MassMutual Graduates More Than 110 Special Care Planners, Strengthening Ability to Help Families in Area of Special Needs

04/30/2008- Earth Times

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., April 29  /PRNewswire/ -- Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) has graduated more than 110 Special Care Planners over the past several months, strengthening the company's ability to provide help to families in the area of special needs.
More than 100 MassMutual agents, including several general agents, graduated from the four-day program in December, comprising the largest class to date. An additional 11 agents graduated from the program in March. The agents received advanced training in estate and tax planning concepts, special needs trusts, government programs, and the emotional dynamics of working with people with disabilities and other special needs and their families, among other topics.
By doing so, they earned the Special Care Planner title that is unique to MassMutual and the insurance industry. The Special Care Planner certificate program is offered by The American College in Bryn Mawr, PA, exclusively for MassMutual financial professionals.
"Life care planning is a growing area of financial services need, as awareness and occurrence of disabilities and special needs increases across the country," said Joanne Gruszkos, director of MassMutual's SpecialCare(SM) program. "Additionally, it is an area of planning in which many financial services professionals say they experience their greatest satisfaction and renewed purpose. With the advanced training they receive through The American College, our Special Care Planners excel at helping their clients navigate the highly-complicated area of life-care planning."
MassMutual's SpecialCare is a coordinated program that helps make a difference in the quality of life for people with disabilities and other specials needs and their families and caregivers by providing access to information, specialists and financial products and services.  MassMutual's Special Care Planners help parents and caregivers with financial solutions that are appropriate for the life-care plan that has been created for the individuals with special needs.
All Special Care Planners take an Emotional Intelligence assessment to help them determine if they have the kind of emotional resiliency and personality that make them well-suited for this type of work.
The SpecialCare program is one of many ways that MassMutual supports people with disabilities and their families. The company and its local agencies also sponsor many programs that support related causes, such as Disability Awareness Night events at many minor and major league ballparks, in conjunction with Exceptional Parent Magazine and Easter Seals local Walk with Me events.
For more information about the SpecialCare program, or to obtain free educational and resource materials, visit http://www.massmutual.com/specialcare.
About MassMutual
MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliated companies and sales representatives. MassMutual and its subsidiaries have more than $500 billion in assets under management at year-end 2007. Assets under management include assets and certain external investment funds managed by MassMutual's subsidiaries.
Founded in 1851, MassMutual is a mutually owned financial protection, accumulation and income management company headquartered in Springfield, Mass. MassMutual's major affiliates include: OppenheimerFunds, Inc.; Babson Capital Management LLC; Baring Asset Management Limited; Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC; MML Investors Services, Inc., member FINRA and SIPC (http://www.finra.org/ and http://www.sipc.org/); MassMutual International LLC; and The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB. MassMutual is on the Internet at http://www.massmutual.com/.