the Prime Time Years: a Critical Time to Have a Plan

CFP Board Presents Third Phase of “Lifelong Financial Strategies: 25 Tips over 25 Weeks”

WASHINGTON, DC, October 12, 2010 – Worried about saving for your child’s education, but also about caring for your parents? Thinking ever more seriously about that nest egg? Now more than ever, you need to have a plan. That’s the message to those in their “prime time years” from Eleanor Blayney, CFP®, the consumer advocate for Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.

People in this phase of their life - between the ages of 40 and 55 – are typically at a stage when their income is reaching its peak. People in this wealth building phase are, with years of hard work and perhaps a little luck, on track professionally and life has settled into a more comfortable routine. But more income often brings more responsibilities. It is during this phase that people make financial decisions that most affect their loved ones.

“The Wealth Accumulation” years is the third segment of CFP Board’s Lifelong Financial Strategies initiative, part of the non-profit’s ongoing 25th anniversary commemoration. It is being released a week ahead of National Save for Retirement Week (October 17-23), a time designated by Congress for Americans to take a closer look at saving for a comfortable retirement.

This segment focuses on those years in which many working adults assist their parents financially, put money away for their children’s education, and, all the while, hope to build the nest egg to see them through a comfortable, successful retirement.

“With income and experience come responsibilities, risk, and rewards,” Blayney said. “This life stage is about the best way to ensure that the needs of your family are correctly taken care of – and that you are putting enough away for yourself for the years to come.”

Tips for this life phase cover such topics as:

• Seeking assistance from a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM professional
• Buying long-term care insurance now, when it’s less expensive
• Having and following an investment roadmap
• Diversifying your assets
• Preparing properly for the years to come

The content is being delivered over multiple platforms. Blayney introduces these life-cycle concepts in videos, provides instruction with an audio podcast, and provides detailed advice in tip sheets. Presentations for each phase can be found on CFP Board’s web site at www.CFP.net and the consumer advocate page on Facebook. Videos will be available on YouTube and other social media websites.

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