A group of prominent financial industry, education, and advocacy organizations have joined together to create the National Retirement Planning Coalition and raise public awareness of the need for retirement planning. Their main event, National Retirement Planning Week (NRPW), begins April 11, 2011.

The National Retirement Planning Week events include:

• April 11: Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) president and CEO Dallas Salisbury hosts a webinar on consumer retirement readiness, leveraging data from EBRI's 2011 Retirement Confidence Survey.
• April 12: Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) president and CEO Cathy Weatherford moderates a media forum with industry leaders on evolving perceptions of risk management in the insured retirement market. New IRI research on boomers and retirement will be released as well.
• April 13:  IRI hosts a practice management webinar for financial advisors.
• April 14:  The Aspen Institute hosts a Washington, D.C.-based roundtable on retirement issues.
• April 15: The Coalition releases a client-approved tip-sheet for financial advisors on how consumers can formulate a plan for lifelong financial retirement health.

The National Retirement Planning Coalition is headed by the IRI, and includes the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), Americans for Secure Retirement (ASR), Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA), EBRI, Financial Services Forum, Financial Services Institute (FSI), Financial Services Roundtable (FSR), National Association of Fixed Annuities (NAFA), NICSA, Retirement Income Industry Association (RIIA), The American College, The Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security (Aspen IFS), and Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER).

The coalition recognizes that the need to educate Americans on retirement planning is an ongoing effort and is committed to making this a national priority. National Retirement Planning Week and other coalition activities will demonstrate that it is possible to "retire on your terms" if comprehensive retirement plans are properly developed and managed. To support these education efforts, the coalition maintains a year-round website — www.retireonyourterms.org — offering resources to both consumers and financial professionals alike, in order to help them stay focused on long-term financial goals.