledge Hub+ and subscribe today! College designees can access Knowledge Hub+ as a benefit of the Professional Recertification Program without having to subscribe via My Learning Hub.
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Financial Planning Practice Management Retirement Planning Research
Designations From Foundation to Specialization
In partnership with The College, FUSE Research Network surveyed 2,700 financial professionals from across the industry to produce quantitative and qualitative proof of how professionals benefit from The College’s designation and certification programs.
This 2024 Designation Outcomes Study highlights how areas of foundational and specialized knowledge can help financial professionals grow in the business, carve out a niche in their field, and thrive by offering clients services specifically catered to their particular needs. These specializations, such as retirement, philanthropy, and special needs planning can help advisors improve their career outlook and offer more services to their clients.
Diving Into Designation Outcomes
The 2024 Designation Outcomes Study begins by showcasing the benefits College designations offer to financial professionals even on a foundational level. Designations such as the Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®), Wealth Management Certified Professional® (WMCP®), and Financial Services Certified Professional® (FSCP®) provide financial professionals with a strong starting point for covering complex needs and help them better serve clients.
The correlation between a financial professional’s ability to serve complex needs and higher earnings is highlighted in a whitepaper by Cerulli Associates, “Financial Planning: Fueling Client and Business Growth.” According to their research, as financial planners increase the complexity of the services they offer, there is a noted increase in average client size and average assets under management per practice. This positive correlation suggests that there is a notable benefit to financial professionals seeking multiple designations, including specialized designations beyond any foundational designations they may pursue throughout their careers.
Advisors With Multiple Designations
Clients seeking to tackle complex issues such as retirement planning may look to specialized professionals who’ve gone beyond this foundational knowledge by pursuing additional education through designations like the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®), Chartered Special Needs Consultant® (ChSNC®), or Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®). A specialized expert holding one such designation will be capable of helping clients solve more complicated issues pertaining to their areas of expertise.
In addition, according to Designation Outcomes Study findings, when a financial professional holding one designation adds a second designation, they may see a further 9% higher growth in earnings, 5% higher growth in production, and 12% higher growth in assets under management compared to their peers with a single credential, based on respondents’ reported growth over the past three years.
How Do Specializations Impact Advisors?
The data goes on to provide further proof of the impact of designations on the success of advisors by validating the efforts of those who seek an education in a specialized field.
According to the study based on self-reported growth over the past three years, RICP® designees demonstrate:
- 26% higher growth in earnings
- 45% higher growth in number of clients
- 71% increase in client retention when compared to professionals with no designations2
These numbers emerge due to the expertise of the College alumni committing themselves to mastering these specializations and better serving the needs of their clients. While most financial professionals may be able to navigate their clients through retirement planning on some basic level, RICP® designees will be able to help them with more challenging retirement tasks such as claiming Social Security, estate and legacy planning, solutions for employee retirement plan savings, and more.
Similar findings present themselves in the area of special needs planning. Of respondents who held the ChSNC® designation:
- 63% reported a significant or moderate increase in client satisfaction
- 56% reported a significant or moderate increase in client referral rate since earning their specialized designation2.
This data suggests that clients seeking special needs services, similar to those seeking retirement planning, value an expert who has specialized knowledge in the field. Working with professionals capable of preparing for the costs of long-term care for those with special needs through management of healthcare planning and Medicaid complexities is valuable — and clients are clearly pleased when dealing with an advisor who has put it in the work to meet their needs.
Not surprisingly, the CAP® boasts similar numbers in the field of philanthropic planning. CAP® designees show:
- 9% higher growth in earnings
- 35% higher growth in number of clients
- 44% increase in client retention2
Similar to the other two designations, the CAP® acts as proof that a financial professional possesses skills found in few other places across the industry, and clients clearly value their specific skill sets.
Why Specialize?
Taking all these data points into consideration, a trend emerges indicating that clients value specialized knowledge from their financial professionals. Each designation corresponding to a specialized area of planning sees significantly improved relationships with clients, improved outcomes, and higher earnings.
For this reason, The College continues to equip financial professionals with specialized knowledge to help them reach greater heights and increase their potential value to clients. New specializations like the recent Tax Planning Certified Professional™ (TPCP™) designation demonstrate that The College is committed to providing advisors with specialized knowledge in their pursuit of lifelong learning.
More From The College
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Financial Planning Retirement Planning Insights
Navigating Social Security Fairness With Clients
Upon its passage, the SSFA was hailed as the most significant piece of Social Security reform in years due to its elimination of the so-called Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). Essentially, these decades-old provisions barred certain types of public-sector employees, like firefighters and teachers who may have already enjoyed special federal benefits, from accessing the full benefits their fellow citizens could.
Many considered the provisions to be unfair penalties on those who selflessly choose to serve others; however, some experts have pointed out the original point behind them was to prevent these employees from “double-dipping” and claiming both full Social Security and other government benefits that would put them head and shoulders above their fellow citizens. They also say that without restrictions on how much Social Security benefits they can claim, the program overall may come under greater stress and run out of money more quickly — perhaps as soon as 2032.
As Professor of Practice Steve Parrish, JD, RICP®, CLU®, ChFC®, AEP® puts it, “The challenge with the SSFA is that Congress used a hatchet rather than a scalpel. Instead of addressing the unfairness that the current law subjects certain government workers and their spouses to, it just threw out the decades-old protection provisions. So now, some government employees and spouses will, arguably, enjoy a benefit windfall that is not available to workers in the private sector — and this entails a significant fiscal cost during a time when Americans are worried about the depletion of the Social Security Trust Fund in the next decade. We have an expensive new law that many will believe to be unfair.”
While it remains to be seen what, if anything, the government will do to address persistent Social Security funding issues, here are a few things you can do right now to address the SSFA’s impact on your clients.
1. Check Your Clients’ Tax Bracket
Receiving a bigger Social Security check in the mail may be an exciting prospect for your clients — but with bigger benefits come potentially bigger tax obligations. In some cases, your clients’ upgraded benefits may move them into a higher tax bracket, as well as make them subject to greater surcharges from Medicare. Higher benefits may make these charges easier to pay, but they can be painful if unanticipated.
2. Review Clients’ Benefit Eligibility
In many cases, receiving these new government benefits puts the onus on recipients to have knowledge of and apply for them — and in cases of major regulatory change, it’s important to ensure your clients don’t fall through the cracks. Experts recommend talking with your clients about the benefits they receive and examining whether the SSFA’s changes may open up greater opportunities for them in retirement.
3. Take a Long View of Potential Changes
Experts examining the SSFA acknowledge that as the law is gradually phased into effect, it may take a while before your clients notice changes in their benefits. Some estimates put the delay at up to a year while the SSFA is implemented and the kinks worked out — so it would be a mistake for clients to up their spending or change their plans immediately.
Furthermore, changes in benefits may impact your clients’ future retirement plans now that they may have thousands of additional dollars. Working with them to see how they can maximize their wealth and get the best retirement experience for their assets is, as always, a critical consideration.
Looking for an education that plugs you into all the latest knowledge and insights from experts in Social Security, retirement planning, benefits navigation, and more? Check out the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) Program now.
More From The College
- Secure retirement planning expertise with the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) Program
- Listen to this podcast on Social Security and retirement planning