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April, 2017 InFRE Update: Volunteers Needed for the 2018 CRC® Practice Analysis Update

Kevin S. Seibert, CFP®, CRC®, CEBS – Retirement Planning and Income Management Expert, Managing Director of InFRE

By Kevin S. Seibert, CFP^®, CEBS, CRC^®, Managing Director, InFRE

The Certified Retirement Counselor^® (CRC^®) comprehensive examination is designed to ensure that all CRC^® candidates possess the necessary knowledge and skills to competently fulfill their responsibilities as retirement counseling professionals.   The validity of the CRC^® exam is dependent upon the Certified Retirement Counselor^® (CRC^®) Practice Analysis (Practice Analysis), where experienced retirement professionals determine the knowledge and skills deemed important for today’s new retirement counselors.

From the Practice Analysis then comes the CRC^® Test Specifications, which is the blueprint for the design, creation and updating of the CRC^® comprehensive examination.

2018 Practice Analysis Update Preparation

Keeping the Practice Analysis up-to-date is critically important to maintaining a credible CRC^® program and to meet National Commission for Certifying Agencies accreditation standards. The most recent update was completed in 2013 by a Practice Analysis Task Force (PATF) of twelve industry professionals who generously volunteered their time and expertise.

In early 2018, InFRE will be forming a new team of 10-12 industry subject matter experts to serve on the 2018 PATF who are reflective of the diversity of practice.  The PATF will review the 2013 practice analysis and associated test specifications and make recommendations for updates and changes based on current trends and gaps that may not have been addressed in the last study.   The focus of the PATF will be to identify:

• Changes in the practice of retirement education since the completion of the previous practice analysis study;
• Reflections concerning future directions in practice;
• Areas missing from the delineation of domains, tasks, and knowledge; and
• Any knowledge essential to the delivery of services that was not identified in the previous job analysis study.

Results of the Practice Analysis will be documented in a technical report, submitted to the InFRE Board of Standards for review, and published as an examination guideline for future CRC^® candidates.  The key to a successful Practice Analysis study of the retirement industry is having experienced and thoughtful participants on the PATF from the CRC^® certificant community.  PATF volunteers will receive ten hours of CRC^® continuing education credit and a waiver on the annual CRC^® renewal fees for two years. 

If you are interested in volunteering to be on the 2018 PATF, please contact Kirsten Smith at (214) 305-5579 or email Kirsten at ksmith@infre.org.