CFTEA

Ascend IRA Conference from Ascensus

$1,599.00

SKU: 8475 Category: Tags: , , , ,

Description

Ascend is the industry’s most comprehensive education conference offering basic and advanced courses on: retirement, health, and education savings plans and industry trends.

Earn Your CE Credits

Ascend qualifies for CE credits for more than 20 industry designations.

View our CE Credits Chart for more details.

Earn Your Designations

The Certified IRA Specialist II (CIS II) and Certified Health Savings Professional (CHSP) exams are offered online after the conference. If you’ve registered for the exam, when you arrive at Ascend, you’ll receive a printed study guide that contains the recommended courses to best help you prepare. There will also be an additional exam prep workshop at the end of the conference.

 

Course Overview

Whether you’re interested in learning the fundamentals or want to explore more advanced topics, Ascend courses cover all aspects of retirement, health, and education savings plans. Below is a sampling of course titles.

IRA Topics

  • Advanced IRA Issues: Taking Penalty-Free Distributions
  • CIS II Exam Prep Workshop
  • Employer Options: SEP Plans and SIMPLE IRAs
  • Handling IRA Excess Contributions
  • Intro to IRAs
  • IRA Legal Issues
  • IRA Reporting
  • IRA Update
  • Roth IRAs: What You Should Know
  • Withholding Requirements for IRAs

 

IRA/Quaified Plan Topics

  • Advanced Beneficiary Topics for IRAs and QRPs
  • Advanced Portability for IRAs and QRPs
  • Automatic Rollovers: What You Should Know
  • Beneficiary Options for Deaths in 2020 and Beyond
  • Finding a Strategy for Missing Participants
  • Introduction to Beneficiary Options
  • Required Minimum Distributions

 

HSA Topics

  • CHSP Exam Prep Workshop
  • HSA Advanced Concepts
  • HSA Certification Workshop
  • HSAs: Exploring Their Advantages
  • Introduction to HSAs

 

Qualified Plan Topics

  • Introduction to QRPs
  • QRP Legal Issues
  • QRP Update
  • Small Business Options: Focus on Solo(k) Plans

 

See our FAQs on Ascend

 

The 2025 conference schedule is currently in development.
We anticipate finalization in Spring 2025.

The courses below were offered previously at Ascend
and are a good sampling of the conference schedule for 2025. 

Monday

7:00 – 7:45

Registration/Breakfast 

7:45 – 8:00

Ascend Welcome

8:00 – 9:00

General Session 

9:15 – 10:30

Required Minimum Distribution Regulations – They’re Finally Here

10:45 – 12:00

IRA Basics – Understanding the Fundamentals

IRA Amendments – Know the Process and Be Prepared 

QRP Update

IRAdirect® Toolbox – What’s At Your Fingertips

12:00 – 1:00

Lunch

1:00- 2:15

IRA Legal Issues

IRA Update

 IRA Reporting – Be On the Forefront

1:00- 3:45

Introduction to QRPs & 403(b) Plans

2:30- 3:45

HSA Fundamentals

IRA and QRP Required Minimum Distributions – Learn How They Work*

IRA Withholding – Following the Rules*

4:00- 4:45

Q&A Session

5:00 – 6:00

Welcome Reception 

Tuesday

7:00 – 7:45

Breakfast

7:45 – 8:00

Daily Announcements 

8:00 – 9:00

General Session

9:15 – 10:30

Industry News 

IRA and QRP Beneficiaries – Processing a Death Claim*

Penalty-Free QRP and IRA Distributions – How Account Owners Can Avoid Penalty Tax

IRA Excess Contributions – How to Fix the Oops*

10:45 – 12:00

Roth IRAs – The Old and the New

IRA and QRP Beneficiaries – Understanding the Options*

Distributable QRP Events

IRA and QRP Required Minimum Distributions – Learn How They Work*

12:00 – 1:00

Lunch 

1:00 – 2:15

Beyond the Basics of HSAs

IRA Withholding – Following the Rules*

Introduction to Business Mergers and Acquisitions – Maintaining QRP Compliance

SIMPLE IRAs – How They Work

2:30 – 3:45

Fraud – A General Understanding

IRA and QRP Portability – Moving It All Around*

Self-Directed IRAs and Alternative Assets

SEP IRAs – What To Know

4:00 – 4:45

Q&A Session

Wednesday

7:00 – 7:45

Breakfast and Closing Remarks

7:45 – 8:00

Closing Remarks

8:00 – 9:15

IRA Issues – Top 10 Topics

IRA Special Portability and Conversion Topics*

IRA and QRP Prohibited Transactions – How They Occur

IRA and QRP Beneficiaries – Understanding the Options*

9:30 – 10:45

IRA Owner Tax Forms and You

IRA Excess Contributions – How to Fix the Oops*

Complex IRA and QRP Beneficiary Issues

9:30 – 12:15

IRA Compliance – Following the Rules

11:00 – 12:15

Medicare and the Health Savings Account

IRAdirect® Beneficiary Claims Processing

QRP, 403(b) and 457(b) Plans Fact or Fiction

12:15 – 1:15

Lunch (available to CIS II Exam Workshop attendees only) 

1:15 – 4:00

CIS II Exam Prep Workshop*

*Recommended Course for CIS II Exam

Date/Time: November 17-19, 2025
Code: S5079L
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