The WP&BC Retirement Seminar is one of the most significant and popular events of the season in Portland's benefits community and this year's event will be no different. Get a clear view of the future with insights from industry experts. Please join us for this exciting and informative half-day session.
WP&BC Retirement Seminar Wednesday, November 14, 201812:00 p.m - 4:45 p.m. Cocktail Hour 4:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. 200 SW Market StreetLobby LevelPortland, OR 97201 Lunch 12:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.
The good news: We are living longer. The bad news: We’re not saving enough. The average savings for Americans nearing retirement is just $12,000. Studies have shown we are 15 times more likely to save if we have a retirement option at work, but about 1 million workers in Oregon don’t have that option today.
OregonSaves was created to address this crisis and to help individuals and families save and help businesses without retirement plans compete with those that do. It will also help taxpayers in the long run by putting less strain on our social services programs.
State Treasurer Tobias Read will give an update on how the program was developed, and how it has already helped put more Oregonians on a path to financial empowerment since its launch in July of 2017.
Elected Oregon’s 29th State Treasurer in 2016, Tobias Read is a collaborative problem solver who draws upon his management, political and finance policy experience to serve Oregonians as Treasurer.
He has worked in the U.S. Treasury and as a liaison between designers, engineers and manufacturing units for Nike Inc. In 2006, he was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives, where he served a decade and championed legislation to invest in public education, improve state financial management, finance critical infrastructure improvements, and to help Oregonians save for a more secure future.
While serving in the Oregon Legislature, he pushed to strengthen the state’s rainy day fund, which was a key factor that helped the state to earn a credit rating upgrade in 2011. He led efforts to promote infrastructure projects using innovative public-private partnerships, and was a chief sponsor of the Oregon Investment Act, which streamlined Lottery investments in promising Oregon startups.
In 2015, he was a chief sponsor of the Oregon Retirement Savings Plan, the first operating state-sponsored retirement program which launched in mid-2017. The plan enrolls Oregon workers who lack access to a retirement savings option through their employers, allowing hundreds of thousands more Oregonians to retire with dignity after a lifetime of work.
Tobias earned his bachelor’s degree from Willamette University and his MBA from the Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington. He lives in Beaverton, OR with his wife, Heidi Eggert, and their two children.
Now that 2017 taxes have (hopefully) been filed, tax advisors and their clients can turn their full attention to the newly enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This sweeping legislation radically overhauled the tax code, creating myriad opportunities and pitfalls for both individual and corporate filers. The most sweeping change was to Code Section 199A, which made a pass-through income deduction of 20% available to certain business owners.
Steve Diess, President and Consulting Actuary at Independent Actuaries, Inc., along with Dave Evans, Owner of CTO Consulting LLC, will provide a high-level overview of the changes to the tax code, focusing on the nuances of the changes to Section 199A, and explore tactics for using pension contributions to allow for “supercharged” deductions. They will go over several detailed examples, and there will be several opportunities for discussion and questions throughout the presentation.
Steven L. Diess is President and part-owner of Independent Actuaries, Inc., and has worked as a consulting actuary since 1994, specializing in the design and administration of defined benefit pension plans for small business owners. He holds a degree in Mathematics from Santa Clara University, and is an Enrolled Actuary and Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Steve is a frequent presenter of a variety of retirement plan topics at conferences throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Dave Evans is the owner of CTO Consulting LLC, which helps business entities and their owners optimize their tax situations by identifying tax opportunities and addressing them in a strategic manner. Dave began his career at Arthur Andersen LLP, where he worked for 20 years and was the head of the Portland office tax practice. He subsequently worked as a tax partner for KPMG LLP for 8 years, before starting up the CTO Consulting business in 2010. Dave, who is a CPA, graduated from the University of Oregon with a BS In Accounting and is a member of the Accounting Circle at the school. Dave has made many presentations on tax related topics over the years to a variety of professional and industry focused groups.
For nearly a decade, plaintiffs and their attorneys were the clear winners of retirement plan litigation. From inappropriate investment options to excessive fees, one lawsuit after another resulted in big settlements for the plaintiffs. More recently, the defendant plan sponsors have been fighting back and more frequently winning some cases.
Join Bonnie Treichel, Senior Consultant at Multnomah Group, for an interactive discussion about pending ERISA class action litigation. She will lead the audience in a discussion about the types of claims, ways to prevent these cases, and steps you should take today to create winning strategies for the retirement plans with which you work. Bonnie will also discuss the nuisances of some recent cases including the demand for a jury trial and attempts to compel arbitration and squash class action status. Throughout the presentation, Bonnie will take questions from the audience.
Bonnie M. Treichel is a senior consultant for Multnomah Group. She is also the chair of the firm’s Technical Services Committee and serves as the chief compliance officer. Bonnie brings experience to a variety of ERISA and retirement plan related issues, and she is a frequent speaker on the topic of retirement plan issues at local, regional, and national conferences and events.
Bonnie is an American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA) member; she serves as ASPPA Liaison for the ABC of the Great Northwest and works on various committees for ASPPA. Bonnie is also a member the Women in Pension Network and a member of the State Bar of California.
Prior to joining Multnomah Group, Bonnie was a partner at a law firm that specialized in all aspects of retirement-related products and services – working both with plan sponsors and retirement plan service providers. Bonnie earned her J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law, where she graduated with honors and received a certificate from the Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship & the Law. She also graduated with honors from Truman State University, in Kirksville, Missouri, earning a degree in Political Science. Bonnie is also a Certified Health Savings Adviser (CHSA®).
Please feel free to reach out to WP&BC with any questions.
Direct Questions To:
EMAIL: info@wpbcportland.org
PHONE: (503) 928-8780
Address:1819 SW 5th Ave. #211 Portland, OR 97201
