Smooth Sailing with Retirement Insights
Rev. 10/21/04, E-mail 2004-22

We’re finalizing our 2005 Public Class seminar schedule — and we’re pretty excited. We will be offering some unusual events this coming year.

Here’s a sneak preview of next year’s programs. With submission of the EGTRRA amendment and restatement coming next fall, we will be re-writing our Defined Contribution Prototype Plan. So, in addition to the Retirement Insights Seminar, which we have been offering for the past several years, we will once again be offering a limited number of Prototype Plan Seminars. This will give you an opportunity to review the documents — and give us an opportunity to get client input — before the actual submission.

Plenty of New Material
We expect the IRS to make a lot of new material available, which will be incorporated into the 2005 Retirement Insights Seminar. We’re anticipating that there will be new 401(k) and 403(b) regulations and new Roth 401(k) rules, all of which were delayed this year. Also, the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued guidance that will take effect next year. And finally, depending on the outcome this November, we may have lots of other issues to discuss as well. Needless to say, our 2005 Retirement Insights Seminar will be very informative.

We’ve been approached about the possibility of holding seminars in different venues. So, we’re thinking about modifying our schedule. For those of you who are interested, we are looking at scheduling a session in Las Vegas in the very early fall. (Evening sessions addressing the impact of green felt on investments can be arranged for all interested attendees!)

Speaking of Sailing
We are also investigating the possibility of scheduling a Retirement Insights at Sea program. Specifically, we are looking at offering the seminar as part of a seven-day Alaskan cruise next August. The program portion would be covered in one full day and two half days while the ship is under way. As an incentive, tuition for the program would be 10% less than our regular seminars. (If your company is eligible for an annual free seminar, that can also be applied to this program.) Attendees would be responsible for the cost of the cruise, air travel, shore excursions, alcoholic beverages, souvenirs, and any cruise extensions.

What’s the Catch?
The catch is that we need to know ASAP if there is enough serious interest to proceed so that we have time to book the program and reserve the conference space with the cruise line. We need a commitment from approximately 20 attendees (not including travel companions) to make this happen. We will then determine if there is sufficient interest to finalize the arrangements. Since the cruise is scheduled during Alaska’s high season, the earlier you book, the cheaper the cabin rates should be.