FREE Trial with Benzinga Pro happening right now!
Achieving financial security in retirement doesn’t happen automatically. Instead, you must start saving as soon as possible to ensure that you can live comfortably when you retire. In order to do so, you need to make a plan, commit to it and save money strategically. Many people turn to retirement planning courses to learn how to plan for retirement.
Quick Look: Best Retirement Planning Courses
- Planning for a Secure Retirement Course by Purdue University
- Suze's Personal Finance Online Course by Suze Orman
- Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey
- Personal & Family Financial Planning by Coursera
- Start Young for Your Best Retirement by LinkedIn Learning
- Ultimate Retirement: Build Your Own Dynamic Retirement Plan by Udemy
- Bringham Young University's Personal Finance Course by Bringham Young University
- Cryptocurrency Investment and Retirement Planning with Bitcoin/Altcoins on Poloniex and Bitfinex by Skillshare
- Retirement Planning by Universal Class
What Makes a Great Retirement Planning Course?
Only 4 in 10 workers reported that they’ve tried to learn how much money they should save to prepare properly for retirement, according to a Retirement Confidence Survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. That means a lot of Americans wait until it’s too late to start planning for retirement. A retirement planning course can make this process easier. Here are 3 major benefits of signing up for a course: You’ll learn what you need to do to save for retirement, you get more confident and you also know what you need to do over time to save.
1. Learn What You Need to Do to Save
It can be hard to know where to start when you’re first learning how to plan for retirement. Luckily, it’s easy to gain the core skills and knowledge you need to master basic financial and retirement planning. Retirement planning courses teach you the different methods of retirement planning and show you the tools you should be using. A good retirement planning course dives into the different personal finance software that is available to you, as well as how to set up investment accounts like a 401(k) and more.
2. Gain Confidence
Have you put off retirement planning because you lack confidence in your skills? A retirement planning course shows you the importance of starting small and also gives you a chance to see your money grow. As you become more comfortable with retirement planning, you’ll be able to implement the tools and skills that the course taught you.
3. Know What You Need to Do Over Time
A financial plan will most likely need to be revisited over time. Retirement plans sometimes need to be updated or adjusted as your situation changes. Your own personal circumstances might have changed or the economy or investment market might be different now than when you first started your financial journey. As you grow older, your plan and strategy will also likely change. A retirement planning course can teach you how to adapt and help you to make the most of your retirement funds.
The Best Retirement Planning Courses
An advantage of many of these courses is that they will not only help you plan for retirement but also cause you to review your past savings and spending patterns. By looking at your past, you can build a stronger foundation for the future.
Most financial and retirement planning courses do require a fee, but it’s worth it as long as you take those skills you learn from the course and apply them to your life. You’ll learn about topics like 401(k)s, stocks, bonds, Roth IRAs, certificates of deposit (CDs) and strategies for eliminating credit card debt. Many of these courses will teach you the basic tools you need.
Retirement Planning Courses for Beginners
We’ve researched the best retirement planning courses from reputable sources to help you find the right retirement planning course for you. Many come from universities that have different courses as you advance your skill levels. They are organized based on price point with these skill levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced retirement planning courses.
1.Planning for a Secure Retirement Course by Purdue University
- Who’s it for? Beginner investors
- Price: Free
This course from Purdue University helps you to overcome your fear of planning for retirement. It has 10 modules and a different objective is taught in each lesson. The course will help you figure out how much money you need when you can collect Social Security, what individual retirement accounts (IRAs) you might need and what a lump-sum retirement distribution is. This course is designed for beginners who have no previous experience or planning knowledge.
2. Suze’s Personal Finance Online Course by Suze Orman
- Who’s it for? Beginner investors
- Price: $54
Suze Orman is a leading expert on personal finance. She is a #1 New York Times best-selling author and online columnist and created her online course to spread her knowledge. You can learn about paying off debt, what types of life insurance products to buy and the best ways to invest your money for retirement. Her course is a perfect starting point for beginners who want to learn the fundamentals of managing financial affairs.
3. Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey
- Who’s it for? Beginner investors
- Price: $129.99
Dave Ramsey has made a name for himself in the financial planning world. As a nationally syndicated and radio talk show host for “The Dave Ramsey Show,” he has tons of experience helping people get out of debt and plan for retirement. During this 9-class course, you’ll learn about building wealth and will get access to Ramsey’s EveryDollar Plus, a budgeting app that helps you to keep track of your expenses.
