Loren Merkle is an award-winning financial planner and founder of Merkle Retirement Planning. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM, Certified Financial Fiduciary®, and holds life, health, and accident Iowa insurance licenses. Loren authored the book, Retire Your Way, which guides individuals on planning for retirement and hosts Retiring Today with Loren Merkle, which was awarded the Iowa Motion Picture Award. His expertise has been featured on major media networks such as ABC, CBS, NBC, and he is a renowned speaker on financial planning, retirement planning, leadership, and business growth.

Loren takes great pride in having helped hundreds of families plan for their future with over 24 years of experience in the financial industry. His competitive spirit has led him to receive multiple awards, including Best Financial Planner, Best Customer Service, 21 of 2021, and the Camille Wanna Award.

As a philanthropist, Loren and his company proudly support various charitable organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, The Food Bank of Iowa, Meals from the Heartland, Can Do Cancer, and the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation. As a single dad, he takes great pride in being a father to his daughter, Jayce. In his free time, he enjoys outdoor activities like boating, camping, hiking and believe it or not, was a competitive axe thrower. Loren is on a mission to help you build a retirement plan to enjoy your ideal lifestyle in retirement.

AnnaMarie Morrow is our in-house Director of Medicare. She has helped hundreds of pre-retirees make important Medicare and supplement decisions. Her extensive study of the Medicare system helps retirees make sense of the Medicare information to choose the best plan for them.

From coordinating initial enrollment to helping with subsequent decisions during annual open enrollment, she builds lifelong relationships with retirees.

In 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services named AnnaMarie to the Marketplace Circle of Champions. She was honored for helping families and individuals enroll in Marketplace coverage.

AnnaMarie holds life, health, and accident Iowa insurance licenses and AHIP Fraudulent, Waste, and Abuse licenses. She is also a National Social Security Advisor (NSSA) certificate holder and a certified Medicare agent with several private insurance carriers.

Her Medicare insights have been seen on our TV show Retiring Today with Loren Merkle, the Merkle Retirement Planning YouTube channel, and heard on our podcast.

As an outdoor enthusiast, she loves boating on Lake Ponderosa with her husband Dustin and son Bradford. As a sports fan, she loves discussing her time playing college volleyball or beach volleyball in Mexico. AnnaMarie is on a mission to utilize her infectious energy and perpetual positivity to help others.

Chawn Honkomp is an experienced retirement planner with an extensive background in tax planning. He is a CPA who has achieved several industry designations. Chawn is a lifelong learner, and is passionate about staying up to date on ever-changing tax laws and retirement legislation. He has helped hundreds of families and individuals plan for retirement and continues these important relationships after the initial planning process to help retirees update, adjust, and stay on track throughout retirement.

As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™️, Retirement Income Certified Professional®️, Chartered Financial Consultant Designation®️, and Certified Financial Fiduciary®️, Chawn can apply industry education with his more than 20 years of experience to ensure that all of the details of a retirement plan are covered. Chawn has been a CPA since 2000 and earned an MBA from the University of Iowa. He has his life, health, and accident Iowa insurance licenses and has passed the Series 7 and 66 securities exams.

Chawn’s insights are featured on our TV show Retiring Today with Loren Merkle, the Merkle Retirement Planning YouTube channel, and our podcast.

As a father and husband, he loves watching his high school-aged son play sports, hearing about his daughter’s adventures at the University of Iowa, and going on bike rides and hikes with his wife, Ryan. As a sports fan, he enjoys cheering on the Iowa Hawkeyes and Los Angeles Dodgers. Growing up one of five brothers on a dairy farm shaped his work ethic and values, something he applies to his daily life.