NTSA Webcast Highlights Education Initiative

The NTSA Certified Retirement Education Specialist (CRES) initiative has been launched, and a complimentary, members-only webcast on Feb. 7 featured a panel discussion about the new program.

Panelists included Tamara Indianer of Lincoln Investment; Adam Pearce, also of Lincoln Investment; Bill Fisher of Penserv; and Paul Prete of Foresters Financial.

The CRES program seeks to improve the understanding of retirement planning options and improve participation rates in 403(b) plans. It is intended to:

• counter the shortage of available educational resources for plan sponsors;
• improve participation in K-12 403(b) programs nationally;
• overcome school access issues;
• protect employees’ ability to have a choice of retirement plans and providers;
• promote advisor best practices;
• increase membership; and
• strengthen the NTSA’s brand with plan sponsors and policymakers.

The program courses include the following:

• Planning Considerations for Public Education Employees
• Financial Literacy Education at the Public School Worksite
• Individual Consulting with Public Education Employees
• Practices Standards, Code of Conduct and Ethics for CRES

One of the models for the CRES program is that begun by a regional marketing group in Arizona. Retirement plan professionals and advisors there formed a local networking group to engage school districts in order to boost participation in plans. When a school district expresses interest in the effort, the approach is to:

• divide the response cards they receive about the program among advisors;
• contact those who submitted them within 24 hours; and
• make a presentation at schools, from which clients will result.

And their efforts are bearing fruit. Highlights of the results include:

• In the Casa Grande Elementary School District, a medium-sized district, in round 1, participation increased by 44%; in round 2, it rose by 32%. The total increase in participation was 90%.
• In the Washington Elementary School District, a large district, participation rose 12%.
• In the Mesa County School District, the largest in Arizona, the effort began in November 2017; in just eight months, the participation rate grew from 9% of eligible employees to 11%, and overall increase in participation was 21%.

There are 211 school districts in the state; they collectively have 33,250 employees on 344 sites, and there are 21 more school districts that are going to be established. The professionals who are part of the program are actively engaging in 11 school districts now.

More information about the CRES program is available here. The webcast is available on demand through Feb. 9, 2020; information is available here.