Pensions 101: A Financial Professional's First Guide to Retirement Plans

Price: $75.00

Retirement plans have become the mainstream way that Main Street America invests, and that creates opportunities for many types of financial professionals. But where do professionals start building a foundation of pension knowledge?

The answer is: Pensions 101.

Written by Rich White and technically reviewed by Rajean Boster, CPC, CEBS, this Guide fills a void that exists between consumer books on retirement planning and technical tomes that quote "chapter and verse" of pension regulations. Using a "case study" that follows a typical American household, the guide is quick to read and easy to understand. It also includes detailed knowledge about pension rules along with creative planning ideas--all of which can easily be referenced through a detailed table of contents and index. Through a case study character who serves as the family's financial advisor, the Guide models effective client communication that can be practiced and perfected by professionals on the job.

In addition, Pensions 101 points readers to additional resources that can be accessed to look up more detailed information, and includes brief application exercises to test the reader's progress. In the 8-10 hours that it takes a typical person to complete this Guide and its activities, basic knowledge about pensions is greatly enhanced.

Among the important areas covered by Pensions 101 are the following:

• Personal retirement plans (Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs and SEPs) and concepts of "pension portability."
• Deferrals and contributions--how money goes into retirement plans.
• How tax benefits help plan assets grow--including minimum distribution requirements, premature distributions, and Roth conversions.
• How companies design their plans and features such as employer matching, access to loans, and vesting schedules.
• The role of ERISA, plan fiduciaries and the PBGC in protecting plan assets.
• Diversified strategies for investing plan assets, including asset allocation.
• An introduction to advanced pension concepts such as highly-compensated employees, top-heavy plans, and safe harbor plans.
• Retirement plans and the pursuit of retirement security.

A Solid Foundation for Building Your Career

Whether you work in management, sales, administration or technical areas, Pensions 101 will give you a foundation upon which to build a career in today's financial services industry. This guide addresses and answers many important questions that people are asking about retirement plans within the context of a continuing "case study" involving "the Fishers," a typical American household and "Sterling McKee," their financial advisor. To guide your learning, it includes specific learning objectives for each chapter and some "application exercises." (Note: In this guide, we'll use the terms "pensions" broadly to mean the full range of retirement plan vehicles available in the market.)