We wish you health, comfort and prosperity
this holiday season.
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Paychecks for Life®
The Paychecks for Life book is now available for pre-order on Amazon!! The Paychecks for Life book is designed to help American workers understand the value of their 401(k) plans and maximize its benefits to create the best possible retirement outcome. "Planning for retirement can be a daunting process. In Paychecks for Life, Charlie Epstein has cracked the code and developed a simple yet effective approach that every American worker can use. Follow his nine principles and you'll achieve a successful retirement savings process that will serve you for a lifetime." Donald B. Trone Chief Ethos Officer, 3ethos The book release date is scheduled for January 5, 2012 to coincide with the launch of the new Paychecks for Life website. All financial professionals need to read this book! You can also sign up to be notified when the Paychecks for Life System™ becomes available. This system is designed to help financial professionals effectively grow their business by adopting the Paychecks for Life concepts and putting the nine principles to work for their plan participants.
We will keep you updated on upcoming Paychecks for Life workshops and webinars. |
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Give Yourself a Gift
this Holiday!
Sign up for The 401k Coach Year 1 or Year 2 Program.
Take the tax deduction
this year! |
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Year 2
Early Registration Discount ends Today!
Making a living is one thing we all need to do, but having real impact and significance drives a much bigger conversation...
The 401k Coach Year 2 Program is focused on a Bigger Future for you and your business. In Year 2, you'll solidify and expand on the basics of Year 1. It is all about generating more success, satisfaction and significance beyond what you thought was possible for your business.
Click here to register or learn more about our Year 2 Program.
2012 Year 2 Program:
Session 1 & Session 2 (Chicago)
February 9th & 10th
Session 3 (via webcast)
May 9th
Session 4 (Chicago)
July 20th
* $500 Early Registration Discount ends Friday,
December 16th! |
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Year 1 Program Impacts Client Development
The 401k Coach Year 1 Program provides the building blocks you and your team need to build efficiencies in your practice and convert prospects to clients. In Year 1, you'll learn the 10 Critical Components to Building Your Retirement Plan Business™, including value proposition, Position Marketing™, plan design and much more!
Click here to register or learn more about our Year One Program.
2012 Year 1 Program:
Session 1 & Session 2 (Chicago)
April 26th & April 27th
Session 3 (via webcast)
July 18th
Session 4 (Chicago)
September 21st
* Don't Forget to Register Early for your $750 Discount!
(if you are a Boot Camp attendee, please contact a 401k Coach member for an additional discount) |
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Mutual of Omaha continues
Boot Camps through 2012
Mutual of Omaha will continue to sponsor 401k Coach Boot Camps throughout the U.S. in 2012.
For more information, upcoming dates and locations, please visit: The Boot Camp homepage
or contact your Mutual of Omaha wholesaler. |
401kWire's 500 Top DC Advisors in 2012
Nominations end soon
We are proud to see many 401k Coach members on the list year after year! Click Here to make your nomination. (you may need to register with 401kWire first).
The 401kWire has been keeping financial advisors in the know for over a decade. From announcing new and updated rules and regulations to explaining recently released financial products, 401kWire keeps readers current on the latest industry news.
You can register to receive free headlines delivered daily or subscribe for a membership to access all 401kWire content.
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Take Your Business to the Next Level
Don't delay in creating a more successful 401(k) practice for yourself. Speak to a 401k Coach member to learn more about the tools, systems and processes we provide that help you bring your business to the next level.
Toll Free: (877)932-6236 x7
info@The401kCoach.com www.The401kCoach.com |
Charlie Epstein, CLU, ChFC, AIF® is the founder of The 401k Coach Program, which offers expert training for financial professionals to develop the skills, systems and processes necessary to excel in the 401(k) industry and facilitate successful retirement outcomes for plan sponsors and participants. Charlie has frequently been named to 401kWire's Top 100 Most Influential People in the 401(k) Industry List and Top 300 Most Influential DC Advisor List and was named to the Legg Mason Retirement Advisory Council. |
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Greetings!
As the year comes to a close, it's time to reflect on the business goals you set for 2011. Did your business accomplish what you set out to do? Why or why not? Make some notes about your successes and any goals you fell short on. Organizations that analyze their 2011 business in order to plan for 2012 will have the best opportunity to reach new goals.
Next year will substantially alter the 401(k) industry as fee disclosure regulations come into effect. 408(b)(2) regs will require service providers to provide plan sponsors with full fee disclosure statements. Additionally, plan sponsors and fiduciaries must give plan participants full disclosure of the individual costs of the plans' administration and a comparative chart of investments.
These changes present financial advisors with a great opportunity for showcasing their value and offering additional value-added services to their clients. This is especially true of employee education programs, which fiduciaries and plan sponsors can use to reduce their liability. Please read the article below to learn how you can help your clients prepare for participant disclosure regulations.
As always, if you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to call or email us today.
