Level 1 - Required Topics Preparing For Retirement

Demographics & Opportunities For Retirement Planning

Social Security

Overview of the Social Security system
Retirement benefits
Disability benefits
Survivors' benefits
Eligibility for Social Security benefits
How Social Security benefits are computed
Delayed retirement credits
Penalties for earned income after retirement
Rules for divorced and widowed spouses
Death of a beneficiary
Special situations and case studies

Medicare

Overview of Medicare, benefits & history
Medicare Part A, hospital insurance
Medicare Part B, medical insurance
Medicare Part D, prescription drug coverage
Eligibility for Medicare
Medicare enrollment
Medicare choices & options' planning opportunities

Medicaid

Overview of the Medicaid program
Medicaid coverage
Eligibility for Medicaid
Exempt assets
Non-exempt assets
Income limits
Protections for the non-institutionalized spouse
Qualifying for Medicaid benefits
Income cap states
Spend-down states
Medicaid estate recovery
Medicaid planning opportunities
Gifts
Trusts
Gifts versus transfers to a trust

Veteran's Benefits

Eligibility for benefits
Benefits available

Health Care & Long-Term Care Options

Medigap insurance
Comparison of Medigap standard plans
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
Long-term care insurance
Accelerated death benefits from life insurance policies
Home health care
Other options and case studies

Strategic Planning And Self-Employment Taxes

Tools for reducing self-employment taxes
Tools for increasing self-employment taxes to maintain eligibility for benefits
Optional methods of computing SE taxes

Strategic Planning And Business Entities

Planning opportunities with S corporations
Planning opportunities with LLCs

Designing The Retirement Plan

Goals, objectives, and assumptions
Estimating annual income needed in retirement
Identifying sources and projecting annual retirement income
Planning opportunities when projected retirement income is insufficient for needs
Need for reviewing and updating retirement plans

Mistakes To Avoid

Choosing the wrong options when leaving a company
Choosing the wrong beneficiary designation
Choosing the wrong distribution option for a retirement plan
Failing to take the minimum required distribution from an IRA
Outliving the money

Retirement Plans

Funding your retirement plans
Types of plans available
Calculating the maximum contribution
Opportunities for planning when close to retirement age
Premature distributions
Lump-sum distributions
Periodic payments
Rollovers
Minimum required distribution rules
Calculating the required distribution
Required beginning date
Beneficiary designations

Personal Residence Planning Opportunities

The home sale exclusion
Planning for the vacation home
Sale of a mixed-use residence
Reverse mortgages

Decedent's Final Tax Return

Responsibility for the final return
Filing status and exemptions for the final return
Income on the final return
Deductions on the final return
Dealing with incorrect information returns for the year of death
Income and deductions in respect of a decedent

Level 2 - Required Topics Estates & Trusts

Basics Of Estates, Trusts, And Fiduciary Accounting:

Governing Instruments - Wills, Trusts, State Law
Duties of the Personal Representative
Overview of the probate process
Types of Trusts - purpose and tax treatment
Allocation of accounting income & expenses to beneficiaries or to the estate or trust

Income Taxation Of Estates & Trusts

Tax filing requirements of estates & trusts
Reportable income of estates & trusts
Allocation of income between decedent and estate
Treatment of capital gains & losses
Rules for holding period and basis of assets
Deductions of estates & trusts
Allocations of deductions to classes of income
Charitable contributions for estates & trusts
Alternative minimum tax, Form 1041
Estimated taxes; allocating estimated taxes to beneficiaries
Distributable net income and income distribution deduction
Allocations of net income to beneficiaries
Tax return elections of estates & trusts
Preparation of Form 1041
Income in respect of a decedent

Federal Gift Tax

Overview of law
Gift-splitting by married persons
Gifts for educational and medical expenses
Gifts to minors
Preparation of gift tax returns

Federal Estate Tax Returns

Unified transfer tax concepts
Filing requirements
Property includible in the estate
Valuation of the estate
Transfers during decedent's life
Deductions from the gross estate
Generation skipping transfer tax
Unified credit and the state death tax credit
Elections available on the estate tax return
Fiduciary relationship
Preparation of Form 706

Level 3 - Required Topics Ethics & Professionalism

Serving Aging Clients

Determining who is the client
Dealing with client family members
Dealing with clients with diminished capacity
Protecting the client with diminished capacity
Potential conflicts of interest
Confidentiality issues
Limiting your exposure to professional liability
Engagement letters
Case studies in ethics & professional practices

Case Studies In Basic Estate Planning

Gathering information & interviewing the client Utilizing the marital deduction
Utilizing the gift tax annual exclusion
Gift tax exclusion for education and medical payments
Gift-splitting
Transfers made within three years of death
Income in respect of a decedent
Powers of appointment
Community property
The charitable deduction
Situations involving divorce and re-marriage

Tools Of Estate Planning

The will The unified credit shelter by-pass trust
The marital deduction QTIP trust
Living trusts
Gift giving and the Crummey power
Life insurance planning strategies
Disclaimers
Valuation discounts
Utilizing business entities in estate planning
Installment sales and self-canceling installment notes
Sale to intentionally defective grantor trust
Private annuities
Grantor retained interest trusts — GRITs, GRATs, & GRUTS
Qualified personal residence trust
Buy-sell agreements
Special use valuations
Special needs trusts
Dynasty trusts
Health care directives

Retirement Distribution Planning

Roth IRA conversions
Charitable donations of IRA
Avoiding penalties for early withdrawal upon early retirement
Withdrawal options for the surviving spouse
QTIP and QDOT trusts as plan beneficiaries
Withdrawal options for non-spouse beneficiaries
Trusts as plan beneficiaries
Contingent beneficiaries