It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years since Retirement Benefits Institute first began helping federal employees prepare for retirement. In light of RBI’s ten year anniversary, we sat down with Brandon Christy, President of RBI, to talk about that first training ten years ago, how far RBI has come, and where we’re headed next.
How did it all begin?
I set up our first training ten years ago. I did all the work I thought was appropriate, invited a lot of people to the event, showed up that day and had…zero attendees. That’s right; nobody came to that first event. I decided then that while I may know what I was talking about, explaining federal benefits to empty seats wasn’t doing anybody much good. I had to figure out how to get people to attend. Fast forward to today, we hold training events in that same area with over one hundred people in attendance. Over the last decade, we’ve found many ways to help numerous individuals one on one. It’s been very rewarding!
How do you define success at RBI?
Delivering clarity out of confusion and bringing peace in the midst of struggle, that’s our success. The ability to walk federal employees through their retirement journey—what their benefits are and how to handle them—has been a blessing to be a part of.
I found out along the way that there are two kinds of successes in retirement: financial and emotional. Being financially successful means having enough money to live the life one wants to live in retirement. Emotional success is having real purpose and living on a mission even when no one is telling you what you have to do every day. I’ve learned that the happiest people in retirement are living for a greater purpose than just a paycheck.
Why spend the last ten years of your life helping federal employees?
I want to bring peace and light into individual’s lives. My skill set as a CPA has allowed me to aid federal employees in a tremendous way. The same people who wrote the IRS tax code also wrote these retirement programs. I have been able to bring knowledge gained through years of working with the often-complicated tax code to help those serving our country understand their retirement package. This is so vital because many federal employees have not had the time or energy to delve into what the best decision for them in retirement will be.
What’s next?
Ten years in and we’ve trained over 10,000 federal employees. Helping them understand what retirement looks like for them and how to make that vision a reality has been our mission. We’re looking forward to continued growth as we help individuals one on one and fulfill contracts for the federal government throughout the country. At RBI, we are very proud of the work we’ve done, but even more excited for what’s still to come. Ten years in and we’re just getting started!
To say, “Happy Anniversary RBI” or to send a congratulatory note to Brandon and the team, email them here.
