ABC OF CENTRAL TEXAS – virtual training series
The ASPPA Benefits of Central TX sponsored their annual full-day benefits seminars virtually in lieu of the back-to-back days which were originally planned for early this past summer. Instead of Ilene Ferenczy being on-site as usual, she presented four, two-hour sessions over four days on Dec. 2, 3, 9, and 10. Topics included: “Keeping Current,” “SECURE & CARES: What You Need to Know for 2021,” “Be Your Client’s Hero!: Lessons Learned from Litigation,” “Practical MEP: How Do I Do This?,” and Ethics.
ERISAPEDIA/FERENCZY BENEFITS LAW CENTER FREE WEBCASTS (featuring FBLC presenters)
November 20th marked the date of the ERISApedia/Ferenczy Benefits Law Center webcast: Safe and SECURE, or Is it? Exploring Safe Harbor 401(k) Plans.
On Wednesday, December 16th from 2:00-4:00 pm (ET), Ilene Ferenczy, Derrin Watson and the Ferenczy Benefits players joined for the year’s scenario-driven, comedy-ridden get-your-ethics-credits-here session! Not only were the scripts entertaining (making this session so much more fun than the standard droning about Circular 230), but the stories were commonly rooted in real life situations that have occurred. 100 minutes of Ethics credit earned 2 hours for continuing education in this category for 2020.
FIDUCIARY TRAINING WEBINARS
Alison Cohen and Ilene Ferenczy collaborated with Clearview Advisory Group to present a series of training webinars on fiduciary issues. November 19th presentation: “Everyone Tells Me I’m a Fiduciary. Is that Fatal?”
NIPA WEBCASTS
On November 16th and again on November 18th, Ilene Ferenczy and Derrin Watson teamed up to present two-hour webcasts for NIPA, titled “2021 Is Coming: Are You Ready?” (Parts I and II). You thought when you finished your 10/15 deadlines, you could put your feet up for a while … boy, were you wrong? A lot happened at the end of 2020, and in 2021 you’ll need to gear up. You can’t plan for what you can’t see coming. Derrin and Ilene talked about some of the challenges we will face in the next several months.
KY SOCIETY OF CPAs EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS CONFERENCE – virtual
On October 29th, Ilene Ferenczy was one of the main presenters for this organization’s annual benefit plans conference. Her first topic was “Mergers & Acquisitions: Plan Design and Administration,” and the second was “The Dirty Dozen: The Most Common Plan Mistakes and How to Fix Them.”
ERISAPEDIA WEBCAST
On Wednesday, October 21st , The Ferenczy ‘A-Team’ was back (Alison Cohen, Adriana Starr, and Adrienne Moore, with Derrin Watson giving color commentary)! Successfully mastering the art of the defined contribution restatement period requires a lot – planning, thought, more planning, technical knowledge, and possibly a Harry Potter time-turner. Regardless of which document vendor you use, the team at Ferenczy Benefits Law Center walked you through many of the key considerations to ensure technical knowledge and skills, exceptional customer service, employee sanity, profitability, and lower liability. Done correctly, this nightmare can prove to be a dream for marketing and sales opportunities for a TPA.
PENSIONPRO SOFTWARE TRAINING WEBINARS
Ilene Ferenczy conducted two sessions during PensionPro’s training seminar on October 21st and 22nd. Session 1 on the 21st was “Coronavirus-Related Distributions (CRDs) and Loans,” and Session 2 on the 22nd was “Annual Data Collection Under the CARES Act.”
ERISAPEDIA WEBCAST
On Thursday, September 24th, Derrin Watson and Ilene Ferenczy discussed the first batch of IRS guidance on the SECURE Act. At 31 pages, Notice 2020-68 covers the new EACA tax credit, qualified birth and adoption distributions, IRA contributions after 70½, age 59½ distributions from pension and governmental 457(b) plans, difficulty of care payments, and amendment deadlines. It also gives us our first taste of new rules relating to vesting for long-term part-time employees. Derrin and Ilene walked participants through this guidance and how it will impact plans now and in the future.
ASPPA WEBCAST
On September 9th, Ilene Ferenczy presented a webcast to the national membership of ASSPA entitled “3(16) Fiduciary Issues.”
FIS ADVANCED PENSION CONFERENCE – virtual
Derrin Watson and Ilene Ferenczy once again were the mainstays of the faculty for this annual fall conference during September 1st through 3rd. Due to the pandemic, it was held virtually this year, and was a resounding success. Derrin and Ilene either individually or co-presented the following webcasts: “Keeping Current,” “RMD Challenges Under SECURE and CARES Acts,” Increased Risk Issues in the New Normal,” and “EPCRS 2020.” They were also panelists for the ever-popular “Pension Jeopardy,” as well as “Ask the Experts.”
FIDUCIARYNEWS.COM WEBCAST CONFERENCE – virtual
Ilene Ferenczy was part of the faculty for a virtual conference on MEPs. Her Topic was “All Hands on Deck for TPAs.” The conference had various events running at a variety of times during the week of August 24th, and Ilene also conducted a roundtable Q&A session now.
NIPA NAFE AMPLIFIED (NIPA Virtual Annual Conference)
Originally scheduled for April and rescheduled and converted to virtual due to the pandemic, this annual conference for NIPA members was held August 10-12. Alison Cohen presented “Ethics,” and she teamed up with Adrienne Moore to co-present “VCAP: The Other Correction Program.” Ilene Ferenczy presented “Mergers & Acquisitions: Plan Design & Administration,” and she also co-presented “Are You Suffering from Engagement Scope Creep?”
