Training Opportunities

The IRA Institute Online is a 12-week, web-based IRA training program developed and supported by our experienced instructors. You’ll get in-depth instruction on the need-to-know aspects of Traditional and Roth IRAs, and small business IRA-based SEP and SIMPLE IRA retirement plans. IRA Institute Online is the only approved online training program that prepares you to take the Certified IRA Professional (CIP) or Certified IRA Services Professional (CISP) exam.

This six-week online course provides the tools to build a solid IRA knowledge base and become certified as a Certified IRA Specialist (CIS) I. Topics include establishing an IRA, contributions, Traditional and Roth IRA distributions, and portability.

HSA University creates an industry standard in HSA expertise with the accredited Certified Health Savings Professional (CHSP) designation. Expand your HSA knowledge in 75 minutes a week over 5 weeks in a format that is flexible to fit your busy schedule.

IRA Institute provides in-depth instruction on the need-to-know aspects of Traditional and Roth IRAs, and small business IRA-based SEP and SIMPLE IRA retirement plans. The IRA Institute includes objective-based training methods, extensive materials, and practical applications of the rules.

Our highly skilled Ascensus trainers, in partnership with Independent Community Bankers of Colorado, present virtual IRA workshops in covering both essential and advanced IRA topics.

This course walks through everything you need to know about excess contributions, including handling recharacterizations. This course covers how excess contributions occur, different excess correction methods, and how you can help an IRA owner correct an excess contribution.

Our highly skilled Ascensus trainers, in partnership with Hawaii Credit Union League, present virtual IRA workshops, covering both essential and advanced IRA topics.

Understanding the complex withholding and reporting requirements applicable to Traditional and Roth IRA distributions is critical to maintaining a compliant IRA program. From federal tax implications, including how the early distribution penalty tax applies to IRA owners to how IRA distributions are paid out, our expertise provides the know how to get you there.

Our highly skilled Ascensus trainers, in partnership with Illinois Bankers Association, present IRA workshops onsite and delivered virtually covering both essential and advanced IRA topics.

Our highly skilled Ascensus trainers, in partnership with Mississippi Credit Union Association, present virtual IRA workshops, covering both essential and advanced IRA topics.

Are you correctly following the federal and state withholding rules? Learn how to notify IRA owners of their withholding rights, what to do with the withheld assets, what the foreign withholding requirements are, and what the potential penalties are for not withholding correctly.

Our highly skilled Ascensus trainers, in partnership with Indiana Credit Union League, present virtual IRA workshops, covering both essential and advanced IRA topics.

Our highly skilled Ascensus trainers, in partnership with Iowa Bankers Association, present IRA workshops covering essentials IRA topics.

Our highly skilled Ascensus trainers, in partnership with Iowa Credit Union League, present IRA workshops in Des Moines, IA (and delivered virtually), covering both essential and advanced IRA topics.

Our highly skilled Ascensus trainers, in partnership with Utah Credit Union League, present IRA workshops in Salt Lake City, UT covering both essential and advanced IRA topics.

Our experts will outline the top 10 HSA topics we get questions about on Ascensus’ consulting lines. Join this webinar to see what makes this year’s Top 10 list!

This webinar covers both Traditional and Roth IRA contribution issues—including deadlines, limits, possible tax credits, and Traditional IRA deductibility rules. It is geared to help prepare IRA professionals for the hectic IRA contribution season that generally takes place between January 1 and April 15.

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

For individuals with an HSA and soon to be eligible for Medicare, it’s critical for them to understand how enrolling in Medicare will affect their HSA. This course will help you gain crucial understanding of effective timing of Medicare enrollment, HSA contribution implications, and how individuals can use their HSAs to pay qualified medical expenses in retirement.

Retirement plan portability is one of the most popular topics fielded on our consulting lines. Attending this course will help ensure that you are up to date and handling these transactions properly. You will learn the difference between transfers and rollovers and direct and indirect rollovers, as well as acquire an understanding of Roth retirement plan assets and portability with Roth IRAs.

IRAs A-Z gives attendees a comprehensive overview of fundamental IRA concepts.

Our highly skilled Ascensus trainers, in partnership with Mountain West Credit Union Association, present virtual IRA workshops, covering both essential and advanced IRA topics.

With IRA reporting requirements constantly changing, it is vital for your financial organization to stay up to date on the latest requirements. This course provides an in-depth review of key IRA reporting topics, including required minimum distribution statements, fair market value statements, account statements, and IRS Forms 1099-R and 5498. Our experts also review the electronic reporting requirements, beneficiary reporting requirements, procedures for requesting extensions, and IRS penalties for improper reporting.

Our highly skilled Ascensus trainers, in partnership with Maine Credit Union League, present virtual IRA workshops, covering both essential and advanced IRA topics.

RMD rules changed recently resulting from the SECURE Act, the CARES Act, and most recently the new life expectancy tables. RMDs make up a large part of most financial organizations’ IRA services and will continue to increase as baby boomers age. Attend this course to ensure that your organization is handling RMDs according to the most current rules. Course topics include RMD calculations, excess accumulation penalty taxes, financial organization responsibilities, and reporting.

