Ben Allen Earns the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) Designation
- Whitaker Myers

- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
We are proud to announce that Ben Allen has officially earned the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) designation from The American College of Financial Services, one of the nation's leading institutions for financial services education.
Earning the RICP® is no small feat. The designation requires the completion of a rigorous, graduate-level curriculum covering every dimension of retirement income planning, along with comprehensive examinations. Ben's commitment to completing this program reflects something our clients already know about him: he is dedicated to continually sharpening his expertise so he can serve you at the highest level.
What Is the RICP® Designation?
While much of the financial services industry focuses on helping people accumulate wealth, the RICP® addresses an equally important — and often more complex — challenge: how to turn a lifetime of savings into reliable, sustainable income that lasts throughout retirement.
The RICP® curriculum, developed by The American College of Financial Services with input from many of the nation's top retirement income experts, dives deep into topics such as:
Retirement income strategies — structuring withdrawals from savings and investments to create dependable "retirement paychecks" while managing the risk of outliving your money
Social Security optimization — understanding claiming strategies that can meaningfully increase lifetime benefits for individuals and couples
Healthcare and long-term care planning — preparing for Medicare decisions and the potential costs of long-term care, two of the most significant risks retirees face
Tax-efficient distribution planning — coordinating withdrawals across taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free accounts to help keep more of your money working for you
Managing retirement risks — addressing longevity risk, market volatility, inflation, and sequence-of-returns risk, which can dramatically affect a portfolio in the years just before and after retirement
Legacy and estate considerations — aligning income planning with the goal of leaving a meaningful legacy
Why This Matters for Our Clients
Retirement isn't a single event — it's a phase of life that can span 25 or 30 years or more. The decisions made in the years surrounding retirement are among the most consequential a family will ever face, and many of them are irreversible. When should you claim Social Security? How much can you safely withdraw each year? How do you protect your income from market downturns early in retirement? How will healthcare costs fit into the picture?
These questions don't have one-size-fits-all answers. They require specialized training, and that is exactly what the RICP® provides. Advisors who hold the designation have demonstrated mastery of the strategies and frameworks needed to build retirement income plans that are personalized, tax-aware, and resilient in the face of uncertainty.
For our clients, Ben's new designation means added depth and confidence in the guidance you receive — whether you're a decade away from retirement and building your roadmap, approaching the transition and facing key decisions, or already retired and wanting to make sure your plan stays on track.
A Commitment to Lifelong Learning
At our firm, we believe our clients deserve advisors who never stop growing. Ben's achievement is a testament to that belief and to his genuine passion for helping families retire with clarity and confidence.
Please join us in congratulating Ben Allen on this outstanding accomplishment!
If you'd like to talk with Ben about your own retirement income plan, we invite you to reach out and schedule a conversation.



