There is Still Time to Avoid an Additional Class

There is Still Time to Avoid an Additional Class
To Complete Courses for CFP® Certification Examination

By Debra Sawyer, CPA, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®
November 18, 2011
 
 
If you or anyone in your office is thinking about obtaining the CFP® Certification, the time to start is before December 31, 2011. If you wait until January 1, 2012, you will be required to take an additional new class called the Financial Planning Development Course. This course will increase the number of contact hours required for the program by 45 hours for a total of 270 hours. Students will be required to write a financial plan for a client (real or fictitious client depending on the program) and also make an oral presentation of the financial plan.  Students who matriculate with a board register program on or before December 31, 2011 will not be required to take this new course under the grandfather clause.
 
A student is not required to finish all of the course work by the end of 2011. The student only must stay as an active student in the program. It will be up to the university’s matriculation rules for students who take a semester or more off between courses. As a result, it is possible for someone who matriculated by December 31, 2011 to be required to take the Financial Planning Development Course if they take time off from school. 
 
Individuals who want to take the CFP® Certification Examination are currently required to complete the following courses at a local or online university:
 
  • Financial Planning
  • Insurance Planning
  • Investment Planning
  • Income Tax Planning
  • Retirement Planning
  • Estate Planning

 
Depending on the program, these courses could be taught in 5 or 6 classes. Some of the programs teach the classes one night a week, while others run accelerated weekend programs that allow students to complete all of the courses and sit for the CFP® Certification Examination in under one year.
 
Students who enroll in a board registered program on January 1, 2012 or later will be required to take the Financial Plan Development Course. In addition, students who were previously allowed to challenge the CFP® Certification Examination due to another designation (CPA, J.D., CFA®, CLU® or ChFC®) or certain doctoral degrees will also be required to take this Financial Plan Development Course if they register for the March 2012 CFP® Certification Examination or later exam. These challenge students will not be required to take the other 5 or 6 courses included in a register program. They will only be required to take the Financial Plan Development Course prior to sitting for the CFP® Certification Examination. However, any challenge student who took the November 2011 CFP® Certification Examination or an earlier exam, we not be required to take the Financial Plan Development Course prior to retaking the CFP® Certification Examination.
 
The CFP Board will probably end up issuing an end date to the grandfather clause. This means that students who matriculated by December 31, 2011, but have not yet passed the CFP® Certification Examination by the end date of the grandfather clause will be required to take the Financial Plan Development Course prior to sitting for the exam (for the first time or retaking the exam). As a result, students should be encouraged to sit for the CFP® Certification Examination as soon as possible to make sure they complete the exam prior to the anticipated end date to the grandfather clause.