Beneficiary Issues in Qualified Retirement Plans

Beneficiary Issues in Qualified Retirement Plans

Beneficiary issues seem to rear an ugly head in many aspects of estate planning and administration.  Qualified retirement plans, such as 401(k) and traditional pensions, often find themselves in the position of denying distribution claims or having to make them contrary to what the participant may have intended.  Some of the rules, while similar, are not the same as IRA's.  Using real life examples, this session will explore some of those nuances and pitfalls to watch for as you help your client navigate through this complex issue, for either themselves, or in trying to get a claim paid from a loved one's plan.

Lisa A Lachmann, CPA received a B.A. in Recreation from the University of New Mexico.   Needing a real "job", she began her professional career in a local Albuquerque bank, working her way up to an operations officer position.   She left to pursue an M.B.A. with a concentration in Accounting from the Anderson School of Business Management at UNM.  After graduating, she began a 23 year career in public accounting with a small local firm which grew from 20 to 80 employees while she was there.   Her primary areas of practice were individual taxation, trusts and estates.   She also managed the ERISA plan audits.

In 2012, Lisa left public accounting to become the Director of Pension Operations for Pension Planning Consultants, a regional third party administration firm.  While she wears many hats, her primary joy is in training and developing staff, consulting with clients, and keeping up on all of the technical aspects of the myriad of IRS and DOL rules.   She is a contributing editor to Thomson Reuter's PPC's Guide to Small Employer Retirement Plans and 5500 Deskbook.