chawn

Chawn Honkomp

Retirement Planner

Chawn is a Retirement Planner who brings experience and a relationship-driven approach to helping people navigate the many stages of retirement. With more than two decades in the profession, Chawn brings a steady, detail-oriented mindset to retirement planning and values long-term connections built on trust, clarity, and consistency. He is focused on helping families and individuals prepare for retirement and continuing to support them well beyond the initial planning phase — making adjustments, answering questions, and helping them stay aligned as life evolves throughout retirement. 

Chawn holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™️, Retirement Income Certified Professional®️, Chartered Financial Consultant®️, and Certified Financial Fiduciary®️ credentials, reflecting advanced education and a commitment to professional excellence. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and earned his MBA from the University of Iowa. He has passed the Series 7 and 66 FINRA examinations. He also holds life and health insurance licenses. 

His 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 baseball, hearing about his daughter’s adventures at the University of Iowa, and taking 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 as one of five brothers on a dairy farm shaped his work ethic and values, something he applies to his daily life. 

Chawn Honkomp's Designations & Licenses

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®)

The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP® and federally registered CFP (with flame design) marks (collectively, the “CFP® marks”) are professional certification marks granted in the United States by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (“CFP Board”).

The CFP® certification is a voluntary certification; no federal or state law or regulation requires financial planners to hold CFP® certification. It is recognized in the United States and a number of other countries for its (1) high standard of professional education; (2) stringent code of conduct and standards of practice; and (3) ethical requirements that govern professional engagements with clients.

To earn the CFP® marks, candidates must fulfill the following requirements:

Education: Complete CFP Board-approved coursework in key financial planning topics and obtain a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.

Examination: Pass the CFP® Certification Examination, a 6-hour, computer-based test designed to assess the candidate's ability to apply financial planning knowledge in practical, client-focused scenarios.

Experience: Accumulate either 6,000 hours of professional experience related to financial planning or 4,000 hours of apprenticeship experience that meets additional requirements.

Ethics: Agree to abide by the CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct and successfully pass a background check.

Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®)

The Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®) designation is for the advanced financial professional. This course provides an overview of the financial planning process, including communication techniques, behavioral finance, financial planning approaches and applications, financial statement preparation and analysis, time value of money concepts and applications, education planning and funding, economics and understanding of the role and responsibilities of a financial planner, along with some analytical skills to aid in the financial decision-making process. This is a voluntary certification comprises of 8 modules and an extensive final examination must be passed to obtain the designation.

Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

A Certified Public Accountant certification is granted by the State Board of Public Accountancy. The CPA certification is the respected mark of excellence for public accountants.

To attain the right to use the CPA designation, an individual must satisfactorily fulfill the following requirements:

  • Education- 120 college credit hours of education earned in related
  • Examination- Completion of courses focused on financial accounting, auditing, taxation, management accounting and ethics.
  • Pass the comprehensive CPA 16-hour Certification
  • Ethics- Agree to be bound by CPA Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct.
Certified Financial Fiduciary®

This designation is reserved for those professionals who have successfully completed a rigorous certification and training process established by NACertified Financial Fiduciary and The American Financial Education Alliance (AFEA) which include:

  • Exemplified the highest standards of morals, ethics, and fiduciary standards of service
  • Passed a certification exam with a score of 75% or better
  • Passed full background check and in good standing with regulatory license requirements
  • Business office was reviewed for best practices and compliance
  • Completed and submitted the signed Certified Financial Fiduciary Application for
  • Agreed to the National Association Certified Financial Fiduciary terms of awarding and maintaining certification
  • Agreed to abide by and uphold the Certified Financial Fiduciary Code of Conduct
Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®)

The RICP® certification is a voluntary certification: no federal or state law or regulation requires Investment Adviser Representatives to hold RICP® certification.

An RICP® designee is trained to understand how to structure effective retirement income plans, how to mitigate risks to the plan and how to create a sustainable stream of income to last through a client’s retirement. They are educated in areas including: Social Security claiming, evaluating and addressing risks faced in retirement, choosing distributions from employer-sponsored plans, Medicare and other health insurance choices, planning for long-term care needs, choosing appropriate housing and income tax and legacy planning.

To attain the right to use the RICP® designation, an individual must satisfactorily fulfill the following requirements:

  • Experience – Three plus years of relevant work experience
  • Examination – Completion of three courses: retirement income process, strategies, and solutions; sources of retirement income; and managing a retirement income plan and pass a 100-question exam following the completion of each course.
  • Ethics – RICPs® must adhere to a code of ethics and meet continuing education and reporting requirements.
Series 7
The Series 7 license is the general securities representative license. Those who carry this license are officially listed as "registered representatives" by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and referred to as stockbrokers. Series 7 authorizes licensees to sell any individual security, including common and preferred stocks, call and put options, bonds, and other fixed-income investments.
Series 66
Series 66, the North American Securities Administrators Association Uniform Combined State Law Examination, is an exam and license that is meant to qualify individuals as investment advisor representatives or securities agents. The Series 66 covers topics relevant to providing investment advice and effecting securities transactions for clients. Once licensed, investment advisor representatives can legally conduct financial advising and wealth management duties.
Back to Team Page

Ready to take your retirement to the next level?

Let's chat! Schedule a RetireReady Call to talk with a retirement planner about your retirement vision.

Schedule a Call

Ready to take your retirement to the next level?

Let's chat! Schedule a RetireReady Call to talk with a retirement planner about your retirement vision.

Schedule a Call
Call Now Button