Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. has developed a "chartered special needs consultant" designation.
Introduced last week in conjunction with American College, the specialty is intended to prepare financial services professionals to help families plan for the future of their special needs children.
"Children with disabilities often outlive their parents and caregivers, and that may cause a lot of parents to worry about who will take care of their children when they're gone," said John Vaccaro, a senior vice president of sales and distribution at MassMutual. "This trend is compounded by an increasingly complex set of laws governing the special needs life-care planning process."
To earn the CSNC designation, agents must pass three academic classes that build on a training program providing "special care planner" certification exclusively for MassMutual financial professionals.
"MassMutual is working with the American College because it is the unquestioned leader in financial education," said Joanne Gruszkos, the founder and director of MassMutual's SpecialCare program.
