Fairway, NAIFA reverse mortgage training targets financial advisors

Home Mortgage, is launching a new program to help financial professionals integrate home equity into retirement planning.  

The training, offered exclusively to NAIFA members, focuses on the ethical and strategic use of housing wealth, including reverse mortgages, in retirement planning for clients 55 and older, the organizations said in a press release Tuesday.

"This program is about education, not origination," said George Bain, Fairway vice president of reverse lending initiatives, in the release. "Our goal is to help advisors better understand how housing wealth fits into retirement planning conversations, while maintaining the highest standards of compliance, ethics and consumer protection."

Fairway, which rebranded from Fairway Independent Mortgage last year, helped develop and deliver the eight-hour program, which will be taught by licensed reverse mortgage specialists and emphasizes suitability, disclosure and coordination with broader financial plans.

The training for the Certified Home Equity Advisor credential combines academic research, real-world case studies and fiduciary-aligned planning frameworks to address a gap in traditional financial education that often doesn't cover home equity as a retirement asset, according to the release.

"Housing wealth is one of the largest and most underutilized assets in retirement planning," said John Wheeler, NAIFA president-elect, in the release. "The CHEA credential reinforces NAIFA's commitment to ethical, client-first education by equipping our members with the knowledge and confidence to address this asset responsibly and collaboratively."

Those who successfully complete the program earn the CHEA designation and access to a professional toolkit, which includes consumer education resources, scenario modeling support and ongoing educational updates, as well as eight hours of approved continuing education credit, the release said. 

The first set of these sessions will take place virtually on March 17 and 19 in the Colorado market with two four-hour sessions. Additional states will be added in the following months.

"The CHEA credential reflects growing industry recognition that retirement planning must evolve alongside demographic and economic realities, including longevity risk, market volatility and rising healthcare costs," said Brendan Bernat, senior director of credentials for NAIFA, in the release.

Reverse mortgage activity in the U.S. remains modest but evolving, with record senior-held home equity and growing private‑label product share even as federally backed HECM sales stay relatively flat.