From the Executive Editor

Hello ACOPA —

The weather in New York has mostly been moderate, with December golf a real possibility. While I sometimes get the winter blahs, working on PPA restatements has lifted my spirits (or at least kept me busy) these last few weeks.

And with the new clients coming on board as they do at year-end, there is a whole new group of people who I can look forward to ignoring my emails and not returning paperwork as directed. Of course, these are fortunate problems to have, for which I am grateful.

Speaking of year-end new clients, our first article highlights a proposal of the ARA and LRC which would certainly change our work calendar. Martella Turner-Joseph of Joseph & Turner Consulting Actuaries, LLC discusses this proposal that impressively made its way into both the Family Savings Act of 2018 and the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act of 2018. You can find the article here.

Our next article comes from the great Jim Holland, Chief Research Actuary at Cheiron, Inc. Jim details the updated safe harbor explanations of IRS Notice 2018-74, or what I call “the rollover section in ben apps.” Thank you, Jim, for your time. You can find his article here.

Elsewhere in Actuary Land, ACOPA’s President-Elect, Lauren Okum of Premier Actuarial Solutions, got started on her official duties with the North American Actuarial Council. Lauren got to interact with organizations from Canada and Mexico, as well as other U.S. organizations such as the American Academy of Actuaries. For a great recap on her September 2018 meeting (and all the social activities), you can find the article here.

Finally, in his first article as President of ACOPA, John Markley, Industry Relations Director at The Retirement Advantage, Inc. (TRA), provides insight into the recent ARA Board meeting and membership vote of the Academy. I will skip any comments myself, and let John’s article do the talking, here.

And besides the usual Happy Holidays and best wishes for a Happy New Year, I hope you all know that ACOPA is at the top of my list of what I am thankful for each year.

Please contact me directly with your ideas for future articles and more so, to offer to write an article for a future ACOPA Monthly. That would be the best holiday present of all!

— Alan