NAIFA Trustee Barbara A. Pietrangelo, an accomplished Financial Planner and a loyal member of NAIFA since 1992, stands out as a beacon of expertise and commitment. Her career began in 1991 at the Prudential Insurance Company of America, where she has since ascended to become the Wealth Solutions Report Financial Planner of the Year as One of the Top Women Industry Leaders for 2024. 

In celebration of Financial Literacy Month, Life Happens has created a social media toolkit of posts and graphics available to all members who utilize their social media platforms to raise awareness of the importance of financial literacy. The images are co-branded with both the NAIFA and Life Happens logos.

April is National Financial Literacy Month, an annual observation NAIFA wholeheartedly agrees with. But why is financial literacy important and what are we doing about it?

On Tuesday, April 25, Joseph Chalom, CLU®, RICP®, LUTCF, LACP, presented "Financial Wellness Concepts & Career Opportunities," a webinar for all American consumers. 

Chalom shared building blocks to help consumers become more financially secure, including:

• How to manage money
• How to protect money
• How to ensure financial security into retirement

NAIFA is dedicated to promoting financial literacy education across the United States year-round. Each April, we shine a spotlight on local, state, and national efforts to provide Americans with financial wellness education.

Raydania Peña got her first taste of financial literacy when her family immigrated from the Dominican Republic to the United States. Her mother didn’t speak English, so Peña translated bank documents for her. The more she learned, the more she wanted to use her knowledge and skills to help others in her community navigate their finances, too. But she didn’t plan to build a career in insurance and financial services. In fact, she dismissed the idea the first two times it came across her path. The third time, however, she decided to give it a try and became an agent with New York Life Insurance Company.

Medicare has several enrollment periods that allow you to enroll in or change your Medicare benefits. For individuals transitioning into Medicare, it is important to understand which enrollment period will apply to their situation and the window that it creates. Failing to apply during the appropriate enrollment period can lead to lapses in coverage and lifetime financial penalties.

Let's look at the six enrollment periods in the Medicare program.

What’s the next big frontier in financial planning? 

EveryIncome founder and CEO Ted Mekonnen answers this question and many others on The 401k Study Group podcast. Mekonnen and host Chuck Hammond discuss the role EveryIncome can play in any financial strategy.   

On November 12, author and Senior Consulting Actuary Peter Neuwirth, FSA, will join Harlan Accola, CRMP, CSA, (loyal NAIFA member since 2015 )National Reverse Mortgage Director of Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation, to present "Exploring Money Mountaineering."

This webinar will focus on Neuwirth's six foundational principles of Holistic Financial Wellness. Neuwirth and Accola will discuss how the lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis can help us prepare, psychologically and financially, for the uncertainty of the future.

The event will take place on Friday, November 12, at 2 pm eastern.

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation is an Educational Partner to NAIFA.  For members, you can learn more about Fairway and how to partner within the Member Portal.  

The purpose of an annual review is to make sure your clients remain focused on their goals and adjust accordingly. But every now and then, a client will call you mid-year asking to change something carefully prepared for them. You know what I’m talking about. A client you have known for a while. A reasonable man or woman. They come in and say they just heard about this great product on TV. They really want it. You stare at them, stone-faced. It came out of the blue. You are familiar with that product. You know it is not for them. But they are enthused about it. More importantly, they demand the product! What do you do?