Business & Aging Networker

The Business & Aging Networker

Spring 2001

Financial Advisers for the Older Adult Market: Improving Skills, Providing Certification

The push to set professional qualifications for financial advisers who work with older adults is gaining enormous momentum. The reasons are both demographic and economic. In the United States today, 35 million people ages 65 and older control about 50 percent of the wealth. By 2011, the baby boom generation will start turning 65, and by 2030 more than one in five Americans will be 65 or older. With concerns about income, savings, investments and estate planning unique to their age group, this growing population requires specialized financial services.

Responding to the need, financial professionals have been looking to the elder market as a promising place for career fulfillment. A number of professional organizations and training programs have emerged in recent years to give these professionals the skills and information they need and to provide them with certifications that help clients select them as competent and trusted financial advisers. Following is an overview of the key national associations and programs established in recent years to advance professional standards and certification in this field.

The Society of Certified Senior Advisors (SCSA) was founded in 1996 by Ed Pittock on the basis of his meetings with geriatric MDs, gerontologists, elder law attorneys, certified financial planners (CFPs) and certified public accountants (CPAs). The society offers training by professionals from a variety of industries. The program covers general aging-related issues such as health and nutrition, caregiving, long-term care, spirituality, and grief and loss; financial topics such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid issues and financial and estate planning; and business concerns such as marketing to older adults and ethics in the elder market.

Currently, 3,000 individuals have earned the society's designation of "certified senior adviser." The composition of the organization is distinctive: Seventy percent of the members come from the insurance and financial industries, and the balance from fields such as law, healthcare, social services and gerontology. The organization offers live and correspondence classes; applicants for certification must pass an exam. The organization provides continuing education programs for local chapters of the National Association of Insurance Financial Advisors through accredited colleges. Visit the SCSA website at www.society-csa.com.

The Institute of Elder Planning Studies was founded by Tyrone Clark in 1995 to offer the designation of "certified elder planning specialist" to life insurance agents. The institute's curriculum was developed by a board of advisers who are renowned experts in their field: Dana Shilling, author of several books aimed at financial advisers who work in the older adult market; Jerry Bennett, a financial specialist on widows and widowers; and Bruce Wells, a motivational speaker, humorist and writer on older adult financial planning.

The training covers such subjects as financial strategies, life insurance, long-term care, Medicare and Medicaid planning, and estate and tax planning concepts, all geared specifically to the older adult market. Participants consists of seasoned life insurance agents who have a high level of sales experience in the field and who specialize in the elder market. The course is available by correspondence, but the certification exam is given in person by a proctor.

The goal of the training and certification is to provide agents with education, credibility, and competence in all areas of older adult estate planning. The institute's network of certified professionals, the National Registry of Elder Planning Advisers, has grown to approximately 300 members today. The national registry provides elder consumers access to background information on the certified adviser's education and experience, as well as a report on any complaints filed against them.

In January 1995, Rex Black and his partner, Mike Richmond, started The Liberty Institute. They felt the time had come to create a benchmark for estate planning professionals due to the growth of the industry, the need for educational resources on the subject and the absence of specialized certification for estate planners. Since then, 3,000 practitioners have taken the institute's certification course either on location or through correspondence.

The training covers a wide variety of subjects, such as taxation, estate planning, fraudulent conveyances and ownership, advanced Medicaid planning, insurance applications, and tort and contract law. Graduates are typically financial planners including CFPs, CPAs, certified life underwriters and attorneys who have been in the business 15 to 20 years. Those who successfully complete the training receive the designation of "certified estate planner."

The certification is registered at the National Board of Trademarks, and graduates become members of the National Council of Certified Estate Planners. Members in good standing are listed on the council's website (www.nationalcep.com). The institute also provides support to its members through sales of seminar presentations for clients and through a host of interrelated vendors offering quality financial products. Visit The Liberty Institute website at www.libertyinstitute.com.

The Corporation for Long-Term Care Certification (CLTC) was formed by Harley Gordon in 1999. The goal of the organization is to train professionals to sell long-term care (LTC) services. To date, there are approximately 750 members; another 750 people have signed up for the course. Designation by the corporation as a long-term care professional is endorsed by many of the large insurance carriers. Graduates are insurance agents, estate attorneys, CPAs and financial planners.

The training program emphasizes selling long-term care insurance and using it as a cross-promotional item with other core products. The course covers eight key subjects: the history of long-term care, LTC services, the economics of LTC insurance, Medicaid planning, the particulars of LTC insurance policies, proper implementation, estate planning and rules of ethical conduct. The course is offered by correspondence or as a three-day program on location. Certification is based on a written exam. Visit the cltc website at www.ltc-cltc.com.

Certification is a key professional tool for working as a financial adviser for older adults today. Elders are a population with unique qualities. Without knowledge of these qualities, advisers may inadvertently display stereotypical attitudes, lack understanding of older adults' spiritual and ethical values, and be unable to comprehend their psyches and their reasons for making financial decisions.

Such limitations can lead professionals to make inaccurate judgments and negligent recommendations. The most common misconceptions about elders that can hinder the effectiveness of financial services advisers include the notion that older adults are helpless, that they don't merit attention because age has rendered them irrelevant, and that they are set in their ways and unable to accept professional advice. To escape such thinking, professionals working in the older market need specialized training, understanding, patience and flexibility. Most importantly, they must build a relationship with each client on the client's own terms.

Joseph Solomon hosts a radio show, Senior Focus, heard every Saturday on krla in Los Angeles and writes a monthly column for the Glendale News Press, the San Fernando Valley edition of the Los Angeles Times. He provides older adult seminars and financial services to clients in Los Angeles. Contact him at (818) 995-5575 or jsfg@reducemytaxes.com.