Investing June 9, 2004

Study: Individual K Plans Booming

June 9, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Individual 401(k) plans were hot during 2003 - red hot, according to a new research report.
Reported by

FRC estimates that the product sales – aimed at owner-only businesses – have generated $1.5 billion in assets as of year-end 2003 and will have an asset pool twice that size at the end of 2004.

Following the entrance of dozens of providers into the individual K arena in 2003, FRC predicts 40,000 to 50,000 new plans will be adopted in 2004, as financial advisors and small-business owners become more aware of the benefits of the plans, which also include the ability to consolidate multiple retirement accounts and to take loans.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan benefits news.

The success of the individual K plan stems from the ability for small business owners to make larger contributions to them ($41,000 in 2004, excluding an additional $3,000 catch-up contribution available to those age 50 or older) at lower income levels than they could in any other defined contribution or IRA-based retirement plan, FRC said in its  research report .

Chris Brown, vice president and Director of Retirement Market Research at FRC, said that the plans are designed for a “vast and growing” niche, including millions of highly compensated self-employed professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, and real estate agents.

“With just 50,000 Indy-k plans adopted to date, investment manufacturers and distributors still have an opportunity to get in during the early stages of what will be a rapidly accelerating and increasingly lucrative market,” Brown said in an FRC news release.

Products June 8, 2004

ASPA Offers Online CE Access

August 30, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Plan sponsors and providers alike now have a more cost-effective way to keep up with those continuing education requirements.
Reported by

The American Society of Pension Actuaries (ASPA) has just added a series of continuing education quizzes to its web-based tests. ASPA’s credentialed members are required to meet continuing education requirements in order to maintain that standing. 

Quick Results

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANSPONSOR NEWSDash daily newsletter.

ASPA members have had the ability to earn continuing education (CE) credit through a series of quizzes based on each issue of The ASPA Journal. However, now that these quizzes are on-line, members can review questions, take the quiz, and receive immediate results, according to ASPA.  And those quick results can come in handy when you’re trying to wrap up a few last minute credits ahead of the CE reporting deadline.

Just as critically, on-line availability offers an inexpensive way to keep up with ASPA’s continuing education requirements. Before on-line testing, most members acquired CE credit by attending conferences, which can be both costly and time consuming.

According to Marissa Pietschker, QPA, ASPA’s CE Committee Chair, “Given today’s economy, many employers are cutting back on expenses and will not pay for costly employee training and development opportunities.”

ASPA says it will be implementing additional e-learning programs in the near future.

ASPA is a national organization of retirement plan professionals dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of the private pension system in the United States. 

You can check out the online tests at http://www.aspa.org/ASPAwhat.htm

«