Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor℠ - CRPC®

The Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor℠ (CRPC®) program is designed for experienced financial advisors who want to add retirement planning expertise for individuals to their skill set. You’ll learn to define a “road map to retirement” for your clients with a focus on pre- and post-retirement needs, as well as issues related to asset management and estate planning.

This program includes a course topic titled Understanding Social Security, Military and Government Retirement Benefits that will help you gain specialized knowledge to address the retirement planning needs for government and military employees. Learn how you can become a retirement planning expert and boost your career with the CRPC® designation.

Best Suited for:

Early- and mid-career financial professionals looking to provide more comprehensive retirement planning advice to individual clients and families.

Course Topics:

• 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 Stream
• Achieving Income Tax and Estate Planning Objectives in Retirement
• Fiduciary, Ethical, and Regulatory Issues for Advisers

What You Earn:

Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor™(CRPC™) designation

Stackable Credit:

Program graduates earn credit for:

• Course FP515 Retirement Savings and Income Planning in the College's CFP® certification education program OR
• One elective course in the College’s Master of Science Degree Program in Personal Financial Planning

Continuing Education Credit:

Program graduates earn:

• CFP® Certification CE: 28 hours
• College for Financial Planning Designation CE: 16 hours

Time to Complete:

120 days

The CRPC® Designation Package Includes:

• Live Online classes: Provide a structured schedule of instructor-led classes to keep you on track. The live class community helps you participate in the learning process and enables you to apply new skills more quickly into your client interactions. Features include:

  • Interactive infographics
  • Activities using whiteboards
  • In-class polls as part of knowledge checks
  • Additional handouts to reinforce learning
  • Real-time access to instructors to ask questions or get clarifications on challenging concepts

  Because this option is structured-pace, classes begin at certain times of the year.

• OnDemand Professional Designation Classes: You receive full access to OnDemand classes, allowing you the flexibility to complete your professional designation program at your own pace and on your schedule. Your online learning platform will guide you through all your course-related activities, from reading assignments and recorded video lectures to module quizzes and your final exam.

  Because this option is self-paced, you can begin the program at your convenience.

• eBook: Electronic textbooks are your primary resource for course content. You will receive an electronic VitalSource eBook as part of the package price. eBooks in the ePub format that are compatible with Apple iPad and MOBI/Kindle will also be available on your student dashboard. Print textbooks are available as an add-on to your package for $159 plus tax and shipping.
• Module Quizzes: Module Quizzes, located at the end of each unit in your program, are designed to gauge your comprehension of the material. You must complete the 30-question quiz for each module before moving to the next module. For questions answered incorrectly, correct answers with detailed rationales are provided to help improve your comprehension.
• Practice Exam: Designed to closely replicate the Final Exam experience in terms of the degree of difficulty, timing, format, and topical coverage. This exam can be taken twice and provides unique practice questions that you haven’t seen at this point in your studies. The Practice Exam is a sound indicator of how you will perform on your Final Exam, and it allows you to see areas of strength and weakness on your Performance Tracker.
• Final Exam: To pass the designation program, you must achieve a score of 70% or higher on the Final Exam. You have an allotted time of 3 hours to take the exam and a maximum of two attempts to pass. The grade earned on the Final Exam reflects your overall grade for the designation program.
• Community Forum: You’ll have access to a private community forum, providing an online space to collaborate and engage with your instructor and fellow students. After you complete your program, you’ll gain access to our alumni and financial planners professional communities.

Top 5 Benefits of Earning the CRPC® Designation

1. Industry Recognition: The CRPC® designation is recognized as the industry-benchmark for retirement planning credentials and is endorsed by the top financial firms.
2. Tangible Career Benefits: CRPC® professionals working in a financial planning role both the year before and year after earning their CRPC® designation reported an average 21% earnings increase in the year after earning that designation. 81% of CRPC® professionals surveyed reported an increase in their client base after earning their CRPC® designation.
3. Skills That Benefit You and Your Clients: Learn to better serve your clients' pre- and post-retirement needs while advancing your own financial career.
4. Stackable Credits: CRPC® designees receive course credit toward our CFP® certification education program or MS in Personal Financial Planning program. This allows you to save both time and money to earn your next credential or degree.
5. Fulfill Continuing Education Requirements: CRPC® designees earn CE hours toward renewing their CFP® certification and/or a professional designation they currently hold with the College.