As we approach the 50th anniversary of ERISA, the SECURE 2.0 Act is continuing to dominate the thoughts of plan sponsors, advisors, and administrators—and is on the agenda of the upcoming 2024 ASPPA Spring National Conference. 
The conference is just around the corner and I’m excited to hear from the nationally recognized speakers in this two half-day virtual conference for attendees looking to gain insight into the current legislation, trends, and issues of retirement plan administration, including the SECURE 2.0 Act.
Day One
On the first day, we’ll hear from Kizzy Gaul, Director at WTW, regarding the SECURE 2.0 Act as well as relevant provisions for 2024 and recent guidance we’ve received.
As a retirement plan auditor, I’m also looking forward to our session on EPCRS Expansion presented by David Guadagnoli, Partner at Sullivan & Worcester, LLP, since plan sponsors are bound to make mistakes and we need to understand how to go about making compliant corrections to ensure a favorable tax status is maintained.
Another session will provide case studies on emergency distributions, discussing all the recent emergency distribution options provided under the SECURE 2.0 Act to ensure we understand all of the options available and to make sure we don’t trip up on administering these provisions.
I’m also looking forward to the session in which Kelsey Mayo, Partner at Poyner Spruill will cover plan terminations and freezes. I’ve personally had a number of clients terminate, merge, or spinoff plans and this session will present applicable case studies in these hot-topic plan scenarios.
Bob Kaplan, Director of Technical Education of the American Retirement Association, will make sure we are all ethical by providing relevant scenarios that we as retirement professionals run into during our daily duties. Bob will provide options for addressing these dilemmas to make sure we are all in compliance with the Code of Conduct and can handle these situations as best as possible.
Day Two
Kicking off the second day, we’ll hear from Stephen Forbes of Forbes Retirement Plan Consulting regarding long-term part-time (LTPT) employee provisions in the SECURE Act. This session will discuss the recent guidance we received on this topic in late November 2023 to help plan administrators and sponsors understand what we know and how to properly administer the provisions based on the guidance.
Continuing with discussion of matters related to the SECURE Act, Corey Zeller of Preferred Pension Planning Corporation will be presenting a session providing in-depth discussion of the implications of its provisions on top-heavy testing, and will offer strategies to ensure compliance.
You’ll gain up-to-date Form 5500 information in our session on updates to the Form 5500, including changes to the new participant-counting methodology, increased Schedule H transparency, and new compliance questions on the Schedule.
Interactive sessions are also included, as in prior years, in which attendees will be able to join a peer-to-peer session to discuss practical solutions, common areas of frustration, and other areas that may be particularly difficult with the information we have.
And in the “Ask the Experts” session at the end of Day 2, attendees will have an opportunity to ask our nationally recognized experts specific questions that may not have been answered, but that are keeping you up at night.
CE Credits
Don’t forget that 2024 is the end of the ASPPA two-year CE reporting cycle. By attending the 2024 Spring National Conference, gain 11 CE credits to make sure you meet your CE requirement for the 2023-2024 cycle.
See You There!
As a member of the 2024 Spring National Planning Committee, I’m proud of the work the committee has done to make this a conference with great sessions and presenters. I’m looking forward to a great 2024 Spring National Conference and hope to see you there!
Christopher J. Ciminera, CPA, QKA®, Principal – Accounting & Auditing – Retirement Plan Services, is an ASPPA Spring National Committee Member.
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