CFP® Board Topic Coverage
Blackboard Site

2008 Tax Info

Instructor: Dr. John P. Yeütter, Ph.D., C.P.A., CFP^®
Office: HHA 237
Phone: (918) 444-2968
Personal Phone (918) 931-8257
E-Mail: yeutter@nsuok.edu
Class Hours: 10:00-10:50 MWF
Office Hours: 0900-1000 MWF (TQH) 1400-1500 M(TQH) 1400-1500 W (BA) 1630-1730 W (BA)

Note:
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc.
owns the certification marks CFP^®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and ,
which it awards to individuals who successfully complete initial and ongoing certification requirements.

Text:: Dalton, Retirement Planning: 5^TH EDITION ISBN: 978-0-9801299-1-5
Additional Recommended Resources: It is recommended that the student have a financial calculator for all class meetings. For Examinations, numeric-display-only calculators may be used only. Cell-Phones, Graphing Calculators, or other electronic devices capable of displaying text and/or graphics are prohibited.

DESCRIPTION: In this course students apply retirement planning and employee benefits in personal financial planning. This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the concepts of the ethical considerations, Social Security, and Medicare benefits, retirement plan types, qualified plan characteristics, distributions and distributions options, group insurance benefits, other employee benefits, and analysis of retirement factors.
Prerequisite: Acct 3003, Fin 3613.

OBJECTIVES: At the completion of the course, the student will be able to:

1. Describe the financial planning process as it applies to retirement planning
2. Quantify the needed funding for retirement and/or education
3. Match the type of retirement plan to employer objectives
4. Compute qualified plan coverage and eligibility requirements
5. Distinguish between types of qualified retirement plans
6. Determine eligibility and compute contibution limits of non-qualified, tax-advantaged retirement plans
1. IRA
2. Roth IRA
3. SEP
4. Simple
5. 403(b)
6. 457
7. Describe the types, basic provisions, & limitations of employee benefits, including
1. Group life insurance
2. Group disability insurance
3. Group medical insurance
4. Cafeteria plans
8. Discuss basic provisions, tax implications, and planning opportunities of employee stock options
9. Discuss non-qualified deferred compensation plans
10. Analyze the contribution of Social Security to a retirement plan
11. Determine eligibility of employees, spouses, and dependents for social security
12. Determine appropriate methods of funding education

PARTICIPATION: Participation is an important part of the learning process. Being able to pose questions or propose solutions based upon reading or experience is a major portion of active learning and displays more than the ability to memorize, but also the ability to relate what has been read to the real world. Therefore, I expect students to have read the appropriate material before class time, and to come prepared with their questions concerning content and applications.

EVALUATION: Students will be evaluated in several different ways throughout this course.

• EXAMS:There will be an two in-class exams, and a Comprehensive final exam. These will test your ability to integrate the knowledge discussed and apply it to situations. Portions of these exams may be take-home projects.
• ETHICS PAPER:Ethics is an essential part of business practice and of financial planning. Students will demonstrate their understanding of business ethic by describing an ethical decision made in a film. This assignment is due October 19, and is further described on Blackboard.
• PRESENTATION:Employers report to us that our graduates have deficiencies in making presentations. Students will demonstrate their competency in this activity by preparing and presenting a presentation on a retirement or employee benefits topic to the class. This assignment is due November 4, and is further described on Blackboard.
• QUIZZES:The multiple choice questions from the end of the chapter will be due each Friday before class. They are intended to focus on the important concepts in the assigned reading. We will discuss the answers to these on each friday.

GRADING: Grades will be based upon formal written examinations and projects
Examinations and assignments are assigned points as follows:
  200 OBJECTIVE EXAMS
  200 FINAL COMPREHENSIVE EXAM
  200 PRESENTATION
  175 ETHICS PAPER
  225 QUIZZES
 1000 TOTAL POINTS
Grades will be assigned according to the following schedule:
A: > 92% B: 84 - 92% C: 76 - 83% D: 68 - 75%

Any grade appeal must be made within four months after the end of the semester.

1. Class participation means interaction with fellow students and the instructor--not simple presence. Class comments will reflect reading and honest consideration of the viewpoints of fellow students.
2. Written examinations and the final exam will constitute the formal written evaluation instruments utilized in this course. Missed Exams cannot be made up.
3. Performance on examinations and subsequent cumulative course averages will be based upon definitive grade values as indicated: A: > 92% B: 84 - 92% C: 76 - 83% D: 68 - 75%
4. The final examination will be administered on Wednesday December 16, 2008.
5. Students are advised that pursuant to the Fall 2009 Academic Calendar, published in the NSU Fall Schedule, the last date during this semester when they may drop a course with an automatic "W" will be Wednesday, November 11, 2009. If you decide to drop after this date, you will receive the grade you have earned up to the drop date. The grade of "W" will be assigned if your grade is a "D" or higher; and an "F" will be assigned if you stop attending and have not turned in assignments or have not taken scheduled exams prior to the drop date.
6. Students wishing to visit with the professor about their standing in the class may visit him in his office which is located in the Business & Technology Building, Room BT-114. Office hours indicated above are also posted adjacent to the door.

INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION: Unless specifically specified as part of the assignment, I expect that all students will work and complete assignments independently. Students who present assignments whose work appears to have been prepared through collaboration will receive a zero (0) for that assignment.

ATTENDANCE: Consistent and punctual attendance is both expected and required for your successful completion of the course. Failure to attend class will affect the grade. ALL absences will indirectly reflect the grade due to the quality of work and material missed. A student is allowed to miss class periods without a direct penalty. Beginning with the THRDss missed, a ONE percent (1%) penalty will be deducted per class missed from the final grade. Under the VERY MOST EXTREME EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES, this penalty may be waived. To receive a waiver, students requesting relief under this clause must provide independent verification of these circumstances, in writing, within two (2) days of the missed class period. Students will be expected to make up any work missed as a result of absence, whether or not the absence was justified. In-class exercises and quizzes may not be made up.

ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES: The Online Quizzes are due on the Fridaybefore the class meets for the Chapter discussed. The Ethics Paper is due at the beginning of the class period on October 19. No work will be accepted at any other time or place than in class and at the appointed time. Projects turned in late will be charged a 10% "late filing" penalty. Assignments slid under the office door will be consumed by a Frumious Bandersnatch or otherwise lost and never graded.

Reading assignments are considered preparation for the lecture period. The student is responsible for all material assigned even if not discussed in class. Late quizzes, or quizzes missed will not be graded.

MISSED TESTS AND LATE ASSIGNMENTS: I believe that feedback is an important part of the learning process, and therefore expect to return exams to you in the period following the exam date. Typically, I provide the answers to the examination to students upon exit from the exam. This poses a problem for those who are unable to take exams at the scheduled time. Students who do not communicate their absence to my by the time a test is completed will receive a zero (0) for that exam. In the case of the VERY MOST EXTREME UNFORSEEN EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES, students will be given the opportunity to take only one substitute exam along with the final exam. My determination of whether the VERY MOST EXTREME UNFORSEEN EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES existed will be dependent both upon the timeliness of notification by the student of their failure to attend, and upon the reasons given for that failure. Under all circumstances, students requesting relief under this clause must make a written request, and provide independent verification of these circumstances, in writing, within two (2) days of the missed exam.