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Posted

Hello,

I am hoping to find study materials (willing to pay a discounted price for used materials) to prepare me for taking DC-1 and DC-2 exams. Unfortunately, my current employer isn't a supporter of receiving designations, so I must pay for everything myself. I did receive an APA while working for a TPA firm years ago, but I understand how valuable the QKA designation is, in my industry. 

My goal is to obtain a QKA before this year ends :).

Any help would be hugely appreciated. 

Posted

Honestly, if your employer isn't a supporter then do you really want to bother? I've been doing this for 20 plus years without any designations, and have worked with people who have designations and have no idea what they're doing.  Just a thought.  I know a lot of TPAs want designations nowadays.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math

Posted
19 minutes ago, CEW said:

Honestly, if your employer isn't a supporter then do you really want to bother? 

The likely answer to that question is found here (ie, "to get a better job!)  

21 hours ago, Sammiemor said:

My goal is to obtain a QKA before this year ends.

 

I'm a retirement actuary. Nothing about my comments is intended or should be construed as investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. Occasionally, but not all the time, it might be reasonable to interpret my comments as actuarial or consulting advice.

Posted

Unless you're brand new in the field, don't feel like you have to buy materials. There are practice exams out there (search for "DC-1 flashcards") that can help you identify where you need more review. A lot of it is stuff you've seen and done already if you've been doing TPA work for a while. If you're comfortable using practice exams to identify weak spots, then brushing up on them using material that's available for free on the web, you don't need to spend a dime studying.

If you're not comfortable self-directing your study like that, there's certainly nothing wrong with buying whatever materials you'd like. But you shouldn't feel like you must spend $X to get a passing result, because there aren't any forbidden secrets in the study guides that can't be found anywhere else (uh, as far as I know...) It's absolutely possible to do well on both exams without buying anything.

Posted

In the past, ASPPA has sponsored a QKA scholarship which pays for the study materials and test registration fees. The link doesn't currently seem to be functioning on their site but if you're subscribed to their email list I'm sure you will hear more about it. If I recall correctly they usually begin accepting applications over the summer and then announce the winners at the national conference in October.

Free advice is worth what you paid for it. Do not rely on the information provided in this post for any purpose, including (but not limited to): tax planning, compliance with ERISA or the IRC, investing or other forms of fortune-telling, bird identification, relationship advice, or spiritual guidance.

Corey B. Zeller, MSEA, CPC, QPA, QKA
Preferred Pension Planning Corp.
corey@pppc.co

Posted
21 hours ago, C. B. Zeller said:

In the past, ASPPA has sponsored a QKA scholarship which pays for the study materials and test registration fees. The link doesn't currently seem to be functioning on their site but if you're subscribed to their email list I'm sure you will hear more about it. If I recall correctly they usually begin accepting applications over the summer and then announce the winners at the national conference in October.

PenChecks sponsors it through ASPPA (and I think they do the same with NIPA).  Lots of old links are dead with the new ASPPA website unfortunately. 

@Sammiemor you can find out more about the scholarship here https://www.asppa.org/penchecks-scholarship

 

 

Posted

Please take advantage of educational opportunities on BenefitsLink that would be useful to a person learning the ropes in retirement plan administration:

Free online recorded webcasts:

https://benefitslink.com/cgi-bin/events/index.cgi?num_per_page=25&kind_of_plan=is_retirement&kind_of_plan=is_exec&continuing_ed_credit_status=yes_or_no&fee_status=free&rm=recorded

News items (official guidance, guidance overview, general news items):

https://benefitslink.com/news/index.cgi?num_per_page=25;kind=ret;type=official;type=overview;type=general

Similar, but grouped by subject:

https://benefitslink.com/subjects.html

And let me know how any of these could be enhanced further!

And, of course, these message boards are a treasure trove of practical information -- what issues are practitioners encountering? And what do other practitioners think is the answer?

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