The Tools & Techniques of Employee Benefits and Retirement Planning, 18th edition

Stephan Leimberg, Joseph F. Stenken, John J. McFadden

• Publisher: The National Underwriter Company
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781588528148
• eBook ISBN: 9781588528155
• Edition: 18
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Insurance

Explore all aspects of employee compensation and benefits with The Tools & Techniques of Employee Benefit and Retirement Planning. This must-have resource provides real-world examples of compensation options, healthcare, life insurance strategies, and fringe benefits to help you understand the important and sometimes unexpected consequences of different planning approaches. Each approach is explained in clear, easy-to-understand language that takes you through the legal and regulatory requirements for instituting and maintaining benefits while also explaining the tax consequences of different approaches. For those looking to learn more about employee benefits and retirement planning topics, this book additionally includes detailed references to source material to provide jumping-off points for conducting deeper research. Fundamentals of Writing a Financial Plan, Second Edition provides a totally revised and unique approach to helping aspiring financial planners write a comprehensive financial plan. The book outlines how the CFP Board of Standards, Inc. 7-step planning process can be applied when writing a comprehensive financial plan for an individual or family.

The book not only highlights various elements involved in comprehensive financial planning, including estate, tax, cash flow, education planning, and much more—but also introduces important behavioral perspectives and communication techniques. As a way to synthesize these pieces and learn how the plan writing process unfolds, students follow a running case—the Hubble family.

What’s New:

• An updated chapter on COVID-19 related tax changes for employee benefit plans
• Updates resulting from the SECURE Act
• Employee retention credit under the CARES Act
• New details on use and rollover of medical and dependent care FSA plans
• Updated ERISA compliance and reporting requirements, including Form 5500 information
• Updated materials that address CFP Board's new Client Psychology learning outcomes.
• Videos that can be used to illustrate client communication and counseling techniques.
• Revised and expanded test bank.
• Updated Excel package.

Key Highlights:

• A thorough review of the new 7-step systematic financial planning process.
• A description of the regulatory environment in which every financial planner operates.
• An in-depth discussion of client communication and counseling techniques.
• Financial planning approaches that can be applied to a variety of clients and client circumstances.
• A chapter-by-chapter focus on analytical tools and techniques that can be used to evaluate client data.
• An example of a complete written financial plan with explanations about how analyses lead to the recommendations.
• Chapter-based learning aids, including access to a fully integrated Financial Planning Analysis Excel package and other online support materials, including video examples of client communication and counseling strategies.
• Instructions on how to do calculations essential to creating a financial plan.
• Numerous self-test questions to test comprehension of material.
  • Describes all aspects of employee benefits planning
  • Contains detailed discussions surrounding the relevant planning considerations, regulatory requirements, and tax consequences for each topic
  • Includes benefits that can be used for all types of employees, including full- and part-time employees, entry- and mid-level employees, temporary employees, and executives
  • Explains both qualified and unqualified benefits
  • Outlines both immediate and deferred compensation strategies
  • Describes important regulatory and tax considerations for employee benefits such as healthcare, employer-provided life insurance, and retirement plans

Topics Covered:

• Brief descriptions of the benefit planning tool or technique being discussed.
• Summaries of the client situations where the particular technique is most often beneficial, including the advantages and disadvantages of each technique.
• Design features of the technique and the planning options that are available.
• Tax implications describe the federal income, estate and payroll tax implications of the technique to both employer and employee; some state tax aspects are also noted where appropriate.
• ERISA and other compliance requirements summarizes the ERISA reporting and disclosure, funding, and other non-tax federal regulatory requirements.
• Instructions on how to install the plan provides a summary of the steps that must be taken for an employer to adopt and implement the plan.
• “Where Can I Find Out More?” provides a list of references for further study and information.
• “Frequently Asked Questions” discusses some specific problems (and their solutions) that are often encountered by planners in connection with the benefit plan.CFP Board’s 7-step financial planning process.
• Step-by-step guide to formulating a financial plan and presenting it to a client.
• Guides for different types of financial planning such as life insurance planning, long-term care insurance planning, and retirement planning.
• Comprehensive Hubble case.

