Please join us for lunch at 11:30 - the meeting will begin at 12:00!

Program Description

Preparing for Retirement

Ben and Misty will dive into the overwhelming number of retirement decisions facing every employee as they approach their golden years. They will further discuss the implications these decisions can have on a company’s HR/benefits department. From Social Security to distributions to RMDs to Medicare; you will walk away with a much deeper understanding of the challenges and deadlines each of your employees will eventually face.

Speaker Bio

Ben Francis is the Director of Retirement Income and Investment Operations with Bryce Thomas at Northwestern Mutual. With over a decade and a half of experience helping clients plan for and realize their retirement goals, Ben works with his team to address the specific challenges that arise leading up to, during, and after the transition from accumulation into the decumulation phase of life. Social Security, distribution planning, income generation, investment strategies, and risk management are some of the areas they review with clients on an ongoing basis. While this transition is never the same for any individual or couple, it can be a smooth and rewarding journey when handled with the attention and care that Ben and our team provide.

Ben brings a great deal of experience with a Master of Science in Financial Services from The American College, a Bachelor of Science in Accounting & Finance from UT-Chattanooga, and an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts from the Le Cordon Blue program at Pennsylvania Culinary Institute. Ben holds the following designations in the insurance and financial planning industry: CFP® (Certified Financial Planner™), CLU® (Chartered Life Underwriter), ChFC® (Chartered Financial Consultant) , WMCP® (Wealth Mgmt Certified Professional), and RICP® (Retirement Income Certified Professional), & the Series 7, 6, and 63 designations.

Ben enjoys traveling the world in his spare time with a goal to reach his last and final continent, Antarctica by the end of 2022. While abroad, he spends much of his time interacting with locals to get a true sense of what life is like in other cultures. Ben is particularly interested in learning from the people he meets as he witnesses their resilience in the face of so many different, and often challenging political, market, and religious environments.

Misty Bolt a native Chattanooga with a love for life and people. She's a wife to a retired Air Force Sergeant, who inspires her to continue to do what she loves, a devoted mother and owner of her individual Medicare Broker business, now a top agency with a team of 30 agents across 23 states. God and her family are her top priorities, in the order, yet it’s her clients who teach her daily how to be a good agent and she is grateful for their trust placed in her. Best of all many of them are also her friends and mentors, and they inspire her to keep doing what she does everyday! When not with her family or working, she enjoys working on her Magazine, traveling and volunteering in My Mobil MedicareBus for a number of organizations in town for which she is passionate about:  The Senior Olympics, The Special Olympics, The Kidney Foundation, Room in the Inn, Cancer Society, MOMENTUM, Kidney Foundation and many more! 

Recerticification Credits

SHRM 1.0; HRCI 1.0 (pending)

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