Leaderboard

the BPD does say the change in vesting only applies to someone who has at least one hour of service after the effective date of the amendment. thanks John.

First, although it sounds like nitpicking, she's trying to avoid CURRENT taxation. If she pays it to the plan, then rolls her account to an IRA, it'll get taxed eventually when withdrawn. On the other hand, she'll now have a policy with a FMV of $13,000. I don't have an opinion as to whether this transaction is beneficial from a tax viewpoint or not. Dangerous to guess when you don't know someone's full financial situation, both current and expected. I'm only giving options. In addition, I'm not a CPA or financial planner, so my free advice, if I were able to give it, would be worth the cost...

1. If I had become and enrolled actuary, I would have saved a lot of money in outside actuarial fees. 2. Most important, how are you going to get new business? It is a relationship business and you or someone has to be great at this end of it. 3. All you list are challenges you will face, which is the "biggest" will vary depending on what's going on at the time. When times are good, attracting and retaining good employees is a challenge while the business rolls in. When times are slow, bringing in new business is paramount. 4. Best things about being an owner - get to do it your way, it makes you a better pension consultant to other business owners as you will share the same experiences. You should make more money than as an employee and hopefully you are building equity that you can eventually convert to cash. You end up on the good side of the tiered gateway allocation. 5. I would do it again in the time period I did it. I don't know if I would do it again now. The race to the bottom on fees is making this a much tougher business. Other - if you do own the business, remember it is an investment from which you should derive an appropriate risk-adjusted return. You should budget for a profit in addition to a compensation for yourself that is equivalent to what it would cost you to hire yourself in the market. We targeted a 20% profit - but it took us a number of years to get there. Be sure to go to the NIPA BMC every January. There are other organizations such as Vistage that provide support for business owners. You can hire technical help, but you need to define the vision for your firm and drive to fulfill that vision. Try not to borrow a lot of money otherwise the lenders own you and control you. Design your fees and billing such that you get paid as the work is done, not after the fact. Enforce a strict policy on collections and stop providing additional services when a client is in arrears. Always carry E&O insurance, it is a cost of doing business so budget for it.

You could also quit, and take as many cases as you can to a new firm that appreciates what you do and is concerned with quality work. If the new owner doesn't appreciate the service, it won't get any better for you. There are lots of ways to get CE credits and training, webcasts and conferences just to name a few. Also, don't be afraid to tap into other firms. Befriend someone in another firm so that you are comfortable bouncing things off them when you aren't sure. Good luck