Approved IAR CE Courses

This quiz reviews the following two blog articles: Why High Equity Valuations And Low Bond Yields Won't (Necessarily) Break The 4% Rule and Maximizing The Step-Up In Basis By Gifting Assets Between Spouses.

This quiz covers questions and strategies advisors can employ with clients experiencing crisis. Crisis can include things like losing a spouse or market event, or even just being anxious around an expected financial change.

This course will provide financial advisors with an in-depth review of restricted stock units (RSUs), including their structure, taxation, and strategic planning considerations. Specifically, the course will cover the stages of grant, vesting, and sale; federal and California tax implications; and special circumstances such as mergers, acquisitions, and IPOs. Advisors will learn how to navigate withholding requirements, source tax rules, and double trigger vesting provisions. The presentation will also highlight diversification strategies, cash flow planning, and cross-year tax coordination. In addition, attendees will gain practical skills for using StockOpter to track, model, and manage RSU holdings, helping them better guide clients in optimizing equity compensation outcomes.

This two-hour program will provide financial professionals with practical strategies to improve retirement planning outcomes through enhanced retirement spending and tax optimization techniques. During the first hour, participants will examine the mathematical, behavioral, and practical limitations of using “Probability of Success” as a primary retirement planning metric and explore alternative frameworks for evaluating retirement spending plans and communicating risk to clients. During the second hour, participants will learn how to identify and evaluate tax planning opportunities for retirees and pre-retirees, including Roth conversions, tax bracket management, Medicare IRMAA considerations, Social Security taxation, required minimum distributions, and income sequencing strategies. The program is designed to help advisors develop more effective retirement income recommendations that support long-term financial sustainability, tax efficiency, and improved client understanding.

This program explores the evolving landscape of Roth IRA conversions in light of recent tax law changes introduced under the OBBB, with a focus on identifying both opportunities and hidden pitfalls. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how provisions such as SALT deduction phaseouts, QBI limitations, and new senior deductions can significantly impact marginal tax rates and conversion outcomes. Through practical strategies and real-world applications, advisors will learn how to optimize Roth conversion decisions, minimize tax exposure, and better serve clients across a variety of financial situations—including high-net-worth individuals, business owners, and special needs planning scenarios.

Monte Carlo analysis is a commonly used tool in financial planning, with the probability of success being the most common method for reporting a financial plan's results. However, this practice may be hurting clients more than helping them by creating more financial stress and a propensity for miserly financial behavior. In this webinar, Dr. Tharp explains how the use of probabilities of success is akin to the practice of bloodletting in the medical field, where professionals are commonly using a practice that is often misunderstood by professionals and clients. Through the presentation, Tharp explains what the probability of success metric truly means and its shortcomings, especially when considering ongoing planning. Tharp then explains an alternative planning method, adjustment-based guardrails, and presents practical methods to reframe retirement income planning to reduce the likelihood of underspending while helping clients enjoy their retirement fully.

The transition from employer insurance to Medicare is fraught with confusion. Clients turning 65 or leaving employment must leave the safety and simplicity of their pre-selected and subsidized employer plan to the wild world of Medicare, with all its parts, multiple enrollment periods, and private insurance options to fill the coverage gaps. This session will cover health insurance in retirement: how Medicare works, how to choose private insurance to go with Medicare, and how to establish a health care budget.

When moving IRS and employee plan accounts, the goal is usually to retain tax-deferred status. But one wrong move, one simple mistake, can produce the opposite result'immediate taxability! This course covers the rules that apply to Rollovers and Roth conversions and how to execute these transactions in accordance with the tax code, regulations, and IRS rules.

Generally, distributions for IRA owners and plan participants' employer plans are optional until the account owner or plan participant reaches their applicable age to start the required minimum distribution (RMDs). Distributions made early can be subject to a 10% additional tax, but exceptions apply. RMDs are subject to an excise tax unless taken by the deadline. This course will demonstrate how advisors can work with clients who avoid these excise taxes.