Warmest Regards,
Charlie Epstein, The 401k Coach®
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Fee Disclosure Regs Present Opportunities for Advisors
Wal-mart and Merrill Lynch have settled to the tune of $13.5 million for excessive plan fees. This long-running class action suit launched from one participant complaint. As a financial advisor, you are probably well-aware of the DoL's April 1st deadline for 408(b)(2); full fee disclosure to plan sponsors. The hype over this regulation has somewhat overshadowed the new participant disclosures under 404(a)(5) of ERISA. This regulation requires plan sponsors and fiduciaries to disclose plan fees to every participants, as well provide a comparative chart of the plan's investments.
After dealing with fee disclosures from all service providers by April 2012, plan administrators must create and distribute individual cost analyses to each plan participant starting May 31, 2012. These documents, unlike the SEC's "plain English" standard, must be written "in a manner calculated to be understood by the average plan participant."
This will undoubtedly cause anxiety among plan administrators. They will be turning to their service providers for support. As a valued advisor, now, would be a good idea to start working with your clients on an action plan.
Financial advisors should also use this opportunity to work with plan sponsors and fiduciaries to institute employee education programs. Recommending education for plan participants will highlight your value as an advisor and differentiate you from other advisors.
The education programs should be documented in an Education Policy Statement (EPS). An EPS describes the objectives of the education program, the frequency of the informational meetings that will be held for participants, the educational topics to be covered and any other relevant information.
The Elements of an EPS
An EPS has five major components:
1. Purpose and Background
2. Plan Objectives
3. Roles and Responsibilities
4. Performance Standards
5. Results
The EPS should also include a list of investment materials that is provided to participants, as well as a list of topics discussed at participant education meetings.
The standards of disclosure created by the DoL encourage a broad range of education for participants, which not only provides a variety of benefits for plan sponsors and participants, but also allows advisors to demonstate how they will add value by helping their clients develop Education Policy Statements.
Remember, participant disclosure deadlines begin May 31, 2012. Now is the time to discuss these issues with clients. Financial advisors should ask their clients if they have an EPS. If no EPS exists, this is a great opportunity to explain how it can help the client reduce their risk as a fiduciary, retain employees as well as ease concerns from plan participants.
Valuable Industry Resources:
Click Here to download a Model Comparative Chart on investments from the DoL to assist with participant fee diclosure regulations.
Click Here to download an interactive sample Education Policy Statement from Thornburg Investment Management.
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Build Leads though LinkedIn
It's important for financial advisors to build leads, which boost business development. LinkedIn is an excellent tool for financial advisors to identify prospective clients and referral sources. By using the "advanced search" option, you can easily filter and narrow prospects in your targeted industry. The "advanced people search" has options to highlight keywords, names, locations and postal codes, as well as job titles, schools and companies. If individuals or businesses use certain keywords numerous times throughout their profile, those names should come up first on the search page.
For example, if CPAs are good referral sources for you, you can search for CPAs in your zip code and build your database of accountants. With LinkedIn's Business, Business Plus or Executive paid accounts, you can search by company size, interests, years of experience and Fortune 1,000. Seniority level and function are in beta testing.
While you can build a robust pipeline with FreeErisa and subscription databases, such as Judy Diamond and Larkspur, don't neglect LinkedIn's platform with increasingly better search capabilities, which can provide an important tool in the everlasting pursuit of leads.
If you'd like to connect with Charlie on LinkedIn, click here. |
401k Coach Products
Year End Discount
Use code: 401kCoach10% at checkout
Visit our 401k Coach Store and take advantage of our year-end product sale, including our:
The ERISA Plan Fiduciary Indemnification System™ takes on the issues surrounding fiduciary exposures and liabilities. Use this formalized process to offer complete protection for ERISA plan fiduciaries.
The Edu-tainment Experience™ takes a creative and innovative approach to 401(k) education. It comes with a training DVD, a customizable 6 step process and a 72-slide PPT for use with participants.
The Bear Market Manager™provides a series of tools and conversations designed to help participants take back their futures and re-engage their involvement in retirement planning.
Department of Labor Seminar Kit will teach you how to conduct a seminar with the DoL for your clients and prospects-includes: A Step by Step Guide, Invitation Artwork CD (graphic design files), and other support materials.
The Problem Solver™ will support you and your team to overcome problems that may inhibit the success you seek to achieve.
The 5500 & Beyond™ is both a training and marketing tool created to help you understand the Form 5500 and its components while teaching you how to uncover plan disrupters for successful prospecting.
If you are a 401k Coach Member, be sure you are logged in to take advantage of your member pricing in addition to the 10% discount! |
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Charlie's Bookshelf
Below is a recommended book from The 401k Coach's bookshelf:
Coming Up Short:
The Challenge of 401(k) Plans
By Alicia H. Munnell & Annika Sundin
As the baby boom begins to withdraw from the labor force, ensuring a secure retirement income becomes an increasingly important issue. The number of people over age 65 is expected to double by 2030. That trend will continue, accompanied by worries about stock market volatility, corporate malfeasance, a rapidly changing economy and the viability of Social Security. In Coming Up Short, two experts on retirement policy analyze 401(k) plans, the fastest-growing type of employer-sponsored pensions and a vital source of retirement income for the American middle class.
To see more great recommendations, check out the 401k Coach Amazon Store. |
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