Designing Qualified Plans to Meet Employer Objectives

Course Description:

There are many issues that are normally addressed in design of a qualified plan; this course has been developed to introduce you to them. In it, we will discuss qualified plan design issues in large and small companies. Our emphasis, however, will be on the plans of small companies. Although "small" means many different things in different contexts, the meaning given to the term "small company" in this course is an employer that has fewer than 25 employees.

We will begin our treatment of qualified plan design with a discussion of the characteristics of particular qualified plans. This should help you understand, in a general way, what they can accomplish for an employer. Our examinations will then proceed to look at the three areas that employers need to address in deciding on which plan is the right one for their organization. We will look at how to identify employer objectives and then turn our attention to the more analytical aspect of plan design. That analytic job involves matching the common employer objectives with an appropriate qualified plan that will help the employer to realize those objectives.

Generally, the qualified plan that is the appropriate one for an employer will depend on the employer's objectives in three important areas:

1. What the plan should accomplish for the company
2. Who the plan should favor

3. How much can be allocated to pay for the plan

As the course continues, we will revisit these objectives time and again. As a jumping-off point, we will begin the substantive part of the course by reviewing the qualified plans that an employer can establish and their characteristics. This should help us gain a better sense of what specific qualified plans can accomplish.

Learning Objectives:

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

·        Understand and define the different characteristics of qualified plans, including 401(k) plans.

·         Obtaining and prioritize important facts in gathering hard data and employee census.

·         Maximize key employee benefits, provide value to employees, minimize employee turnover and encourage retirement.

·         Maximize employee performance.