Ben Francis is the Director of Retirement Income and Investment Operations with Bryce Thomas at Northwestern Mutual. With over a decade of experience helping clients plan for and realize their retirement goals, Ben works with Bryce to address the specific challenges that arise leading up, during, and after the transition from accumulation into the decumulation phase of life. Social Security, distribution planning, income generation, investment strategies, and risk management are some of the areas they review with clients on an ongoing basis. While this transition is never the same for any individual or couple, it can be a smooth and rewarding journey when handled with the attention and care that Bryce and Ben provide as a team.Ben brings a great deal of experience to our team with a MS in Financial Services from The American College, a BS in Accounting & Finance from UT-Chattanooga, and an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts from the Le Cordon Blue program at Pennsylvania Culinary Institute. Ben holds the following designations in the insurance and financial planning industry: CFP®(Certified Financial Planner™), CLU® (Chartered Life Underwriter), ChFC® (Chartered Financial Consultant) , WMCP®(Wealth Mgmt Certified Professional), and RICP® (Retirement Income Certified Professional), Series 7, 6, and 63 designations.Ben enjoys traveling the world in his spare time with a goal to reach his last and final continent, Antarctica by the end of 2022. While abroad, he spends much of his time interacting with locals to get a true sense of what life is like in other cultures. Ben is particularly interested in learning from the people he meets as he witnesses their resilience in the face of so many different, and often challenging political, market, and religious environments.