Retirement, Estate, and Credit Planning

This unit develops practical skills for managing retirement accounts and distributions, creating and safeguarding estate plans (wills, trusts, beneficiary and joint-tenancy arrangements), and protecting credit and identity. It builds on foundational budgeting and saving concepts and prepares students to implement advanced financial strategies and professional resource use in the final unit.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the tax, cash-flow, and long-term consequences of IRA actions (rollovers, transfers, conversions, required minimum distributions, withdrawals) and evaluate reverse mortgage options to recommend appropriate retirement-distribution strategies
• Apply estate-planning tools and processes—including wills, living trusts, beneficiary designations, joint tenancy, and probate-avoidance techniques—to create a documented estate-transfer plan aligned with client goals
• Evaluate credit standing and identity-theft scenarios by obtaining and interpreting credit reports/FICO scores, identifying inaccuracies, completing dispute and remediation steps, and developing a plan to reestablish credit
• Demonstrate procedures for managing consumer risk and obligations by documenting claims, interacting with debt collectors, assessing bankruptcy and credit-counseling options, and selecting appropriate insurance and service coverages