What is a Retirement Income Certified Professional?
A retirement income certified professional (or RICP) is a financial expert who helps retirees, or people approaching retirement, develop a plan for ensuring that income needs will be met throughout retirement. which lasts sometimes 20-30 years. It involves figuring out ways to generate income from assets accumulated for retirement. There are multiple major risks that need to be addressed in a retirement income plan. These include:
- Longevity risk: the risk of living too long and outliving your assets
- Sequencing of returns risk: Negative returns in the first few years of retirement can adversely affect a portfolio when regular withdrawals are being taken
- Inflation risk: Inflation during retirement can reduce purchasing power
- Long-term care risk: Possibly needing care for an unknown period of time
- Rising health care costs: Needs to be addressed in a retirement income plan
The term RICP is a professional designation for those who want to become experts in retirement financial planning. The program was created by the American College in Bryn Mawr to prepare financial advisors to help clients plan for a retirement that could last decades.
How is an RICP different from a certified financial planner?
While a CFP deals with financial planning from a broad perspective, a retirement income certified professional is focused solely on retirement planning strategies and solutions.
An RICP addresses a range of issues connected to retirement planning, from ways retirees can use their savings, to Social Security planning, to creating a plan to make sure they are cared for if they can’t care for themselves. These advisors are trained to deal with any serious obstacles to their clients’ retirement income plans. Retirement income planning requires careful monitoring and changes as warranted as:
- Investments may change in value
- Family circumstances may change: such as an adult child having financial difficulty and temporarily (hopefully) moving in.
- The focus shifts from saving to withdrawing – Clients need to get comfortable with this change.
Why should I hire an RICP?
Retirement doesn’t mean what it used to. Tens of thousands of Baby Boomers hit the retirement age every week. People are living longer, but without the pensions that older generations could count on.
With that in mind, retirees and people who are on the verge of retirement need well-trained financial experts to help strengthen their retirement plans. When you work with a retirement income certified professional, you can trust that you’ve hired someone with the specific knowledge to recommend an appropriate strategy to give you confidence moving forward.
Based in the Philadelphia area, financial advisor Barbara Rowens is a retirement income certified professional with more than 15 years’ experience in helping people make strong financial decisions. Contact us today to receive a free consultation.