News | CFTEA | Center for Financial Training & Education Alliance

Five Tips to Stay Healthy and Active While Working from Home

January 4, 2021

Feel your best so you can do your best! We know schedules can get busy – whether you’re in the office or working from home more often like many due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between meeting with borrowers and preparing closings, day-time home distractions from pets and kids, followed by family time after hours – it can be challenging to find time for exercise and implementing healthy habits. The truth is, not everyone has the time. They dedicate time. Here are

Look what can be done in 2021!

December 31, 2020

2020 put a lot on hold. A lot! So, how are you navigating our new normal? As the pandemic continues, it is important to look at the future with hope. As we struggle to balance and support others, now is the best time to create a mental action plan of what can be done to support your growth. For many, the pandemic has been a time to pause and regroup. We can do that by committing to take just one

2021 Retirement Training Options

December 31, 2020

Questions about retirement and the tax advantages? Explore training options that help you gain understanding and confidence when supporting questions. (All materials from Ascensus – the national leader in retirement training updated January 2021). All options are online to promote safe distance learning and flexibility. Click course names below for descriptions and pricing. 2021 Legislative – Regulatory Update Retirement Planning and Saving Ways to Build Wealth Roth IRA Overview Traditional IRA Overview IRA Fundamentals IRA

2020 Spotlight Review

December 30, 2020 Read More...

How Technology Impacts Trust

December 18, 2020

How Technology Impacts Trust Working remotely is a fact of life. Even before COVID, it was on the rise and when the pandemic is over, there will be fewer people returning to a central workplace full-time. The genie is out of the bottle, as far as that goes. But there is a paradox at the heart of remote work that some people haven’t been able to deal with. Both these things are true: Remote work requires slightly more trust than

Spotlight On Success: Shannon Hemingway

December 18, 2020

Shannon Hemingway Claremont Savings Bank Heres what Shannon had to say about her CFTEA experience: A great benefit provided to us by Claremont Savings Bank and CFTEA is that they offer a large variety of classes. I wanted to take advantage of the educational opportunities given to me to help further my career. I have taken an array of different types of courses that have all attributed to my current knowledge, not only banking, but also in overall professional development.

Year End Reflections

December 16, 2020

During this challenging year, we have been trying to focus on the positive stories! At CFTEA we have had so many new doors open to us in ways we hadn’t previously imagined. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we held our first ever Zoom Virtual Student Banquet and Leaders Conference. Also a positive note for both students and instructors was the launch of our LMS, CFTEA Workplace which goes hand in hand with the easy to

IRS Notice Addresses 401(k)/403(b) Safe Harbor SECURE ACT Provisions

December 11, 2020

The IRS has issued Notice 2020-86, providing guidance for implementing provisions of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019. Specifically, the SECURE Act provisions addressed deal with features and procedures of 401(k) and 403(b) plans that incorporate safe harbor designs for satisfying nondiscrimination testing requirements, and automatic enrollment and automatically increased deferral rates. In general, provisions of the SECURE Act increased from 10 percent to 15 percent the maximum automatically-increased elective deferral rate for automatic-enrollment safe

Spotlight On Success: Audra Ingersoll

December 4, 2020

Spotlight On Success Audra Ingersoll Skowhegan Savings This is what Audra had to say about her CFTEA experience “I wanted to further my career to the bank, and becoming Certified seemed like a great place to start; learning the fundamentals of banking regarding customer service, the legal aspects, the future of banking and the types of fraud out there are all things I need to know to make my job easier and better to serve my customers. Between what

Washington Pulse: IRS Issues Final Life Expectancy Regulations

December 3, 2020

By ERISA NEWS On November 12, 2020, the IRS published final regulations updating life expectancy tables that are used for required minimum distributions (RMDs) and for other purposes. These new tables reflect an increase in life expectancies since the last tables were issued nearly 20 years ago. Although the updated tables do not apply until distribution years beginning in 2022, financial professionals should learn how the new life expectancy figures may affect their clients and should assess how their administrative systems will