What Was a Certified Senior Consultant (CSC)?

A Certified Senior Consultant (CSC) was a professional with specific knowledge, education, and insight into the unique challenges in financial planning, investments, healthcare, and more faced by retirement-age adults. The designation has since been retired by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Th🌸ose who sought this designation had already become financial planners of some sort but wanted to focus on those people in and near retirement.

The Certified Senior Consultant (CSC) Program

The Certified Senior Consultant (CSC) program was a 30-hour, self-study program comprising five modules totaling 25–30 hours offered by the Institute of Business & Finance (IBF). The course included three final exams administered by the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Nꦅational Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and required 15 h🅰ours a year of continuing education for the first five years following certifi𝔍cation.

𒉰Candidates took and passed a series of courses and exams to better understand the unique decisions, especially financial decisions ꦛfaced by older populations. By law, these consultants were required to put their clients’ interests above all.

In some cases, slowing cognitive development and health conditions can add to the need for good communication between clients and their counselors. For example, CSCs often helped clients who might need nursing home care to make decisions about selling property and developing a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:stream of income that covered the high costs of long-term care.

CSC Areas of Knowledge

CSCs also had to know about government benefits that are commonly used by aꦜdults ages 65 and older. These included:

• Medicare
• Medicaid
• 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Social Security
• 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Veterans’ benefits

To provide consultants with the knoജwledge they would need to serve their clients, the six-part program focused on the following topics:

• Aging and society
• Health transitions and other choices that impact clients’ quality of life
• Financial and estate planning, focusing on adults ages 65 and older
• Government healthcare and retirement programs
• Ethical concerns

Alternatives to CSC

Though the designa⭕tion of Certified Senior Consultant is no longer recognize⛄d, there are still professionals who specialize in assisting older and retired adults.

The closest designation to a CSC is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA), which is a professional certification offered by the Society of Certified Senior Advisors. CSAs are professionals who specialize in working with older adults in a variety of fields, financial and otherwise. CSAs must pass an exam to become certified, along with completing a module on the ethics and responsibilities of serving older clients.

In addition to professional designations, there are also professionals in a variety of industries and advisory capacities who specialize in working with retirement-age clients on health, fꦜinancial, and other long-term decisions. They maꦅy have either professional training or on-the-job experience, and most of them will list this specialty along with other professional information. These include:

• Financial and estate planners
• Healthcare advisors
• Retirement planners
• Accountants and tax professionals
• Real estate agents
• Insurance professionals

The Bottom Line

Certified Senior Consultant (CSC) was a designation from the Institute of Business & Finance (IBF) for financial professionals who specialized in assisting retirement-age adults. CSCs were required to know about the financial and health challeng☂es specific to older populations, as well as how to navigate government benefit programs such as Social Security, SSI, Medicare, Medicaid, and veterans’ benefits.

The Certified Senior Consultant designation is no longer offered and is not recognized by the Financial Industry Re𒁃gulatory Authority (FINRA).