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Washington County Public Schools Hires PlanMember Services
[May 26, 2015]

Washington County Public Schools Hires PlanMember Services


Washington County Public Schools (WCPS) has enlisted nationally renowned PlanMember Services Corporation and its Columbia-based Financial Center, Paladin Advisor Group, to provide a comprehensive array of supplemental 403(b) products and services to help WCPS employees plan for retirement.

PlanMember is one of four providers selected to service WCPS employees. As the only mutual fund platform, it's able to offer a variety of investment choices through its low-cost OPTIFUND® Investment Program (https://www.planmember.com/wcps/home.cfm), which includes the local services of Mike and Toni Whaley and their team at Paladin Advisor Group.

"This will be the first county in Maryland to introduce the online Retirement Academy so they're breaking new ground in the state," said Mike Whaley.

An integrl part of PlanMember's offering is the Retirement Academy, an exclusive and innovative online tutorial program that provides WCPS employees with basic, general education about how to plan for retirement and how investments work.



Retirement Academy consists of three short, user-friendly workshops that walk WCPS participants through:

  • The basics of a teachers' retirement pension system and why it's essential to participate in a voluntary supplementary retirement plan (the earlier the better);
  • The basic concepts behind investing for retirement;
  • And the basics of how your income and investment strategies will change once you retire.

Each workshop takes between 15 and 20 minutes to complete. The content is strictly educational; it's not a sales pitch and mentions no specific products. And it's all delivered in clear, easy-to-understand language, graphics, and video explanations.


"We'll probably end up launching it in the fall, after all of our teachers and other staff are back at school," said Regina Keller, supervisor of employee benefits for WCPS. "We're very excited about offering it to our employees to give them the basic education they need, and we fully expect it will increase participation in the overall 403(b) retirement program."

PlanMember Securities Corporation is a nationally recognized broker/dealer, investment advisor, and member of FINRA/SIPC, providing retirement planning to the public education and non-profit sectors for over two decades. PlanMember delivers personalized retirement planning services and a broad selection of investment and annuity solutions. The company is headquartered in Carpinteria, California. OPTIFUND® Investment Program is a registered trademark of PlanMember Financial Corporation.


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