CRPC^® Designation: Demonstrate the Retirement Planning Expertise Clients Demand

The CRPC^® designation is the end result of a comprehensive program that helps financial advisors master the entire retirement planning process, going far beyond retirement income. With financial decisions that will determine their security and lifestyle for the balance of their lives, people born in the early 1960s are demanding a high level of knowledge from their advisors. This program is designed to help retirement planning counselors to meet these demands. This article provides an overview of the program.

Why the CRPC® Designation?

The youngest of the “baby boomer” generation, people born in 1964, are now solidly into their mid-50s, so retirement is weighing heavily on their minds. In fact, in a recent national survey of financial advisors, the College for Financial Planning®—a Kaplan Company found that more than three-quarters of their clients are “concerned” or “very concerned” about their retirement savings programs, and well over half worry about actually outliving their assets.

So, it’s not at all surprising that financial advisors are facing an increasingly complex onslaught of retirement planning questions as these baby boomers look for advice on when they’ll be able to retire, as well as guidance in finding investments to meet their lifestyle needs in 10 years, 20 years, or beyond.

Recognizing these challenges, the College for Financial Planning®—a Kaplan Company has created the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor℠ (CRPC®) education and designation program.

What is the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor℠ (CRPC®) Designation?

The CRPC^® helps financial advisors by guiding them through specialized tax and estate objectives and strategies for a retiree and presents the unique financial and emotional aspects of financial planning that are unique to the retirement process. In short, the program helps advisors define a “road map to retirement,” enabling them to focus on the pre- and post-retirement needs of their clients.

The CRPC^® designation is the industry benchmark for retirement planning credentials and is encouraged by the top firms in the industry.

According to a recent College for Financial Planning report, CRPC^® professionals surveyed working in a financial planning role both the year before and the year after earning their CRPC^® designation reported an average 10% earnings increase in the year after earning that designation.*

About the CRPC® Designation Program

The CRPC^® Professional Education Program is a three-semester credit graduate-level course. The nine modules in the course are:

• Maximizing the Client Experience During the Retirement Planning Process

• Principles and Strategies When Investing for Retirement

• Understanding Social Security, Military and Government Retirement Benefits

• Bridging the Income Gap: Identifying Other Sources of Retirement Income

• Navigating Health Care Options in Retirement

• Making the Emotional and Financial Transition to Retirement

• Designing Optimal Retirement Income Streams

• Achieving Tax and Estate Planning Objectives in Retirement

• Fiduciary, Ethical, and Regulatory Issues for Advisers

The typical student should expect to spend approximately 90–135 hours on course-related activities to study and prepare adequately for the course examination. The CRPC^® course also does double-duty for professionals who are considering a master’s degree: designees receive direct credit for one course in the CFFP MS in Personal Financial Planning program, saving them time and money while enabling them to pursue multiple credentials.

Learn More

Many leading financial advisory firms endorse the CRPC^® designation and will reimburse advisors for course-related expenses. For more information, visit the College’s website.