FERENCZY BENEFITS LAW CENTER/ERISAPEDIA FREE WEBCASTS
FBLC, in conjunction with ERISApedia, offered a series of weekly or semi-weekly updates beginning in April and concluding in early July on the CARES Act. Derrin Watson, sometimes co-presenting with Ilene Ferenczy, hosted ongoing updates titled “Derrin’s Fireside Chat: We CARES.” These sessions were designed to keep practitioners abreast of the changing legislation surrounding the pandemic and its effect on our industry.
FERENCZY BENEFITS LAW CENTER/ERISAPEDIA SUMMER WEBCAST SERIES
In addition to the Fireside Chats mentioned above, FBLC and ERISApedia have conducted a series of free educational webcast on a variety of topics. These were conducted by some combination of Alison Cohen, Ilene Ferenczy, Adrienne Moore, and Adriana Starr.
On July 14th, the third webcast in our summer series, “Get Your Hands Off My Money!” was presented by Alison J. Cohen, Adrienne I. Moore, and Adriana Starr. They took a dive into the facts alleged in both the Estee Lauder and Abbott Laboratories cases to understand how thieves walked away with a participant’s 401(k) account. And, because nothing is foolproof, the team discussed the insurance challenge of figuring out if your firm would be covered for identity theft and whether your coverage is enough.
The second of these webcasts was “Advanced Case Studies in EPCRS” on June 23rd. Ilene, Alison, and Adrienne spent time analyzing common (and some not-so-common) operational failures that occur with retirement plans and the approach for correction
On June 11th, Ilene and Alison presented “The eDisclosure Regs Are Here!” They reviewed the newest DOL Regulations for eDisclosure and highlighted the possible ways service providers can quickly implement the new requirements.
PENSIONS ON PEACHTREE VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
FBLC co-sponsored our main event of the year on May 18th and 19th with the educators at FIS Global – our annual Pensions on Peachtree Conference (POP). It was revamped as a virtual conference during this spring of social distancing and was a huge success. It was attended by over 400 participants and received rave reviews. This conference featured Ilene Ferenczy, Alison Cohen, Derrin Watson, and Adrienne Moore from FBLC. Plan to join us next year.
NORTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION OF CPAs VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
In lieu of their annual in-person Employee Benefit Plans conference, NCACPA elected to conduct the same conference virtually this year due to the pandemic. The conference was held on May 12th, and Ilene Ferenczy presented the keynote address on “The SECURE Act from a Plan Auditor’s Perspective,” as well as a second presentation titled “Encountering Unusual or Infrequent Employee Benefit Plan Issues.”
WEBINARS
On April 8th and again on April 9th, Ilene Ferenczy teamed up with Sarah Simoneaux of Simoneaux Consulting Services to present updates on “The CARES Act” to the national staffs of Broadridge Financial Solutions and CUNA Mutual Group, respectively.
NIPA WEBINAR
The National Institute of Pension Administrators hosted a webinar on “Understanding The CARES Act” on April 7th. Ilene Ferenczy and Adrienne Moore were the co-presenters.
NIPA WEBINAR
Ilene Ferenczy spoke to the National Institute of Pension Administrator’s membership during an April 2nd webinar, entitled “The Practical MEP – How Do I Do This?: Looking at MEPs from the Business Side.”
ASPPA WEBINAR – Webinar
“Plan Terminations” was the topic of Ilene Ferenczy’s webcast on April 1st for the members of the national ASPPA organization.
NATIONWIDE/PENSION FINANCIAL SERVICES PLAN ADVISOR SEMINAR – Atlanta, GA
Alison Cohen and Ilene Ferenczy teamed up on March 5th at this co-sponsored event at Flemings Steakhouse – Perimeter to present “Understanding the SECURE Act to local financial advisors.
ERISAPEDIA WEBCAST
February 27th marked the date of of “The Dirty Dozen: The Most Common Plan Mistakes and How to Fix Them” webcast, co-presented by Ilene Ferenczy, Alison Cohen, and Derrin Watson.
ERISAPEDIA WEBCAST
Derrin Watson and Ilene Ferenczy teamed up to bring practitioners up-to-date on the latest legislation with “Answering the SECURE Act Insecurities.”
FIS ADVANCED PENSION CONFERENCE – Orlando, FL
Ilene Ferenczy and Derrin Watson were two of the faculty for this annual conference for pension practitioners. Between them they either individually or co-presented, “Keeping Current,” EPCRS 2020,” “How Service Agreements Can Save Your Practice,” and “Case Studies in M&A,” and they were both part of the panels for “Pension Jeopardy” and “Ask the Experts.”
PENSION EDUCATION COUNCIL OF ATLANTA – Atlanta, GA
In conjunction with PECA, Alison Cohen and Ilene Ferenczy conducted a half-day “Boot Camp for TPAs.”
FUTUREPLAN by ASCENSUS BREAKTHROUGH CONFERENCE – Austin, TX
Ilene Ferenczy traveled to Austin on January 15th to present the keynote speech at FuturePlan’s 2020 kickoff conference.
NIPA BUSINESS MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE – Scottsdale, AZ
Camelback Resort was the setting for NIPA’s annual conference for business leaders, and Ilene Ferenczy presented the closing general session, “Risk Reduction: Things You’re Doing Without Realizing It and How to Avoid That Risk.”