To help financial advisors better address the complex issues facing aging clientele and their families, the Financial Planning Association is teaming up with two authorities in elder planning to offer a comprehensive 10-week online training program.
The Elder Planning Specialist Program was created by Annalee Kruger and Bob Mauterstock, CFP, co-founders of Plan4Life, LLC. The program includes a real-life case study format, weekly lectures by nationally recognized experts, tools and resources, and a marketing plan to differentiate those completing the program. Guest experts will cover critical areas of elder planning, including legal planning, long-term care planning, end-of-life planning, and running family meetings.
“How powerful to be a financial planner who asks the right questions, identifies clients’ needs outside of portfolio management, and differentiates themself from the thousands of other professionals in meeting the holistic needs of families they work with,” says Kruger. “The Elder Planning Specialist Program was designed to position today’s financial planner to support elderly clients and their caregivers in making sound decisions. We are honored to work with FPA to make this life-changing program more widely available to financial planners across the country.”
Mauterstock adds, “Financial planners must meet the needs of their older clients or they will be losing access to the fastest growing, most profitable segment of the market. We are confident that the Elder Planning Specialist Program will help financial planners meet that need.”
Their original program was brought online with Salem State University. Bob Powell, CFP, who joined the Plan4Life, LLC team three years ago, spearheaded that effort.
The first cohort of the self-paced program begins on March 27. Participating financial planners must complete all requirements for each session within one week and should plan to allocate up to five hours each week to the program. The weekly schedule includes the following:
- Week 1: Understanding the Aging Process and the Caregiver’s Role
- Week 2: Diversity and Aging and Insights into Retirees 85 and Older
- Week 3: Legal Issues of Aging
- Week 4: Increasing Approaches to Planning for Extended or Long-term Care
- Week 5: Social Security and Medicare Planning
- Week 6: Diminished Capacity, Elder Abuse, End-of-Life Plans
- Week 7: Structuring and Conducting the Family Meeting / Ethical Will / Legacy Letter
- Week 8: Developing a Marketing Plan
- Weeks 9: Building an Elder Planning Team
- Week 10: Creating and Presenting Your Aging Plan
Live discussions with each week’s expert may facilitate deeper exploration of the topics. Weekly quizzes and a final exam will measure individual progress. The Elder Care Planning Specialist program is powered by FPA’s on line learning platform.
The program qualifies for 10 CFP® CE credits. It is available to FPA members for $1,195 and nonmembers for $1,495. Participants receive a certificate of completion showing their specialized elder planning training.
Registration for the first cohort is now available on the FPA website. A recording of an informational session about the program is available on-demand.