Table of contents

• Title
• Copyright
• About ThinkAdvisor
• DEDICATION
• ABOUT THE AUTHORS
• ABOUT THE EDITOR
• PREFACE
• CHAPTER 1: THE PROCESS OF EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANNING
• CHAPTER 2: CASH COMPENSATION PLANNING
• CHAPTER 3: ANNUAL BONUS PLAN
• CHAPTER 4: SEVERANCE PAY PLAN
• CHAPTER 5: GOLDEN PARACHUTE ARRANGEMENTS
• CHAPTER 6: STOCK OPTION
• CHAPTER 7: INCENTIVE STOCK OPTION (ISO)
• CHAPTER 8: EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN (SECTION 423 PLAN)
• CHAPTER 9: ESTRICTED STOCK PLAN
• CHAPTER 10: DESIGNING THE RIGHT RETIREMENT PLAN
• CHAPTER 11: PLANNING FOR RETIREMENT NEEDS
• CHAPTER 12: DESIGNING A QUALIFIED RETIREMENT PLAN
• CHAPTER 13: QUALIFIED PLANS: GENERAL RULES FOR QUALIFICATION
• CHAPTER 14: QUALIFIED PLANS: DISTRIBUTIONS AND LOANS
• CHAPTER 15: QUALIFIED PLAN INVESTMENTS
• CHAPTER 16: ERISA REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE
• CHAPTER 17: ESTATE AND RETIREMENT PLANNING WITH QUALIFIED PLANS AND IRAs
• CHAPTER 18: LIFE INSURANCE IN A QUALIFIED PLAN
• CHAPTER 19: SECTION 401(k) PLAN
• CHAPTER 20: TRADITIONAL IRA
• CHAPTER 21: ROTH PLANS
• CHAPTER 22: PROFIT SHARING PLAN
• CHAPTER 23: EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP PLANS (ESOPs)
• CHAPTER 24: SAVINGS/MATCH PLAN
• CHAPTER 25: MONEY PURCHASE PENSION PLAN
• CHAPTER 26: CROSS-TESTED/AGE-WEIGHTED PLAN
• CHAPTER 27: DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION PLAN
• CHAPTER 28: CASH BALANCE PENSION PLAN
• CHAPTER 29: HR 10 (KEOGH) PLAN
• CHAPTER 30: SIMPLE IRA
• CHAPTER 31: SIMPLIFIED EMPLOYEE PENSION (SEP)
• CHAPTER 32: TAX DEFERRED ANNUITY
• CHAPTER 33: NONQUALIFIED DEFERRED COMPENSATION
• CHAPTER 34: SECTION 457 PLAN
• CHAPTER 35: DESIGNING THE RIGHT HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN
• CHAPTER 36: GROUP HEALTH PLANS
• CHAPTER 37: ALTERNATIVES TO GROUP HEALTH PLANS
• CHAPTER 38: FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT
• CHAPTER 39: HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT (SECTION 223 PLAN)
• CHAPTER 40: CAFETERIA PLAN
• CHAPTER 41: SICK PAY (SHORT-TERM DISABILITY)
• CHAPTER 42: LONG-TERM DISABILITY AND LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE
• CHAPTER 43: DESIGNING THE RIGHT LIFE INSURANCE PLAN
• CHAPTER 44: GROUP TERM LIFE INSURANCE
• CHAPTER 45: SPLIT DOLLAR LIFE INSURANCE
• CHAPTER 46: KEY EMPLOYEE LIFE INSURANCE
• CHAPTER 47: DEATH BENEFIT ONLY (DBO) PLAN
• CHAPTER 48: KNOWING THE RULES: GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS AND HOW TO FIND THEM
• CHAPTER 49: COMMON CONTROL RULES
• CHAPTER 50: FIDUCIARY BREACH LITIGATION
• CHAPTER 51: AGE AND SEX DISCRIMINATION
• CHAPTER 52: ACCOUNTING FOR BENEFIT PLANS
• CHAPTER 53: COVID-19 EMPLOYEE BENEFIT CHANGES
• APPENDIX A: BENEFIT PLANS FOR PROPRIETORS, PARTNERS, AND S CORPORATION SHAREHOLDERS
• APPENDIX B: QUALIFIED PLAN FACT FINDER
• APPENDIX C: LONG-TERM INCENTIVES: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
• APPENDIX D: GOVERNMENT BENEFITS
• APPENDIX E: DESIGNING THE RIGHT PACKAGE OF FRINGE BENEFITS
• INDEX
• Back Page