Instructions: Please read the full course of study before taking the 30-question exam on the material covered in the course. To earn continuing education credit (3 CE credits for CFPs, 3 PACE credit hours for CLU® or ChFCs®, or 6 CPE hours for credentialed ASPPA members), you must read the entire course of study and then score 70% or better in the exam. When you are ready to take the exam, click on the link to it at the bottom of this page.
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Core Concepts : Basics
- Risks Of Nonqualified Deferred Compensation: Examples From Court Cases
- Ten Key Features Of Nonqualified Deferred Compensation
- Keys To Successful NQDC Plans At Small Companies:
A View From The Trenches - Plan Design Features To Increase Participation In Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans
- UPDATES! The Terms Of Your Company’s NQDC Plan: What You Can Expect (Part 2)
- UPDATES! The Terms Of Your Company’s NQDC Plan: What You Can Expect (Part 1)
- Nonqualified Deferred Compensation: The Basics
- For Love Or Money: Look At Nonqualified Deferred Compensation With Eyes Wide Open
- Your Company’s NQDC Plan: What You Must Understand To Maximize Its Value
- Are NQDC plans affected by the Supreme Court’s rulings on marriage equality?
- Are stock options, restricted stock, and ESPPs subject to ERISA requirements and regulations?
- UPDATES! What percentage of eligible executives and key employees usually elect to participate in NQDC plans?
- When my company sets up its NQDC plan, what structures and features does it need to decide on?
- UPDATES! What can I not do with my NQDC account?
- Will I owe any income taxes when I elect to participate, when my income is deferred, or when I receive distributions?
- Are there any books that you recommend for more technical guidance on nonqualified deferred compensation?
- Do I pay the administrative fees on my plan to enroll? Do I pay back my company for the taxes?
- Will my nonqualified deferred compensation be reported in my company’s proxy statement?
- Is my nonqualified deferred compensation plan registered under the securities laws with the SEC?
- UPDATED! Does ERISA apply to and protect my nonqualified deferred compensation plan? What factors distinguish a top-hat plan from an ERISA plan?
- Is there vesting with NQDC plans? Is it possible to forfeit what I have deferred?
- UPDATES! Is there any company match or contribution with a nonqualified deferred compensation plan?
- Does my participation in the NQDC plan (or the amount I defer) affect other benefit plans, such as my 401(k)?
- How much of my compensation can I defer?
- What types of compensation can be deferred through NQDC plans?
- Can the NQDC plan give me special preferences over other creditors in bankruptcy?
- In a corporate bankruptcy, what will happen to my NQDC plan and my distributions?
- What are the risks in NQDC plans?
- UPDATES! How do companies set up NQDC plans?
- UPDATES! Can I put more away with a nonqualified deferred compensation plan than with a 401(k) plan? What are the limits?
- How does NQDC differ from regular deferred compensation arrangements, such as 401(k) plans?
- Why should I learn more about nonqualified deferred compensation?
- What is nonqualified deferred compensation? What are its benefits to me?
Core Concepts : Benefits
- Advantages To Pre-Tax Deferral Of Income After Tax Reform
- Opportunities And Risks: The Role Of Nonqualified Deferred Compensation In Your Financial Planning (Part 1)
- For Love Or Money: Look At Nonqualified Deferred Compensation With Eyes Wide Open
- What other factors should I consider before I participate? For example, if my income tax rates will be higher or lower in the future, does it make sense to defer my income?
- What makes an NQDC plan attractive?
- How does NQDC fit with my other company benefits?
- Why do companies offer nonqualified deferred compensation plans?
- UPDATES! Can I put more away with a nonqualified deferred compensation plan than with a 401(k) plan? What are the limits?
- What is nonqualified deferred compensation? What are its benefits to me?
Core Concepts : Types of Plans
- UPDATES! Excess 401(k) Plans: Another Type Of Nonqualified Deferred Compensation
- Section 162 Bonus Plans: An Alternative Or Companion To NQDC Plans
- Keys To Successful NQDC Plans At Small Companies:
A View From The Trenches - The Basics Of Nonqualified Deferred Compensation (Part 4): Rabbi & Secular Trusts
- The Basics Of Nonqualified Deferred Compensation (Part 1): Plan Designs
- Nonqualified Deferred Compensation At Nonprofit, University, And Government Employers
- What is a QSERP?
- As a director, can I elect to take part of my retainer as deferred stock units?
- Can my company convert restricted stock into some type of nonqualified deferred compensation, such as RSUs?
- What about stock options, ESPPs, restricted stock, and the company stock fund or contribution offered under my 401(k) plan? Are they forms of nonqualified deferred compensation?
- Is there anything to worry about with a 457 plan?
- How is a 457 plan taxed?
- UPDATES! What is a Section 457 plan?
- Is there anything to worry about with a secular trust?
- How is a secular trust taxed?
- What is a secular trust?
- Is there anything I need to be especially careful about with a SERP?
