Welcome to the online home of ASPPA’s Plan Consultant magazine! 

Plan Consultant is a quarterly magazine designed to help retirement plan professionals improve their skills, enhance their knowledge, and conduct their business in a way that is professional, ethical, efficient and creative. Written by industry leaders and experienced retirement planning professionals, Plan Consultant provides timeless and practical how-to processes and case studies that retirement professionals can use in their own practices. Articles are readable, practical, concise, accessible, and sometimes inspirational.

Current Issue

The Spring Issue of PC Magazine Is Now Online!

The newest digital edition of ASPPA’s members-only magazine has been posted online! More than a quarter of the 90-odd SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 provisions are effective this year. Most are optional, but still…In this issue’s cover story, an expert panel—Shannon Edwards, Amy Garman, and Nevin Adams—takes a closer look. In our feature articles, Jim Douglas discusses PEPs and whether they have transformed the landscape. Linda Chadbourne, Theresa Conti, and Jim Racine discuss mergers and acquisitions of third-party administration firms.

The Spring issue also features insight from these industry thought leaders:

• A discussion of how to handle cash balance and 401(k) combination plans by Dick Billings
• A report on Washington state’s auto-IRA, the latest to be adopted, by John Iekel
• John Iekel’s look at the latest iteration of the Fiduciary Rule
• A discussion by Norman Levinrad of what to understand and what adjustments may be necessary if a client adopts a cash balance plan alongside their existing profit-sharing 401(k) plan
• Shannon Edwards’ look at forfeitures and the complications compliance administrators may encounter in handling them
• A discussion by Travis Jack of how the statistics used in the latest DOL audit quality study can drive a more effective EBP auditor selection process
• Kelsey Mayo’s discussion of policymakers’ intensifying focus on the retirement plan industry in order to enhance security for more working Americans
• An examination of the ways silent hiring is loudly transforming a labor-scarce market by Linda Chadbourne
• Paige Johnson’s discussion of managed service providers and how important technology solutions are in establishing connectivity that can make—or break—a business
• A look at the challenges of understanding the buzzwords involved in the use of AI by Joey Santos-Jones
• Theresa Conti’s discussion of how TPAs can help with retirement plan committee meetings
• Sheri Fitt’s insights on how and why boutique TPA firms may have a strategic edge
• Linda Chadbourne’s argument that investing in employees’ development and skills is key to maintaining a competitive edge
• John Iekel’s exploration of whether state-run retirement plans are complements of employer plans or their competitors

You’ll also find a call to action from American Retirement Association CEO Brian Graff, Amanda Iverson’s message as ASPPA President, Megan Crawford and Karyn Dzurisin's look inside the WiR Conference, a government affairs update by James Locke, and Joey Santos Jones’ discussion of the wealth of opportunities ASPPA and other American Retirement Association spring conferences offer.

We also name the newly credentialed members.

To view the digital edition of our Spring issue, click here.

For more information about previous editions of Plan Consultant, select the link: 

• Archive of Past Plan Consultant Issues (Members Only)
• PC Continuing Education Quizzes
• The ASPPA Journal Online Archive

Remember that access to the previous Plan Consultant issues is restricted to only ASPPA members. You will need to log in to view them.

We are always looking for ways to enhance and expand Industry Intel. Got a good idea? Please share it with us — contact Joey Santos-Jones.