COURSE SYLLABUS Course Title: Retirement Plans and Other Employee Benefits Course Number: X 427.904 Quarter: Summer 2015 Instructor: Keith Johnson, CFP Meeting Times: Online 07/01/2015 09/08/2015 Location: Online Office Hours: Online Course Description: Overall, this course addresses the technical aspects of various types of employee benefits and retirement plans. To start, the course outlines the various techniques used by an agent or financial planner to evaluate a retirement plan or to design a new plan. The course provides an overview of retirement planning and government benefits. It then discusses the various retirement plans, both qualified and nonqualified, including individual retirement accounts and annuity plans. The course then provides an overview of employee benefit planning and addresses designing the right life and health benefit plan, as well as the general planning process. It covers health insurance and reimbursement plans, fringe benefits, and various plans that make use of individual and group life insurance. For each retirement plan or employee benefit, the course outlines what the plan or benefit is, when it should be used and, often, the advantages and disadvantages of its use. Also discussed are the tax implications of the benefit or plan, other applicable regulatory considerations, and where to find additional resource material. Items of importance not covered in one of these categories are generally addressed in the Questions and Answers section at the end of the chapter. Prerequisite: X 430.31 or consent of the instructor. Goals & Objectives: This course is designed to prepare the student for satisfying requirements for professional financial planning course and/or the retirement planning section of the Board Certification exam. The course should prepare the student to be able to analyze the needs of an employer or an individual client in achieving financial independence both for the individual employee and the sponsoring employer. Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to: 1. Know the various types of the pension plans, profit sharing 401(k) plans, SEPs, SIMPLE plans, TSA Plans, and IRAs. 2. Know the tax advantages and limitations of all retirement planning tools. 3. Advise clients about their retirement income needs and resources to help them develop plans for financial independence. 4. Advise business owners in selecting the most suitable plan. 5. Understand the investment issues and regulatory considerations surrounding retirement/qualified plans. 6. Understand social security eligibility, benefits calculations and taxation.
7. Understand the characteristics and tax implications for distributions from qualified plans. 8. Understand the basic provisions and planning strategies for employee stock options, employee stock purchase plans and other employee stock plans. 9. Describe the differences and tax consequences between plans qualified for tax advantages with IRS and non-qualified plans of deferred compensation. Required Readings: Read all lecture material posted within each weekly module. Course Text (Required): Tools and Techniques of Employee Benefits & Retirement Planning By: Stephen R. Leimberg & John J. MacFadden 13 th Edition. Weekly Session Procedures: Course modules will be set up on a weekly basis. This will be your roadmap for each and every week. Here you will find everything needed to successfully complete all assignments, discussions, quizzes, exams, etc. Evaluate your understanding of the topics by taking the practice quizzes posted within the Files section of Canvas. It is equally important to participate in the discussion forum as it relates to the topic. You do not need to send your responses to the instructor for these quizzes. Post a response to the required minimum discussion topics located in the weekly Discussion Forums. All your postings are read and responded to when necessary. Complete two quizzes posted in weeks 4 and 7 of the course. Both quizzes are timed (45 minutes each). The final exam will be available for completion in Week 10. This is a timed exam allowing for 1 ½ hours to complete. Grading: Course grades will be based on participation and completion of assignments as follows: % Item 30 Participation & Practice Quizzes 20 Quiz #1 20 Quiz #2 30 Final Exam 100 Total Grading Scale: Points Letter Grade 100-90 A 89-80 B
79-70 C 69-60 D 59-0 F Students are expected to complete all assignments for each week posted in Assignment area in a timely manner by the end of the week for the specified assignment. Extensions will be granted upon advance request only. Students are also required to participate in at least the required minimum discussion topics in each weekly forum (to be completed by the end of the week) and take relevant quizzes (practice quizzes) as given by the instructor along the course. Student s participation in the Discussion Forums is strongly recommended, as this represents 30% of the total grade. Credit for participation and practice quizzes will be awarded at the end of each week. Check your grade for the course through the grades section of Canvas. The Geography of the Course: The major presentation of this course is found within the weekly modules area of the course. Quizzes are found within the modules as well. The weekly discussion topics can be accessed through the Graded Discussion area within in each weekly module. The Final Exam will be posted within the week 10 Module. Please note that ALL COURSE GRADES ARE FINAL. COURSE OUTLINE Date/Topic Assignments Readings Week One 07/01/15 07/07/15 Overview -Designing the Right Retirement Plan -Planning for Retirement Needs Chapters 1-7 Government Benefits -Social Security -Medicare -Veterans Benefits IRAs -Traditional IRAs -Roth IRAs
Week Two 07/08/15 07/14/15 Week Three 07/15/15 07/21/15 ERISA and Tax Rules for Qualified Plans -Qualified Plans: General Rules for Qualification -Qualified Plans: Distributions and Loans -Estate and Retirement Planning with Qualified Plans and IRAs -Installing a Qualified Retirement Plan -Qualified Plan Investments -ERISA Reporting and Disclosure -Life Insurance in a Qualified Plan Defined Benefit Plans -Defined Benefit Pension Plan -Cash Balance Pension Plan Chapters 8-14 Chapters 15-22 Week Four 07/22/15 07/28/15 Defined Contribution Plans -Money Purchase Pension Plan -Profit Sharing Plan -ESOP/Stock Bonus Plan -Savings/Match Plan -Section 401(k) Plan -Cross Tested/Age Weighted Plan Other Employer Sponsored Retirement Plans Chapters 23-28
-HR 10 Plan -Simple IRA -SEP -Tax Deferred Annuity -NQ Deferred Comp -457 Plan Week Five 07/29/15 08/04/15 Quiz#1 Employee Benefit Planning-Overview -The Process of Employee Benefit Planning -Designing the Right Life Insurance Plan Chapters 29-35 -Designing the Right Health Benefit Plan -Cash Compensation Planning -Bonus Plan -Severance Pay Plan -Golden Parachute Week Six 08/05/15 08/11/15 Equity Options and Cafeteria Plans -Stock Options -ISOs -ESPPs Chapters 36-41 -Restricted Stock Plans Week Seven Life Insurance Plans Chapters 42-45
08/12/15 08/18/15 -Group-Term Life -Split Dollar -Key Employee -DBO Pland Quiz#2 Week Eight 08/19/15 08/25/15 Health Coverage -Health Insurance -HMOs Chapters 46-50 -HSAs -HRAs -LTC Week Nine 08/26/15 09/01/15 Disability -Sick Pay -Long Term Disability Chapters 51-52 Week Ten 09/02/15 09/08/15 Fringe Benefits -Fringe Benefits -Company Car Chapters 53-60 -Dependent Care
-Educational Assistance -Legal Services -Loans -Moving Expenses -VEBAs Final Exam (Comprehensive: Multiple Choice, True/False and Case Study questions) Wrap up/final Questions!