Meeting Details - THE CITY CLUB

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Topic:
 Sophisticated Qualified Retirement Plan Design

Panelists:
Cristina Collazo
US Department of Labor, Employee Benefits
Security Administration
Eric J. Sharp, QPFC, CRPS, AIF
VP Marketing, PenSys, Inc. (A Division of Ascensus)
Lori Reay, CPA, CPC, QPA, QKA, Partner, DWC
Robert Gower J.D., ERISA Retirement and
Fiduciary Attorney, Director, Trucker Huss

Thank You to Our Meeting Sponsor:
 
         

Program Description:
For business owners, professional groups or other highly compensated non-owners looking to minimize current taxation and maximize qualified contributions, Profit Sharing 401k by itself may not be enough. Please join us as our panelists discuss the benefits and intricacies around combining a Cash Balance Pension Plan to the Profit Sharing 401k. They will talk about the plan design elements necessary and pitfalls to avoid.

In addition, we will have Cristina from the Department of Labor to provide an update on DOL.

Bios for Panelists:
Cristina Collazo, US Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration
Ms. Cristina A. Collazo is a Senior Benefits Advisor at the United States Department of Labor, Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA).  Cristina assists participants and plan officials on a wide range of health and retirement plan issues.  Cristina makes presentations to public and private organizations about relevant health and retirement plan regulations.

Before joining EBSA, Cristina worked in a variety of public and private sector employment. Cristina is a member of the California bar and holds a B.A. from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, and a J.D. from the University of San Francisco, School of Law.

Eric J. Sharp, QPFC, CRPS, AIF, VP Marketing, PenSys, Inc. (A Division of Ascensus)
Eric took over the position VP of Sales & Marketing in January 2012. In this position the responsibilities includes developing and marketing of qualified plans to Financial Advisor community as well as Product Partners, Platform Partners, Broker Dealers and RIA’s.
   
His entire working career has been involved in the Qualified Plan market since entering the field in 1978.

Prior to PenSys, Inc. Eric spent 13 years with Oppenheimer Funds Distributors, Inc. as the VP of Retirement Plans covering the Pacific Northwest Region.

In 1978, Eric graduated from California State University at Sacramento with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration/Finance and passed the Certified Retirement Plan Specialist (CRPS) designation in 2008, AIF in December of 2013 and QPFC in August of 2014.

While at Oppenheimer, Eric was a two time Retirement Wholesaler of the Year..

PenSys is Headquartered in Roseville, CA and has 3,200 plans across the United States and Guam.

Eric is a Principal in both PenSys, Inc. and Pensys Fiduciary Services, a sister company that provides 3(16) Fiduciary Services to employers.

On September 1, 2018 PenSys was acquired by Ascensus and is now part of TPA Solutions and serves as VP Marketing in the Roseville office.

Lori Reay, CPA, CPC, QPA, QKA, Partner, DWC
Lori Reay is retirement plan consultant and partner of DWC - The 401(k) Experts, where she works closely with financial advisors and clients to design and implement plans that meet their goals and objectives. DWC provides third-party plan administration, compliance, and consulting services including retirement plan design, plan document preparation, compliance testing and government reporting for qualified retirement plans, helping businesses across the country navigate today's complex regulatory environment.

Lori has over 17 years of experience working in the retirement plan industry, and is a former recipient of the American Institute of CPAS Women to Watch Emerging Leaders Award. She specializes in consulting, proactive plan design, implementation, and administration of qualified retirement plans.

Lori is currently President of the Salt Lake Chapter of the Western Pension & Benefits Council, ad hoc committee member for the ASPPA Retirement Plan Academy, and has served on the Retirement Plan Fundamentals Certificate Taskforce. She is a former member of the Utah Valley University Alumni Board, including a one-year term as the Vice President of Finance and Development, and a former member of the Utah Valley University Gift Planning Advisory Board.

Lori is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Pension Consultant, and Qualified Pension Administrator and Qualified 401k Administrator. She specializes in tax, qualified retirement plans and cash balance plans.

Robert Gower J.D., ERISA Retirement and Fiduciary Attorney, Director, Trucker Huss
Robert concentrates his practice in all aspects of tax-qualified retirement plan design, compliance, and administration. He routinely works with defined benefit, cash balance, profit sharing, 401(k) and KSOP plans.

Robert has wide-ranging experience in plan drafting, including plan documents, amendments, resolutions, and summary plan descriptions. He also assists plan sponsors in preparing committee charters and bylaws to help govern plan administration.

Robert routinely works with clients to assist with compliance efforts, including all aspects of the Internal Revenue Service Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System. He has significant experience helping clients navigate through the voluntary compliance program and plan audits.

In addition to plan design and compliance, Robert works with plan sponsors to comply with ERISA’s fiduciary requirements, including guiding clients through the Department of Labor’s Voluntary Fiduciary Compliance Program. He applies these same skills to service provider reviews, investment contract drafting and Department of Labor Investigations.

Robert also assists plan sponsors with day-to-day administrative efforts, including benefit claims and appeals, QDRO determinations, and participant communications. He remains up-to-date on all aspects of qualified plan reporting and disclosure in order to assist plan sponsors in timely compliance with regulatory requirements.

Robert has spoken on an array of benefits issues, including the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System, retirement benefits for domestic partners, and the fiduciary responsibilities of retirement plan committees.

Robert has been recognized as a 2016-2018 Rising Star by the Northern California Super Lawyers publication. Robert was also awarded “Outstanding Volunteer” for his work in 2016 with the Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) by the Bar Association of San Francisco.

11:30 am -12:00 pm - Registration & Networking
12:00 pm - 12:15 pm - Chapter, Sponsor Announcements and Lunch
12:15 pm - 1:30 pm - Presentation and Q & A
1:30 pm - Program Closes

You may still register online after November 9, 2018, however, you will be charged the Regular Registration price; online registration closes at midnight, November 11, 2018.

*This topic has been approved by the CFP Board for 1.5 hours of CE credit. 

Lisa Aliferis is the founding editor of KQED's State of Health blog. Since 2011, she's been writing stories and editing them for the site. Before taking up blogging, she toiled for many years producing health stories for television, including Dateline NBC and San Francisco's CBS affiliate, KPIX-TV. She also wrote a practical guide on the affordable care act titled Obamacare Explained – A Guide for Californians, produced by KQED News and The California Report. You can follow her on Twitter: @laliferis