J.P. Hamlett, Sr.

J.P. Hamlett, Sr.

President & CEO, Retirement Choices of California

For nearly 30 years, Jaron P. Hamlett, Sr. (J.P.) has been a successful entrepreneur and business owner.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from California State University, Chico in 1981, J.P. started his career in banking. After a year of banking, he soon realized the importance of “being your own boss”, and subsequently left Corporate America to launch an entrepreneurial career and pursue the Real Estate industry.

In 1987, Mr. Hamlett expanded his financial services offerings by obtaining his Insurance License, with the New York Life Insurance Corporation. With the pairing of his Real Estate License and Insurance License, Mr. Hamlett went on to become a Top Residential and Commercial Real Estate Realtor, Investor and Insurance Advisor.

Mr. Hamlett was part of the founding committee, which started the USC Minority Real Estate Development Program in the early 90’s. He is also one of the founding board members of the National Black Business Council and founder and past president of MENTOR Network, instituted in 1987, a marketing, and business development organization aimed at assisting minority business owners. As president of the organization, J.P. created and managed small business workshops, luncheons, conferences, and award programs sponsored by major corporations.

In 2002, J.P. became a Nationally Recognized Top Producer, as an independent contractor with AFLAC (American Families Life Assurance Corporation), providing insurance benefits to individuals, families, non-profits, government agencies and small to mid-size companies. As an AFLAC representative, he has received many awards including four Amos Awards (AFLAC’s most prestigious award for production named after the company's founders), National Rookie of the Year and Pacific Territory top producer award for four consecutive years. Since 2002, J.P. has generated over $10 million in annual premiums for AFLAC.

In 2007, J.P. launched Hamlett Benefits Group, which is the parent company for Retirement Choices of California (RCC) and ACE Benefits Group (ABG). RCC provides financial counseling and Retirement Planning Strategies to the Education Market, Public sector Employees, Not-for-Profit Organizations, and Small Businesses. Hamlett Benefits Group and its subsidiaries are LA Unified School District, LA County, LA City and State of California Small Business Certified Enterprise.

In recent years, J.P. has expanded his Agency by adding nearly 20 additional agents with an in-house staff of 8, to support growth and success in the Retirement Planning field. Since 2012 J.P. has reached the President’s and Platinum club levels with several nationally recognized Premier Retirement Planning and Insurance Carriers.

J.P. recently joined the illustrious YWCA of Greater Los Angeles as a board member.  J.P. also serves on the Board of Directors for Retirement Choices of California as well as several other insurance company advisory boards and has built a reputation of being honest and straight-forward.

J.P. enjoys cycling, yachting, cooking, working out, swimming, jazz and traveling. He is married with one son and one grandson.