MetLife office opens in Hewitt Hewitt Ask people what's uppermost on their minds, hurricanes aside, and chances are they will tell you it's the economy. People are concerned with their finances, their retirements and taking care of the ones they love after they are gone. That's where Gloria Wagner comes in. Wagner is a financial services representative and special needs planner with MetLife. She opened her office on Greenwood Lake Turnpike in Hewitt recently and invites anyone who has financial questions or concerns to stop in and discuss them with her. "I do life, auto, home insurance, disability and long-term care insurance," said Wagner. "We can go over your financial situation and try to come up with recommendations." Sometimes it's as simple as suggesting that someone take part in their company's 401K. "People don't even realize they have a 401K at their workplace," said Wagner. Her goal, she said, is to preserve people's income. "MetLife has annuities. People are going toward them, especially with the volatility in the market," she said. "People go to annuities with living benefits. Basically we look at how can we preserve their income." Wagner walks the walk too. She owns a MetLife annuity herself. A misconception out there is that people can't afford long-term care insurance. To Wagner, people can't afford not to have it. "People think it's too expensive and complicated," said Wagner. "There are different products, vastly different. You can go bare bones or with lifetime benefits. People think they can't afford it. I think they can't NOT afford it." Wagner deals with MetLife products but also other company's products as well. "We don't just do MetLife products," said Wagner. "We went public a few years ago and our CEO felt no one company can cover all needs. So we can sell many company's products, including Prudential. That's important for people to know." And more than anything, Wagner is proud of the customer service clients will get with her and MetLife. "You've got a person to speak to here, not just a voice over the phone," she said. Taking care of those you leave behind Parents with special needs children know the day to day concerns of providing for their children. What they may not verbalize is the concern they have for their children after they themselves are no longer here to provide that care. Wagner can help with that as well. "We provide workshops for parents on special needs planning," said Wagner. "I go to schools and organizations and talk about how to plan for their special needs children." Returning to West Milford Wagner has been living back in West Milford for about a year now. She lived here for many years; her family is here, including her daughter, who is a special education teacher, and her parents. She started coming to West Milford as a child with her parents. Her husband was a neighbor of theirs way back when. She had the opportunity to open the MetLife office here in West Milford and jumped on it. Wagner started out in real estate and was very involved with the banks she dealt with. She then went to work for various banks in New Jersey and moved on to financial services and MetLife, a company she has complete confidence in. "The financial strength of the company is very important to me," said Wagner. "MetLife paid dividends to (whole life insurance) policy holders even during the Great Depression," she said. "They've never missed." Wagner is hosting a grand opening on Saturday, Sept. 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Rain date is Sunday, Sept. 25.) There will be gift bags for the first 100 families who stop by, raffles from local businesses, light refreshments and even Snoopy, the MetLife mascot will attend. "Make a phone call, make an appointment and let's talk about your financial situation," she said. The West Milford office of MetLife is located at 2012 Greenwood Lake Turnpike, Hewitt. You may reach Wagner at 973-506-7550 or gwagner@metlife.com.