This webinar covers both Traditional and Roth IRA contribution issues—including deadlines, limits, possible tax credits, and Traditional IRA deductibility rules. It is geared to help prepare IRA professionals for the hectic IRA contribution season that generally takes place between January 1 and April 15.

eLearning provides you with access to convenient and effective training through an online library of courses on qualified retirement plans, Traditional and Roth IRAs, SEP and SIMPLE IRA plans, heath savings accounts, and education savings accounts. Individual courses are available through our learning management system (LMS), Ascensus University, or for use within your LMS.

IRA Essentials OnDemand is the perfect solution for those who need an introduction to IRAs but cannot attend a face-to-face training session. IRA reference materials, job aids, quizzes, and videos blend together to create an immersive educational experience. Explore six educational tracks: Introduction to IRAs, Establishing an IRA, Funding, Portability, IRA Distributions, and Reporting.

Simplified employee pension (SEP) plans remain a popular alternative for small employers. SEP plans are easy to maintain and offer employers a chance to make deductible contributions at their discretion. This webinar provides an in-depth review of SEP plans, including information on plan documents, eligibility requirements, contribution limits, and distribution requirements.

Get the benefit of our experienced instructors and extensive curriculum without leaving the office with an on-site HSA workshop. From basic to comprehensive, our HSA Fundamentals and HSA Workshop offer flexibility and customization and give practical understanding of critical rules and operational issues.

Get the benefit of our experienced instructors and extensive curriculum without leaving the office with our on-site IRA workshops. Our IRA Essentials, Advanced IRAs, and Frontline Fundamentals curriculum offer flexibility and customization and give practical understanding of critical rules and operational issues.

For our IRA Administration subscribers, Ascensus has two IRAdirect® workshops that give general users and advanced users the foundation they need to work confidently with this software.

IRAdirect® is a registered trademark of Ascensus, LLC.

Fulfill your career, obtain IRA knowledge and skills, and become indispensable to your organization by earning two professional designations in less than 12 months.

Step 1: Register for IRA University and the CIS I exam.
Step 2: Register for for Ascend and the CIS II exam.
Step 3: Participate in the IRA University and pass the CIS I exam.
Step 4: Attend Ascend and pass the CIS II exam.

Click the Register for IRA University button to register for IRA University or to learn more about IRA FastTrack.

This is part one of our two-part series on HSAs. This course is designed to help you manage an HSA program more effectively. After attending this course, you will understand the fundamentals of HSAs and basic HSA compliance rules. This course also reviews HSA benefits, documentation and reporting requirements, contribution rules and limits, eligibility requirements, portability rules, and the difference between qualified and nonqualified distributions.

Are you missing out on opportunities with small business owners who could recognize substantial tax and retirement benefits by setting up a SEP plan? Join this webinar to see why so many small business owners establish SEP plans, especially small, family-owned or independent businesses. SEP plans are easy to establish and maintain and offer business owners a chance to make deductible contributions at their discretion. The employer contribution limit is greater than the regular IRA contribution limit and does not prevent IRA owners from making regular eligible contributions to their IRAs. This course provides an in-depth review of SEP plans, required plan documents, eligibility requirements, contribution limits, and distribution rules.

SIMPLE IRA plans are ideal for small employers who are looking for an easy-to-maintain plan that allows employees to save for retirement out of their own paycheck. SIMPLE IRA plans, however, are not that simple! This course reviews what you need to know when it comes to being the trustee or custodian of SMIPLE IRA plans, while adhering to IRS requirements to remain compliant, including operational procedures, required plan documents and participant notices, eligibility requirements, contribution limits, portability, and distribution rules.

Take your knowledge of HSAs to the next level with a review of difficult HSA issues regarding eligibility requirements, employer contributions, excess contributions, prohibited transactions, mistaken distributions, and reporting. For a refresher on HSAs, see HSA Fundamentals.

Our experts will outline the top 10 IRA topics we get questions about on Ascensus’ consulting lines. Join this webinar to see what makes this year’s Top 10 list!

Is your financial organization’s IRA program in compliance? Ascensus has conducted countless compliance reviews for financial organizations across the U.S., oftentimes finding compliance concerns that could result in substantial IRS penalties. Being in compliance means following all the IRS requirements for documents, federal and state withholding, and reporting. This course will guide you through these areas of compliancy and provide checklists to help manage the compliance process, helping to ensure IRS penalty-free IRA program.

This course provides answers to your clients’ rollover questions by explaining all the rollover opportunities, including evolving portability rules between IRAs and employer plans. Our experts teach financial organizations how to capture, facilitate, and report rollovers between employer plans and IRAs.

The retirement industry is used to seeing the rules governing IRAs and QRPS constantly change, and this year is no exception. In February, the IRS released its highly anticipated proposed RMD regulations. The proposed regulations address changes made by the SECURE Act and provide other clarifying guidance on RMDs and beneficiary options. During this webinar, we'll provide a high-level overview of the changes contained in the proposed regulations and explain how they could affect your business.

The rules governing IRAs and QRPs are constantly changing. In fact, the IRS recently released new withholding forms and changed how future withholding elections will be determined. During this webinar, organizations will learn about the new withholding form and election requirements. We will provide a high-level overview of the current withholding requirements and then explain what the new rules are and how they will affect our clients' business.