Intermediate Retirement Planning Courses
Think you have the basics covered? Kick it up a notch with these intermediate retirement planning courses.
1. Personal & Family Financial Planning by Coursera.org
- Who’s it for? Intermediate investors
- Price: Free
Coursera.org, a learning platform, has a wide variety of courses on retirement planning. The Personal and Family Financial Planning class on Coursera.org is the ideal choice for intermediate learners. Offered by the University of Florida, it’s 100% online and flexible. You can take your time to complete it and it teaches you a wide variety of skills, like building and maintaining good credit, managing risk, investing through mutual funds and how to put together your personal retirement plan.
2. Start Young for your Best Retirement from LinkedIn Learning (Formerly Lynda.com)
- Who’s it for? Intermediate level investors
- Price: $29.99/month
LinkedIn Learning is a paid platform that offers different courses on planning for retirement. The course, Start Young for Your Best Retirement, is helpful to intermediate learners who want to apply general learning to their personal financial situation. You can learn how to utilize strategies to combat inflation, determine whether to invest or work for a company, diversify, and when it is financially advantageous to incur debt. The course and the others on this list do not take into consideration your own objectives, risk tolerance or financial situation, so it’s important to remember that when its advice.
3. Ultimate Retirement: Build Your Own Dynamic Retirement Plan by Udemy
- Who’s it for? Intermediate level investors
- Price: 49.95
Udemy is another great site for finding retirement planning courses. Before you commit to a course on this platform, read past student reviews. One highly-rated course is the Ultimate Retirement: Build Your Own Dynamic Retirement Plan, which will teach you how to create an income that can help you live comfortably in retirement, retire sooner than expected and revise your retirement goals as necessary. This class costs $49.95 and offers an exclusive class discussion board where you can ask your teachers questions and get answers quickly.
Advanced Retirement Planning Courses
Advanced retirement planning courses are a great option for those who have a good handle on most retirement-related topics.
1. Brigham Young University’s Personal Finance Course
- Who's it for? Advanced investors
- Price: Free
Brigham Young offers financial planning courses for all levels, but its advanced course is one of our favorites. All the courses are available for free and you can learn on your time through videos and chapter readings. The lessons you learn are reinforced through money management assignments. Some of the topics covered in its advanced course include individual and small-business plans as well as estate planning.
2. Cryptocurrency Investment and Retirement Planning with Bitcoin/Altcoins on Poloniex and Bitfinex by Skillshare
- Who’s it for? Advanced investors interested in cryptocurrency investing.
- Price: $15 monthly subscription
Skillshare is for you if you’re interested in learning about retirement planning with bitcoin or any other type of cryptocurrency. In particular, the Cryptocurrency Investment and Retirement Planning with Bitcoin/Altcoins on Poloneix and Bitifex can be a great place to get started. Cryptocurrency requires some additional knowledge and this class shows you how to get started. The instructor teaches you how to use cryptocurrency to boost your retirement.
3. Retirement Planning by Universal Class
- Who’s it for? Advanced investors looking to gain an edge
- Price: $75
Universal Class offers a retirement course for $75 with a certificate or $50 with no certificate. The course helps prepare you for retirement by identifying alternative sources of retirement income like Social Security and real estate, as well as how to handle any unexpected expenses. It even dives into issues like how to invest in your health, family life and where you should live when you retire.
Choose the Right Retirement Planning Course for You
There are more and more tools and services available for retirement planners all the time. It might be a good idea to take a course to boost your awareness, even if you have a retirement plan in place. As you start retirement planning, take advantage of the best retirement planning apps to help you stay on track.
Also, keep in mind that this is merely an education resource and it won’t be specific to your particular financial situation. Following everything taught in the class might not be the most financially savvy move for you — a lot depends on your age, debt and other savings. Instead, you should apply the tools and lessons you learned within the context of your financial situation. As you become a self-taught expert, you can always continue to learn by taking more advanced courses to add to your knowledge.
Want to learn more about retirement planning? Check out our guides on when is the best time to start saving for retirement?
Southern New Hampshire University Online
SNHU Online Offers:
- Flexible schedules
- Affordable tuition
- Online tutoring
- Access to electronic research materials
- Specialized academic advising
- Supportive online community