October is Financial Planning Month

Martha Shanks has been a loyal member of NAIFA since fall 2019 and has been helping her clients with reverse mortgage loans at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation since 2018. Martha started her career in real estate in 2005, continued her journey through many different positions, and is now 100% focused as a reverse mortgage planner. She has always had a desire to help people solve their financial problems, and her current role allows her to do just that. She loves helping her clients, typically people over the age of 60, to understand how a reverse mortgage works and how it can help them to live a better retirement with fewer financial worries.

Women in Insurance & Financial Services (WIFS) is a proud NAIFA Advocacy Partner. 2021 marks their 85th anniversary and NAIFA members and staff joined WIFS for their annual conference and celebration in Indianapolis. The theme for this special anniversary conference was "Shine: The Spark to Ignites at 85." 

We are #NAIFAproud of our members who are actively leading within WIFS. Especially, Toni Gonzales, LACP, loyal member since 2017. Toni was elected 2021-22 WIFS Vice President (2022-23 President) during the conference.

Allianz Life has published new research suggesting that most retirement plan sponsors and participants are interested in products with guaranteed lifetime income options.  

E4 Insurance Services invites you to join our Building Relationships Every Week (BREW) Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, from 12:00-12:30 PM CST. November is Long-Term Care Awareness Month, and we want to help you start your month with all the tools you need!

Shane Van Patten, CLTC, E4 Insurance Services Regional Vice President has been helping Financial Professionals proactively integrate insurance into their practices for the past 16+ years.

On October 19th, Andrew J. Rinn, JD, CFP, CLU, ChFC, Vice President of Advanced Marketing & Case and Competition at Ameritas (and loyal NAIFA member since 2018),  will be presenting  Life Insurance in Qualified Plans - Bridging the Retirement Planning Gap with actuary Scott McHenry. During this presentation, they will cover various topics such as how to identify potential clients and concerns, different approaches, and more.

For Danielle Humphreys, helping Americans protect their families is a way of life. 

Humphreys has been in the insurance field for over 15 years. She was introduced to the industry by her father, a lifelong State Farm agent, and started her career in his office. What started out as just a job quickly became her calling. “I just had this passion for making complex things simple,” she says. "It doesn't have to be overly complicated.”  

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) and Carefull have completed an educational partnership agreement to advance thought leadership and consumer education and promote professional cooperation between the two organizations. Under the partnership, Carefull will provide preferred access to the Carefull monitoring technology for NAIFA members, content for NAIFA blog posts and social media platforms, as well as articles around protecting and managing older adult's finances for NAIFA’s Advisor Today. 

Allen R. Bruce, CLU, ChFC, is this year’s winner of the Lang Dixon Leadership and Excellence in Achieving Diversity Award. Bruce has been in the financial and insurance industry for 52 years and has been a loyal member of NAIFA since 1973. He was the first African American to complete a full term as president of the District of Columbia Life Underwriters Association (now NAIFA-Greater Washington, D.C.) and the first African American president of the Million Dollar Round Table Foundation. 

Rock Planck has been an affiliate member of NAIFA since 2020 and is today helping clients set up financial strategies for their future. With 30 years' experience in the business, Rock was first attracted to the field as a loan officer and reverse mortgage planner due to the belief that mortgage planning should be incorporated into every financial plan (although it often is not). As Rock says, “not enough people really consider the impact that having a mortgage has on their financial picture.” Rock believes in providing knowledge to people, rather than focusing solely on having the lowest costs or rates—he is, as he says, “another tool in their toolbelt.” Rock is a firm believer that home equity needs to be acknowledged and accounted for when designing a financial plan, and that most financial planners understand that, so he usually ends up working with them.

Charlie Calderwood has been a member of NAIFA since January of 1977 and today is eagerly helping clients set up financial strategies for their future. Charlie enjoys the freedom and finances that he was able to obtain as an investment advisor, however, he points out that “with the freedom gained, there is an increased requirement for motivation and discipline.” Charlie emphasizes that his self-discipline and willingness to put in the hours required to be successful is what helped build him up as an advisor. Charlie has been working in the insurance and finances field after he completed college at Tulane University, quickly and steadily working his way up until now, where he owns his own very successful RIA firm.