The CHEA Certificate is offered exclusively to NAIFA members through an eight-hour program of academic research, case studies and fiduciary-aligned planning frameworks. The partnership seeks to address a “long-standing gap in traditional financial education where home equity is often overlooked as retirement assets.”
Fairway and NAIFA co-developed the program and will utilize recognized reverse mortgage specialists as instructors. The goal is to make more borrowers aware of reverse mortgages as a potential financial tool, but not necessarily to increase product sales.
Those who complete the program earn the CHEA label, along with access to a professional toolkit of consumer education resources and more.
“This program is about education, not new loan origination,” George Bain, Fairway’s vice president of reverse lending initiatives, said in a statement. “Our goal is to help advisors better understand how home equity fits into retirement planning conversations, while maintaining the highest standards of compliance, ethics and consumer protection.”
“Home equity is one of the largest and most underutilized assets in retirement planning,” said John Wheeler, president-elect of NAIFA. “The CHEA Certification reinforces NAIFA’s commitment to ethical, customer-focused education by equipping our members with the knowledge and confidence to tackle this capability responsibly and collaboratively.”
Launching virtually, the course will initially be available to NAIFA members in Colorado, with additional states to be added in the first half of 2026. Those in Colorado can register online for a pair of four-hour sessions scheduled for March 17 and 19.
“The CHEA credential reflects the industry’s growing recognition that retirement planning must evolve in tandem with demographic and economic realities, including longevity risk, market volatility and rising healthcare costs,” said Brendan Bernat, senior director of credentials for NAIFA.
Fairway is a full-service national mortgage lender that conducts business through the forward and reverse channels. According to data collected by New viewing advisorswith 1,009 HECMs subscribed for a 3.8% market share.
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