As more and more individuals are graduating from Richer Retirement, it’s a reminder that it’s time for another installment of feedback from graduates of the course. Richer Retirement is MPower Co’s retirement planning course that walks individuals through the process of being prepared for retirement.
What is Richer Retirement: Retirement Planning Course
Richer Retirement is a three-month online course that will walk you through the retirement planning process from start to finish. The course covers expected topics like savings and investing, Social Security, but also covers topics such as gratitude and meaning, things that are important for today and during retirement.
Richer course is not written as a textbook or with sales in mind. Dr. Thia, the course author and MPower Co’s Director of Education, studied retirement planning and put all of the most relevant research and best practices into a body of work that is relatable and easy-to-implement. No specific financial products are solicited, recommended, or sold, by MPower Co in connection with this course or in connection with the company as a whole.
If you’re ready to learn more about the course, head to the Richer Retirement course page on MPower’s website to learn more about what the course covers and how it works.
What Graduates Think of Richer Retirement
As individuals finish the retirement planning course Richer Retirement, they have the opportunity to give feedback on the course. Here are ten (really eleven!) things that graduates of the course said about the course:
- “This course is enjoyable because I can learn at my own pace.”
Richer Retirement has eight units of information that have multiple lessons within each. MPower Co’s software tracks student’s progress through the course, so that students can log out and log back in and pick up where they left off.
The course lasts three months. The Units are dripped out to students during the first eight weeks of the course, allowing four weeks for catch-up time or time to re-review areas of the course. Besides the course being paced a little with respect to when Units are released, the course is completely self-paced.
Students choose when they want to work on the course. If they want to work during their lunch hour, in the evenings, or on the weekends, it doesn’t make a difference, as students have access to the course 24/7 during the three month course window.
- My goal was to hopefully be able to “check the boxes” – which thankfully I hit most.
While there is no checklist for the perfect retirement plan, there are a number of key things to consider, and Dr. Thia gives a thorough list within this retirement planning course. Dr. Thia appreciates when individuals feel reassured with respect to the retirement planning work that has already been done by individuals taking the course.
- “I appreciated your feedback/comments and felt that you read what I wrote and took time to provide personalized responses.”
As a part of Richer Retirement, students have the opportunity to communicate with the course coach at the end of each Unit. There are prompts that give students ideas of what to discuss during these communications; however, the prompts never ask for specific financial information from students and students have the sole discretion to choose what they include.
The purpose of these emails is to ensure individuals feel supported and as a way for MPower to make sure each student reaches their goal for taking this retirement planning course. Any and all personal information is treated as confidential by the course coach. This individualized support is just one reason about 80% of students that start MPower Co courses complete them, an astounding percentage for online courses!
- “I am thinking a lot about how I will redirect the 50 hours of work/work preparation time when I retire. I don’t “do nothing” very well and I do enjoy being at work.”
Being prepared for retirement is more than making sure there are adequate funds to live on. Dr. Thia makes a point of this during the course, and it is reassuring when students show that the course has them thinking in different ways with respect to preparing for retirement.
- “I did do some things that I had not done in a number of years (e.g., looked at my social security information online and reviewed my credit reports). I’m going to schedule an appointment with our retirement office to go over my benefit/pension options.”
As part of Richer Retirement, course-takers take a look at their current financial picture and the assets and resources they have available as they head toward retirement. We certainly understand life happens, and there is more to life than money. It’s always encouraging, though, when people, as a result of taking the course, take steps to ensure their financial life is in order.
- “I did learn a great deal and many things I did not realize and for that I am thankful.”
Perhaps one of the most common comments that Dr. Thia receives to Richer Retirement is that the course includes information that people do not expect. She hears that the course was eye-opening, and sometimes she gets that it is a bit shocking. It helps keep the course refreshing that it isn’t only topics that are expected.
- “We established an emergency fund!”
Here at MPower Co we will always do a happy dance when we hear about someone establishing, funding, and/or working to maintain an emergency fund. Having an adequate emergency fund is one of the most important financial tools to have on hand. In fact, we’ve written about emergency funds on our resources page, if you want to learn more about them.
- “Updated my will.”
While this was part of a list of a few things that a person said they had done as a result of the class, this deserves to be celebrated as a huge win. Estate planning is tough, and it’s a critical part of retirement planning. Having a student take time to update their will as a part of Richer Retirement, which covers estate planning in one unit, deserves credit and not being glossed over!
- “Tax implications are definitely important and also knowing which “bucket” to draw from first when I need to start dipping into my savings.”
One part of Richer Retirement dives into how assets are taxed in retirement. Some students are shocked when they learn that they will still need to file and likely pay taxes during retirement. Within the course, students are given information about how assets are taxed, so they can be strategic in their retirement years to minimize their tax bills.
- “Yes. It covers a lot of important information that everyone should know about,” and “ Yes, I think it is a good course with a lot of good information and material.
When asked if they would recommend the course to others, these were statements from two different graduates of the course. We find that 100% of people that have completed the course would also recommend the course to others. This is another sign to MPower Co that the course adds value and knowledge to course-takers about retirement planning.
Want to be Notified with Richer Retirement Registration is Open?
Richer Retirement is offered to the public three times a year. If you are interested in being notified when registration is open, join the Richer Retirement waitlist to be notified by email when the course opens!
Free Resource – Becoming a Millionaire Next Door
Besides our weekly newsletter we also have a free resource on becoming a millionaire next door. Becoming a Millionaire Next Door takes focus and time and using money wisely, like you are now set up to do with the car buying tips outlined in the article above! Click on this link to get your free download to be more financially savvy.
