Advertisement
ASEA Monthly
I thought that since I have maybe figured out this job and have not yet become irrelevant, it’s the perfect time to tell you what I see the State of the College is.Education – JBEAI haven’t done much at all in this area since becoming President because the work being done by our folks on the...
READ MORE
On June 12, ACOPA representatives, along with other ARA representatives, met with about 15 folks from IRS and Treasury to discuss current issues of concern to our membership. (Another 8-12 IRS and Treasury people joined by phone.) Later that afternoon, ACOPA reps met with PBGC. We were represented...
READ MORE
I enjoy travelling when I’m not working; my husband and I have been to many places all across the world. His parents live in Europe, so we go to Germany to see them and while there we always go to see another thing or two.This summer we’re going on vacation to Italy and of course to Germany. We’re...
READ MORE
Nominations are now being accepted for American Retirement Association’s 2018 Board of Directors. Elected at-large members of the Board of Directors serve for one term of three calendar years. Nominees must be nominated by at least two members to be considered. To download the nomination form,...
READ MORE
The American Retirement Association Annual Business Meeting will be held on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2017, at 3:00 p.m. during the 2017 ASPPA Annual Conference in National Harbor, MD. The Annual Business Meeting will include an address by American Retirement Association’s 2017 President, Robert M. Richter...
READ MORE
Nominations are now being accepted for American Retirement Association’s 2018 Board of Directors. Elected at-large members of the Board of Directors serve for one term of three calendar years.Nominees must be nominated by at least two members to be considered. To view the nomination form, click...
READ MORE
It’s Friday at 4:59 p.m. and you answer the phone; it’s your client Fred. He’s a good client; he owns Fredco, a construction firm with 20 full-time employees who have been with him for many years. His pension plan has assets of about $1 million and a funding target of about $1.1 million. Fredco is...
READ MORE
Last month I attended the 42nd Annual Enrolled Actuaries meeting. While I attended a number of very informative and interesting sessions, there are two particular sessions that stand out in my mind: Ethics and More Ethics. Why are these sessions two of the most well attended sessions of the entire...
READ MORE
It started when I received an email from Norm with “Are you a nerd?” in the subject line. My first thought was, “Of course I’m a nerd; I’m an actuary, aren’t I?” But then I remembered a conversation I had with Ira about pension actuaries. Ira is the gentleman who owns the audio company that works...
READ MORE
Back in January, President Trump issued his Executive Order on Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs (EO 13771). This is where he mandated that for every new regulation issued by a government agency, two old ones must be repealed. The net estimated fiscal impact on the economy of...
READ MORE
On May 4-6, Bill Karbon, Judy Miller and I attended a meeting of the North American Actuarial Council (NAAC), which consists of the Presidents and Presidents Elect of the five U.S. actuarial organizations, the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) and the three Mexican actuarial organizations. In...
READ MORE
Hi Devoted Readers. This is Grand Executive Editor For Life Norm reporting to his reliable followers on this magnificent occasion… Okay, I have apparently been reading way too much North Korea news! Seriously though, it’s really hard not to be anxious about the state of the world and the state of...
READ MORE
Hi everyone. As you are reading this, your busy season will have just ended. I hope it went smoothly and was not too stressful for all of you. A couple of days ago I was, as usual, stressing about whether I would have content for this month’s edition, and then like manna from heaven, content fell...
READ MORE
We worked recently on an interesting matter that has rather far-reaching consequences for some sponsors of defined benefit and cash balance (collectively, DB) plans.Our client, a financial advisor to some retirement plans and mostly individuals, and a sponsor of a DB plan for employees at his firm...
READ MORE
The final Section 430 regulations provided clarity on the ordering of contributions. Treas. Reg. 1.430(j)-1(b)(3)(iii)(B) provides: “(B) Designation of plan year if no unpaid minimum contribution. In the case of a contribution described in paragraph (b)(3)(ii) of this section, the designation is...
READ MORE
Several ethics presentations over the last year have focused on scandals in professional sports and how the lessons learned from them apply to our work. As I think about changes in our industry, there is one scandal that came to the forefront: Maria Sharapova. The tennis star had been taking the...
READ MORE
First, as I have mentioned in the last couple of newsletters, our Membership Committee organized a membership drive at the Enrolled Actuaries Meeting April 2-5, 2017. There will be a similar drive at the annual Western Benefits Conference July 9-12, 2017 in Anaheim, CA. There will be more on that...
READ MORE
With the April 15 deadline just passed, I figured this is a good time to update you on the prospects for tax reform. Back in January, I told you that this time, in this Congress, I put the prospects at over 90%. I said it’s not if, but when. Well, I would like to retract that, please. Tax reform is...
READ MORE
Yoo hoo! I hope your busy season is going smoothly. Don’t forget to eat healthy, exercise and get your sleep – all of that adds up to managing the stress successfully. Free advice from Doctor Norm – but as I warn everyone when I give them medical advice, my entire medical training comes from...
READ MORE
“To earn or not to earn, that is the question.”(adaptation of Shakespeare)Earned income is a key concept for setting up a retirement plan for a self-employed individual. While a comprehensive discussion of earned income is beyond the scope of this article, there has been recent information provided...
READ MORE