George has spent the past thirty-seven (37) years helping individuals and organizations protect and invest for their future. He is committed to helping his clients use insurance and securities products to prepare for and thrive during various, key life stages.

George earned both his Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. He has been an NASD/FINRA licensed securities representative since 1980, and has held his life, health and accident insurance licenses since 1973.

Prior to his career in insurance and securities, George was an economics instructor in the University of Wisconsin system.

Tony has spent the past fifteen (15) years helping companies manage and maximize their employee benefit plans. He is committed to helping businesses compete in a rapidly changing global economy and to helping workers save, invest and protect for a brighter future.

Tony earned a Master of Arts degree from The Ohio State University and Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin – LaCrosse. He was conferred as a Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) through the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Tony is a FINRA Series 7 and 63 Registered Representative, a NASD Series 65 Registered Investment Advisor, and holds his life, health and accident insurance licenses in multiple states.

Prior to his career in employee benefits, Tony served as a U.S. Army Field Artillery Officer.

Richfield recently introduced the Financial Readiness $tudyhall®, an online tool designed to give employees access to real-time, web-based financial education events hosted by a knowledgeable instructor.  Events include the full curriculum of Financial Readiness workshops and narrowly-focused special topic sessions.

Richfield is pleased to share the aggregate results of the Financial Readiness workshop satisfaction surveys accumulated during the past three years:

• 98.0% of all attendees rated the information presented as “Excellent” or “Good”
• 98.3% of all attendees rated the workshop presenters as “Excellent” or “Good”
• 98.6% of all attendees rated the overall workshops as “Excellent” or “Good”

Richfield provides each customer with a brief report summarizing survey results, so existing education resources can be maximized and financial education opportunities can be expanded based on employee input.

In response to customer requests for more employee financial education, Richfield recently introduced two new Financial Readiness workshops:

• Advanced Investment Concepts expands employee understanding of risk, asset classes, performance metrics, and work- and public-domain resources
• Keep More of What You Earn teaches employees how to maximize budgeting, spending and savings opportunities

We are pleased to announce that one of our Financial Readiness Services clients, M. A. Mortenson Company, was recently named by PlanSponsor Magazine as its Corporate Plan Sponsor of the Year for efforts to educate teammates about issues related to personal finance.

Mortenson is a privately-held diversified construction company headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, and engaged in construction projects throughout the United States and around the world. The organization cares deeply about its teammates, strives for excellence in everything it does, and exemplifies the role business leaders play in building stronger communities.

To learn more, click here.

Richfield and its client, M. A. Mortenson Company, received two prestigious awards from the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA) for employee communications and education.

Both companies’ efforts to provide financial readiness materials and workshops were recognized in the “Retirement Readiness” category, and the combined efforts of Mortenson, Richfield and the client’s 401(k) administrator merited a “Best of Show” award.

To learn more, click here.

Richfield and its client, Coakley Bros. Co., were featured in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel in an article written by Avrum Lank titled “Fiscal Fitness At Work.”

The article illustrates the need many workers have for obtaining objective financial education and the value forward-thinking employers place on a financially healthy workforce.

To Peggy Coakley, President of Coakley Bros. Co., “teaching workers the ABCs of personal finance is as important as encouraging them to stop smoking or to lay off fast food.”

To learn more, click here.

In response to employee feedback gathered during the Financial Readiness Basics workshops conducted in Fall, 2006, Richfield will introduce two new financial readiness workshops to its clients and their employees in Summer, 2007. These new “elective” workshops build on concepts and lessons taught in the general financial planning workshop, but focus exclusively on helping workers better understand basic estate planning and debt management concepts, tools and resources.

Richfield had a great time conducting the Basic Financial Readiness workshop with three clients during the Fall, 2006. We will begin another round of these workshops for other clients in early 2007. This workshop combines general financial planning concepts with proprietary tools and other resources to help employees create their own financial plan. Survey feedback provided by employees reported very high satisfaction with and likely adoption of many of the presented concepts. Let us know if you would like to hear more about the survey results.

At a time when uncertainty reigns in the medical and retirement plan arena, some plan sponsors considered offering group legal plans. While group legal plans have been around for over three decades, they are still relatively rare. Plan Sponsors who take a close look at programs offered by better carriers will find these plans to be easy to enroll, easier to administer, and relatively inexpensive. In some industries, Plan Sponsors may also find their employees to be unconvinced by the popular rhetoric and skeptical of the plan benefits. Overall, we are impressed with these programs and believe they will become very popular with Plan Sponsors in the next few years.

Plan Sponsors were eager to capitalize on a relatively calm year by marketing and/or renegotiating their life and disability plans. A number of solid carriers aggressively pursued new client opportunities by offering better benefits (ex. higher guarantee issue limits and relaxed EOI requirements on additional life) at considerably lower rates. We believe this trend will continue in 2007 and Plan Sponsors will be rewarded for the effort made to market and/or renegotiate these plans.

While Plan Sponsors have long contemplated FMLA administration outsourcing, 2006 may have been the tipping point for many. Sales reps for many of the major FMLA Administrators reported surging sales activity throughout the year, and proposals were attractive in terms of both price and service. The opportunity to transfer this burden to a third party will remain attractive to HR & Finance in coming years, but Plan Sponsors who decide to outsource must pay careful attention to the growth of the vendor, implementation management and ongoing flexibility.