Qualified Retirement Plans

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Chapters in this video

  1. 0:00 Who eats the loss when markets crash before retirement
  2. 1:19 Cliff vesting, graded vesting, and the 100% immediate vesting rule
  3. 2:21 Defined benefit versus defined contribution: risk and portability
  4. 3:22 The $290,000 maximum annual benefit and PBGC backstop
  5. 4:30 The $72,000 combined limit and $24,500 deferral ceiling
  6. 5:25 403(b) limits, investment restrictions, and 15-year service catch-up
  7. 6:17 457(b) double-limit catch-up and zero penalty on early withdrawal
  8. 8:12 Governmental versus non-governmental 457(b) creditor risk
  9. 8:45 Roth accounts in employer plans: the new RMD elimination
  10. 9:41 Rapid-fire exam recap

What this video covers

  • The three vesting schedules (cliff, graded, immediate) and the golden rule that employee deferrals are always 100% immediately vested
  • Why defined benefit means employer bears investment risk and defined contribution means employee bears investment risk, and which one carries Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) insurance
  • The 2026 defined contribution maximum combined contribution of $72,000 versus the $24,500 employee deferral limit, and what counts toward each ceiling
  • The 403(b) 15-year service catch-up (extra $3,000/year, $15,000 lifetime max) and why 403(b) investments are limited to mutual funds and annuity contracts
  • The 457(b) special three-year catch-up (up to double the annual limit) and its unique zero 10% early withdrawal penalty regardless of age at distribution
  • The critical distinction between governmental and non-governmental 457(b) plans: creditor protection versus unfunded promise to pay
  • Why Roth accounts inside employer plans no longer have required minimum distributions (RMDs), aligning them with Roth individual retirement account (IRA) treatment

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