Chartered Retirement Planning Specialist℠ - CRPS®

The Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist℠, or CRPS® program educates experienced advisors on the process for building and maintaining business retirement plans. After program completion, you’ll be able to recommend implementation techniques that can be executed into well-structured, company-appropriate retirement plans. Plus, you’ll be able to effectively administer retirement plans for businesses and their employees.

The program has been updated for the SECURE Act 2.0, so you’ll gain the knowledge to help your clients take advantage of incentives available under the legislation. Learn how you can become an expert in retirement plan administration and move your career forward with the CRPS® designation.

Best Suited for:

Early- and mid-career financial advisors and plan administrators who wish to obtain specialized skills and knowledge related to building and maintaining company retirement plans.

Course Topics:

• Introduction to ERISA and the Fiduciary Standard
• Employer-Funded Defined Contribution Plans
• Participant-Directed Retirement Plans
• Retirement Plan Solutions for Small Business Owners
• Retirement Plan Selection, Design, and Implementation
• Administering ERISA-Compliant Plans
• Working with Participants

What You Earn:

Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist™ (CRPS™) designation

Stackable Credit:

Program graduates earn credit for 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 CRPS®designation package includes:

• 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.
• eBooks: 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: 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: The Practice Exam is 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 CRPS Designation

1. Industry Recognition: The CRPS designation is recognized as the industry-benchmark for retirement plan administration credentials and is endorsed by the top financial firms.
2. Tangible Career Benefits: Financial planning professionals working in a financial planning role both the year before and year after receiving their most recent specialized professional designation such as the CRPS® designation reported an average 21% earnings increase in the year after earning that professional designation.
3. Skills That Benefit You and Your Clients: Learn to better create, implement, and maintain retirement plans to benefit your clients while advancing your own financial career.
4. Stackable Credits: CRPS designees receive course credit for an elective in our MS Degree in Personal Financial Planning program. This allows you to save both time and money to earn your next degree.
5. Fulfill Continuing Education Requirements: CRPS designees earn CE hours toward renewing their CFP® certification and/or a professional designation they currently hold with the College.