SESSION HIGHLIGHTS
• Sessions for TPAs, Consultants, Attorneys, Plan Sponsors, Investment Advisors and Actuaries
• Participant Investment Advice: What is Permitted?
• Case Studies in EPCRS -- IRS and DOL Programs
• IRS Q & A for Defined Benefit and an Ask The Experts Panel. Submit questions HERE!
• Annual Plan Audits – What to Expect from Accountants
• Case Studies of Health Care Plan Eligibility Audits


Spread the Word
Tell your colleagues to join you at the Western Benefits Conference this year using one of the fliers below. We’ve tailored single-page handouts for plan sponsors, actuaries, and professionals (like attorneys and consultants). There’s also a general version for all audiences. Print them or email them to spread the word!
General Version
Actuaries
Plan Sponsors
Professionals






2:00 p.m. Introductions and Presidents’ Welcome

2:10 p.m. – 3:50 p.m. General Session 1: Washington Update
How will developments in the Nation’s Capital influence the design and administration of retirement and other benefit plans? What do the new rules mean and what additional developments should we expect? Join this session as ASPPA addresses issues of great concern to retirement plan professionals.
Brian H. Graff, Esq., APM, ASPPA, Arlington, VA
Joe Canary, US Department of Labor, Washington, DC
Andrew E. Zuckerman, Esq., Internal Revenue Service, Washington, DC

4:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. Concurrent Sessions
Workshop 1: Participant Investment Advice: What is Permitted?  
Workshop 2: How to do a DB Valuation Under PPA – Part 1 of 2 – A Look Inside the Numbers 
Workshop 3: Observations from the Trenches: A Practical Loot at Issues of Aging and Their Effect on Long Term Care 
Workshop 4:  2010 and Changing Demographics: Preparing for the Baby Boomers’ Workforce
Workshop 5: How to Feed and Care for Your 403(b) Plan Post Final Regulations  

5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall

7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. WP&BC Special Event at Lucky Strike
WP&BC members, prospective WP&BC members and guests are invited to a special Sunday evening event at L.A. LIVE’s Lucky Strike. Bowl, shoot pool, enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres, catch-up with colleagues and meet new people!! Space is limited to the first 100 that register!! Tickets are required and cost $60/person.

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7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Breakfast in the Exhibit Hall

8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Concurrent Sessions
Workshop 6: Where Did Everyone Go? A Guide to Partial Plan Termination 
Workshop 7: Coming Soon To a Plan Near You: The Future of Retirement Policy 
Workshop 8: Electronic Filing with EFAST2
Workshop 9: Cash Balance Plan Design
Workshop 10: Now How Much Would You Pay? Fee Disclosure Under 408(b)(2)

10:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Concurrent Sessions
Workshop 11: Who’s the Employee?
Workshop 12: Here Comes the Judge: Update on ERISA Litigation
Workshop 13: Health Reform - Where are we Today?
Workshop 14: How to do a DB Valuation Under PPA – What to do with the Numbers – Part 2 of 2
Workshop 15: 401(k) Fiduciary Safe Harbors: What are They and Do They Work?

11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch with Keynote Speaker
Phyllis C. Borzi, Assistant Secretary, EBSA, US Department of Labor, Washington, DC

1:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Concurrent Sessions
Workshop 16: Executive Compensation - What’s Next?
Workshop 17: Dependent Eligibility Audits – What’s in Your Health Plan?
Workshop 18: Welfare Benefits Design, Funding and Regulation Update
Workshop 19: DB Funding in the Real World
Workshop 20: DC Plan Conversions – Look Before You Leap

3:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. Concurrent Sessions
Workshop 21: Aggregation Aggravation
Workshop 22: How to Turn Benefits from M&A from M&Ayhem to M&Agnificent
Workshop 23: What’s in Your Wallet? Risk Measurement in Underlying Investments
Workshop 24: Completing the New Schedule B
Workshop 25: Retirement Income Adequacy – How Behaviors and Assumptions Must Change

5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Networking Reception in the Exhibit Hall

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7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Breakfast in the Exhibit Hall

8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Concurrent Sessions
Workshop 26: Cash Balance Plan Design—After the Honeymoon
Workshop 27: The Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS): The IRS’s Path to Forgiveness
Workshop 28: Benchmarking Service Providers
Workshop 29: The Risk of Fraud in Employee Benefit Plans
Workshop 30: Disclosing Fees on the New Schedule C

10:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Concurrent Sessions
Workshop 31: Surviving IRS/DOL Audits
Workshop 32: Case Studies in Ethical Decisions (1.5 hours of Ethics Credits)
Workshop 33: Participant Loans: Common Problems & How to Deal
Workshop 34: Avoiding Employer Fiduciary Pitfalls of 401(k) and ERISA 403(b) Plans
Workshop 35: Benefit Restrictions Under Section 436

11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch with Keynote Speaker
Jerry Nickelsburg, Senior Economist, UCLA Anderson Forecast

1:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Concurrent Sessions
Workshop 36: Ask the Experts [Click here to submit questions]
Workshop 37: Annual Plan Audits – “What to Expect From Your Audit Firm”
Workshop 38: Defining Plan Compensation – What You Need To Know
Workshop 39: Evaluating Target Date Funds; Looking Beyond the Numbers
Workshop 40: Zen and the Art of Non-Discrimination Testing

3:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. Concurrent Sessions
Workshop 41: IRS Questions & Answers – Defined Benefit Plans [Click here to submit questions]
Workshop 42: Techniques to Improve DC Plan Participation
Workshop 43: Investments for 401(k)s - Going Beyond the Traditional Core Investments
Workshop 44: The Traps and Pitfalls of Automatic Enrollment
Workshop 45: Distribution Planning from a Financial Planning Perspective
Workshop 46: Health & Welfare Questions & Answers [Click here to submit questions]

4:45 p.m. Conference Adjourns

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CONTINUING EDUCATION INFORMATION

The Western Benefits Conference offers 15.5 hours of ASPPA CPE credit. The conference is designed to provide up to 15.5 JBEA CPE credits for enrolled actuaries, with core and non-core sessions offered during each time segment, as well as up to 15 ERPA CPE credits. The final decision as to the number of JBEA credits rests solely with the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries (JBEA).

Workshop 32 qualifies for 1.5 ASPPA and JBEA ethics/professionalism CPE credits as well as 1 ERPA Ethics credit.

For other types of continuing education credit, including CLE, CFP, CPE or state insurance credit, please email the conference staff at conference@westernbenefits.org at least 45 days prior to the conference to submit your request to get the program pre-approved. We will apply for advance approval of the program if the application process and filing fees are not prohibitive.