CRMP: Across the Kitchen Table
CRMP continued from page 15
After joining Fairway in 2015, Jensen learned the keys to integrating reverse mortgages into a compre- hensive retirement plan from financial planning experts Dr. Wade Pfau, Dr. Barry Sacks and Jamie Hopkins. She now specializes in reverse mortgages but keeps all options in mind, drawing on her extensive background in strate- gies to customize the ideal approach for each client. Jensen welcomes every client to a “sacred space,” where they can relieve their fears and review their goals. She gets to know them, their stories and their goals. There are open-ended questions, all asked over selections from the fully stocked office beverage center. “We start every consultation with a blank sheet of paper, a pen and a cup of coffee or the beverage of their choice,” Jensen says. “That is strategic. This is something my grandmother taught me. If we are sharing a bever- age together, there is already a social connection. In the American culture, if we are sitting down for a cup of coffee together, we are just going to chitchat.”
Jensen earned her CRMP in 2017, pursuing her passion to “continually invest in improving and enhanc- ing my understanding and my skills so I could be more valuable to my clients. “The CRMP brings so much more credibility when people are trying to determine if I’m the one they want to work with,” she says. “They see this as somebody who is invested. You do not have to be a CRMP to do this work, but I have gone beyond licensing.” That same spirit motivated her to earn the rigorous Certified Senior Advisor credential, building her profi- ciency in Medicare planning, senior care options, estate planning, dementia and Alzheimer’s care, as well as other areas affecting seniors in the United States. She draws inspiration from a lifetime of experience with older adults. She was close to her grandmother, who lived with her family when she could no longer live inde- pendently. To Jensen’s 11-year-old mind, it seemed that all families lived that way. When it was time to buy her own home, she and her husband found one for raising their family and someday accommodating her parents. That day came, and her parents lived with the family for seven years before their passing. “We had a gloriously chaotic life of living with seniors who have challenges and ailments and complications and Medicare plans,” she says. “From there, I wanted to learn better how to serve them.” Using Social Media Jensen’s social media posts and digital communications alert readers and listeners to the retirement planning tools and considerations at their fingertips. One video neatly explains the ebb and flow of retire- ment finances through a “three piggy banks” analogy. A recent blog post offered insights into reverse mort- gages for home repairs. In her Reimagining Retirement podcasts, Jensen con- verses with professionals on topics, including caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or finding an insurance agent with the tools to navigate Medicare options. “I want to help you get exposure to all of the dif- ferent ways you could reimagine what your retirement looks like,” she says. “Maybe it’s managing medical issues. Maybe it’s doing the things you didn’t know you
16 REVERSE MORTGAGE / SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2024
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