John Gajkowski

John has over 30 years’ experience in financial services. Throughout his career, John has custom designed and presented retirement and estate planning seminars for Fortune 500 companies as well as numerous educational seminars. He earned dual Bachelor of Science degrees in political science and legal studies from Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois.

John is also actively engaged in continuing education in the financial planning industry and teaches courses on various financial topics at local community colleges. Examples of these classes are:

• INVESTING AFTER 50
• SOCIAL SECURITY FOR BABY BOOMERS
• TOP 10 IRA MISTAKES

John is a member of The Society for Financial Awareness , a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a nationwide reach dedicated to providing financial education across America, one community at a time. Through SOFA, John speaks on a variety of financial topics to professional organizations, employer groups, and social clubs.

He has earned designations as a Certified Financial PlannerTM, Chartered Life Underwriter®, Chartered Financial Consultant®, and Retirement Income Certified Professional®.

• CFP® – Certified Financial Planner™, conferred by the College of Financial Planning, Denver, Colorado, 1989. The focus of this curriculum was Investment and Tax Planning.
• CLU® – Chartered Life Underwriter®, conferred by the American College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, 1993. The focus of this curriculum was Insurance and Estate Planning.
• ChFC® – Chartered Financial Consultant®, conferred by the American College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, 1993. The focus of this curriculum was Comprehensive Financial and Estate Planning.
• RICP® – Retirement Income Certified Professional®, conferred by the American College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, 2016. The focus of this curriculum was Retirement Income Planning.

Continually recognized for his industry knowledge, John has been featured in the Daily Herald, Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal and CNN Money Magazine. He has appeared on WGN Morning and Midday News, WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight,” and national and local affiliates of FOX News. John has been quoted in Crain’s Wealth, Fox Business, USA Today and Yahoo! Finance, to name a few.

He is also a licensed agent for the sale of life, disability, medical and long-term care insurance, as well as fixed and fixed-index annuities.