- UPDATED! What is the tax treatment and withholding for nonqualified defined benefit plans, such as SERPs? When does withholding occur?
- How is a SERP funded?
- What is a SERP?
- How is a rabbi trust taxed?
- What is a rabbi trust?
- Which is better: a class-year plan or an account-based plan?
- What are class-year plans and account-based plans for deferrals and distributions?
- UPDATES! If I can defer the delivery of shares received through grants of restricted stock units or performance share units, is that nonqualified deferred compensation?
- What is the difference between elective deferred compensation and an excess 401(k) plan?
- Are there different names for nonqualified deferred compensation plans?
Taxes : Advanced
- The Growing Importance Of Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Amid Tax-Rate Changes
- Converting Your Stock Option Spread Into Nonqualified Deferred Compensation
- UPDATES! Tax Reform: Good Or Bad For Pretax Compensation Deferral?
- Foreign Executives Moving To The United States To Work: What To Know About Your Company’s Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan
- UPDATES! Tax Reform And The Impact On Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans
- UPDATES! Future Higher Tax Rates Would Not Reduce The Current Appeal Of Nonqualified Plans
- Participant Viewpoint: Tax Strategies With Stock Options, Restricted Stock, And Deferred Compensation
- Will I owe additional FICA taxes on the interest or earnings credited to my NQDC account when it is distributed?
- Can I get a private letter ruling from the IRS that my NQDC plan will not cause me to be immediately taxed?
- UPDATES! Is my company’s tax deduction limited by Section 162(m) for distribution amounts over $1 million? How does this make NQDC more appealing?
- Can income from my NQDC distribution alone qualify me to establish an IRA?
- Does the money in my NQDC plan count in the calculation when I convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA?
- Can I roll over my distributions from the NQDC plan into an IRA and keep the tax-deferred status?
- Does NQDC affect the annual earnings limit of Social Security?
- Will NQDC distributions cause my Social Security benefits to be taxed?
- I have started receiving Social Security payments. If I start receiving distributions from my NQDC plan, must I still pay Social Security tax on the income? Can this income cause my Social Security payments to be taxed too?
- UPDATES! What is the tax treatment when the NQDC plan is set up to pay the benefits to my beneficiary upon my death?
- If my beneficiary gets NQDC distributions because I died before receiving them, does the beneficiary owe income tax or FICA taxes on them?
- What is the tax treatment of company-owned life insurance when my company pays part of the death benefit to my beneficiary?
- I am a US executive moving overseas to work. When I live outside the United States, does the tax treatment change for deferrals and distributions under my nonqualified deferred compensation plan?
- UPDATES! If I file an extension to complete my tax return after the IRS deadline, are there any mistakes I should avoid that involve nonqualified deferred compensation?
- How do the taxes under the Affordable Care Act affect my Medicare tax rate and my planning for nonqualified deferred compensation?
- Are the tax rules, withholding, and tax return reporting for NQDC different if I am an independent contractor, consultant, or outside director and not an employee?
- When I receive distributions from my NQDC account, will I need to make estimated tax payments?
- Is my NQDC part of my estate if I die before receiving all of the distribution(s)? What is the tax treatment?
- If the distribution is not made at the exact time specified in the plan, how much earlier or later than the scheduled distribution date can I receive the payment without being penalized?
- UPDATES! I plan to move. What if I live in a different state at distribution than the state where I worked? How is the distribution taxed?
- UPDATES! Can I (or my company) fix a tax mistake I made in deferring my income or in the distribution without being penalized?
- Which tax rates apply to distributions I receive in company shares: ordinary income or capital gains? What is the value of the distributed shares based on?
Taxes : Basics
- Your Company’s NQDC Plan: What You Must Understand To Maximize Its Value
- Tax Changes That Affect Your Planning For Nonqualified Deferred Compensation
- The Basics Of Nonqualified Deferred Compensation (Part 2): Taxation
- Opportunities And Risks: The Role Of Nonqualified Deferred Compensation In Your Financial Planning (Part 2)
- Nonqualified Deferred Compensation: The Basics
- NEW! What is IRS Form W-4 and how does it apply to withholding from nonqualified deferred compensation?
- UPDATES! What are the 2022 adjustments to the IRS limits for qualified retirement plans that affect nonqualified deferred compensation?
- UPDATES! What are the most recent tax changes that affect nonqualified deferred compensation?
- How do the taxes under the Affordable Care Act affect my Medicare tax rate and my planning for nonqualified deferred compensation?
- UPDATES! Has the likelihood of a tax audit increased for people with nonqualified deferred compensation?
- UPDATED! My tax rates are likely to rise in the future. Can I change my deferral election and instead receive the money this year? Similarly, can I move a scheduled future income distribution into this year?
- How is a secular trust taxed?
- UPDATED! What is the tax treatment and withholding for nonqualified defined benefit plans, such as SERPs? When does withholding occur?
