MassMutual Graduates First Class of Chartered Special Needs Consultants

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., June 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) announced the conferment of the first class of agents to receive the newly developed Chartered Special Needs Consultant (ChSNC™) designation today.

Thirty graduates were conferred this month. The designation, launched in conjunction with The American College, better prepares financial services professionals to help families with special needs plan for their children's future proactively.

The ChSNC curriculum initially is available only to MassMutual and its agents and grew from the company's SpecialCare(SM) program, which gives families access to information, specialists, financial products and services that can help improve the quality of life for people with disabilities and special needs. The designation will be available industry-wide in 2013.

MassMutual agent Gary Wise, a 20-year veteran in helping develop life-care plans*for families with special needs, said the additional training is a nod to families who deserve and can now demand highly qualified financial professionals to work on their financial future.

"This is further affirmation for those of us who have worked in this field for so long. I am proud to work with a company like MassMutual who values this kind of training," said Wise, a financial professional in MassMutual's Toledo general agency, Seymour & Associates, said.

MassMutual agent James Traylor, a guardian to his sister with the genetic disorder Williams Syndrome, said oversight and training when working with special needs is critical.

"To have the American College recognize that this specialty should be accredited and given oversight is so important. This is a discipline that helps a very vulnerable population. The stakes are high and simple errors could cost someone a group home placement or other benefits critical to their quality of life," said Traylor from MassMutual's Rochester, NY general agency, Financial Architects.

In order to earn the new designation, financial services professionals must complete a rigorous set of three academic classes that build on an earlier training program that provided a Special Care Planner certification exclusively for MassMutual financial professionals. The new designation requires completion of several additional classroom hours and passing grades on a series of exams to test basic knowledge.

MassMutual has been reaching out since 2004 to the families of the over five million children with special needs in America** through its SpecialCare program and has experienced the quickly growing need for help with life care planning. Partly in answer to this growing unmet need, MassMutual has joined forces with Easter Seals to sponsor research on autism and adults with special needs, supported the development of a documentary on the issues that children with autism face upon becoming adults and has been providing educational resources to help parents and their children meet the challenges of life-care planning.

Financial professionals who achieve the ChSNC will have completed 120 hours study at the American College over three courses developed by recognized experts in the field.

The first course is an introductory session developed to provide orientation to working with individuals with disabilities and their families. The subsequent two classes cover such topics as the importance of special needs trusts, taxation issues, wills, powers-of-attorney and guardianships and how to successfully incorporate the Special Needs Community into financial needs practices.

For more information about MassMutual's SpecialCare program visit MassMutual's SpecialCare resource center at www.massmutual.com/specialcare.

* A Life Care Plan is a coordinated program of future care planning, financial, and legal strategies for people with disabilities and their families. A Life Care Plan continually changes throughout an individual's lifetime and is provided by a team that may include legal and tax advisors as well as insurance and investment professionals.

**According to the US Census Bureau's 2006 Americans with Disabilities report

About MassMutual

Founded in 1851, MassMutual is a leading mutual life insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and participating policyholders. The company has a long history of financial strength and strong performance, and although dividends are not guaranteed, MassMutual has paid dividends to eligible participating policyholders every year since the 1860s. With whole life insurance as its foundation, MassMutual provides products to help meet the financial needs of clients, such as life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, retirement/401(k) plan services, and annuities. In addition, the company's strong and growing network of financial professionals helps clients make good financial decisions for the long-term.

MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliated companies and sales representatives. MassMutual is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts and its major affiliates include: Babson Capital Management LLC; Baring Asset Management Limited; Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC; The First Mercantile Trust Company; MassMutual International LLC; MML Investors Services, LLC, Member FINRA and SIPC; OppenheimerFunds, Inc.; and The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB.

For more information, visit www.massmutual.com or 'Like" MassMutual on Facebook.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Patty Norris Lubold
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SOURCE MassMutual