MATT ZAGULA, founder of SMART Retirement, likens his professional journey to the mountain climb that retirees make.

Matt spent years accumulating knowledge from many different perspectives with the idea that when he finally hit that pinnacle of the mountain, he would be well prepared to distribute quality advice that could be accounted for mathematically and not rely on hypothetical market illustrations. His goal was, and remains, to provide advice with confidence based on fact & not fiction. Matt has followed a unique path, from being a very early adopter and pioneer in what is known today as income planning, to creating a distinctive practice model and level of notoriety in the industry that allowed his firm to be acquired in 2001, when Matt was just thirty-one, by a publicly traded company, National Financial Partners (NYSE Symbol: NFP). After the market crash in 2008, Matt purchased his firm back from NFP at a huge discount using his life insurance cash value to make this smart investment at the perfect time. He remains independent to this day.

Today, Matt is the cofounder of SMART Planz, LLC, a premier provider of tax-aware 401(k) plan design and SMART Retirement, the country's first mutual and fraternal company-focused marketing organization serving the members of the SMART Advisor Network. His focus is on helping pre-retirees and those in retirement get more & more income, more financial freedom, and more peace of mind knowing their plans are built on a solid foundation using the commonsense SMART Retirement Planning Process.

Matt has spent decades continually adapting and evolving the model, and today, he is considered to be a thought leader and planning innovator for tax, estate, and retirement income advanced-plan designs. Matt is dedicated to helping people and business owners profit from differences in the way their money is treated for tax purposes. Actuarially, he helps them realize profits by reversing the traditional use of certain insurance-based products, creating attractive returns and results for his clients, resulting in greater retirement income and real wealth. His practice has evolved into the creation of insurance based products and serving top insurance companies in an effort to make SMART Retirement products available to Americans working toward and in retirement. These products are distributed exclusively through advisors within the SMART Advisor Network. Although he has been retained in the past to work with advisors from insurance distribution firms with annual sales volumes of $1 to $5 billion, Matt now focuses on a very small and specialized group of advisors within the SMART Advisor Network. This narrow focus assures the public that any advisor, CPA, or law firm that is a member of the SMART Advisor Network is well trained and equipped to help their client Strategically Move Around Retirement Taxation®.