- How is a rabbi trust taxed?
- What withholding rate applies to the distributions under my nonqualified plan? How are the taxes collected?
- What appears on my W-2 for the year of income distribution?
- How does my company obtain money from me to pay withholding taxes when I receive distributions under the NQDC plan?
- What appears on my W-2 for the year of income deferral?
- UPDATES! What is this Section 409A I keep hearing about?
- What are the rules on taxation and deferral elections for stock grants that allow deferral of share delivery at vesting?
- Is the tax treatment different if I elect to receive my distributions as a lump sum instead of installments?
- Are the taxes I owe at distribution based on the value of the amount I deferred at the start or on the value of the distribution I receive?
- Do I have to pay federal unemployment tax (FUTA) on my NQDC distributions?
- Is the tax treatment different for my company’s match or contribution?
- Can my company use part of the amount I deferred to pay the FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes?
- UPDATED! When and how are Social Security and Medicare taxes (FICA) paid when I defer my income?
- Do states and local governments follow the same rules as the IRS on the timing of taxation?
- UPDATES! Has the IRS confirmed the tax principles applying to nonqualified deferred compensation?
- UPDATES! What are the tax rules or principles that allow me to defer paying taxes on my income?
- Will I owe any income taxes when I elect to participate, when my income is deferred, or when I receive distributions?
- What are the IRS rules for the timing of a deferral election? Can an election be revoked or changed?
Taxes : Reporting
- UPDATES! The Terms Of Your Company’s NQDC Plan: What You Can Expect (Part 2)
- What appears on my W-2 for the year of income deferral?
- What appears on my W-2 for the year of income distribution?
- UPDATES! If I am an outside director or consultant, is the income at deferral and distribution reported on Form 1099-MISC and Form 1099-NEC?
- What appears on my W-2 if my plan has violated Section 409A?
- UPDATED! When and how are Social Security and Medicare taxes (FICA) paid when I defer my income?
- Can my company use part of the amount I deferred to pay the FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes?
- Do I have to pay federal unemployment tax (FUTA) on my NQDC distributions?
- What withholding rate applies to the distributions under my nonqualified plan? How are the taxes collected?
- UPDATES! How is the income distributed to me reported on my tax return?
- Will my FICA taxes be refunded to me if my company never pays out my nonqualified deferred compensation?
- UPDATES! If I file an extension to complete my tax return after the IRS deadline, are there any mistakes I should avoid that involve nonqualified deferred compensation?
- UPDATES! What’s new for the 2022 tax-return season?
- How do the taxes under the Affordable Care Act affect my Medicare tax rate and my planning for nonqualified deferred compensation?
- UPDATED! What is the tax treatment and withholding for nonqualified defined benefit plans, such as SERPs? When does withholding occur?
Taxes : Section 409A Rules
- The Basics Of Nonqualified Deferred Compensation (Part 3): What You Need To Know About Section 409A To Avoid IRS Penalties
- Foreign Executives Moving To The United States To Work: What To Know About Your Company’s Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan
- What Participants Need To Know About Section 409A (Part 1)
- What Participants Need To Know About Section 409A (Part 2)
- Beware Of Traps In Employment Agreements Under Section 409A
- How did the IRS modify the Section 409A regulations in 2016?
- Can I forfeit or modify my NQDC plan benefits?
- UPDATES! What restrictions affect when I can receive NQDC distributions and what I can elect? What can trigger an early payout?
- Are severance payouts subject to the same six-month delay as other NQDC payments?
- Is there a difference between triggering a distribution and accelerating it?
- UPDATES! Can my severance payments be affected by the rules on nonqualified deferred compensation?
- As a director, can I elect to take part of my retainer as deferred stock units?
- Can my company convert restricted stock into some type of nonqualified deferred compensation, such as RSUs?
- Is changing the investment choices in my NQDC account allowed by Section 409A?
- After I stop working for my company, can I continue to consult or perform any services for it without causing problems related to my NQDC distributions?
- UPDATES! Can certain life events accelerate distributions, such job loss, disability, an unforeseeable emergency, or death?
- How do I change the timing or form of my distribution?
- If my company pays my bonus just a few months after the end of the year, is that nonqualified deferred compensation? Is there a grace period or short-term exception so that it is not penalized?
- What appears on my W-2 if my plan has violated Section 409A?
- UPDATES! Can I protect myself from tax penalties through provisions in my NQDC agreement or employment agreement?
- UPDATES! Can I (or my company) fix a tax mistake I made in deferring my income or in the distribution without being penalized?
- UPDATES! Is the IRS starting to scrutinize companies’ NQDC arrangements in search of compliance problems with 409A?
- UPDATES! What are the penalties if my NQDC plan violates Section 409A?
- UPDATES! What is this Section 409A I keep hearing about?
- If my NQDC plan is linked in some way to my tax-qualified plans, does the tax-qualified plan need to follow the Section 409A rules?
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