CER study plan
CER · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Employee Benefits: Concepts and Health Care Benefits (Group Health Plan Design, Financing, and Regulation)
Map the regulatory stack that governs group health plans (ERISA, PHSA, IRC, HIPAA, ACA, COBRA, GINA, USERRA) and state in one sentence what each statute controls
Distinguish fully insured, self-funded, level-funded, and MEWA arrangements by who bears risk and which state mandates apply
Explain how stop-loss attachment points, specific and aggregate coverage, and lasering change an employer's retained risk
Identify the ACA market reform and employer mandate provisions that drive plan design decisions, including affordability and minimum value tests
Your checkpoint
A one-page comparison table of fully insured vs. self-funded vs. level-funded designs covering risk bearer, state mandate exposure, stop-loss role, and reporting burden
Employee Benefits: Concepts and Health Care Benefits (Group Health Plan Design, Financing, and Regulation)
Compare HMO, PPO, POS, EPO, and HDHP designs on network structure, cost-sharing, referral rules, and out-of-network exposure
Calculate member cost-sharing outcomes for a given claim scenario across deductible, coinsurance, out-of-pocket maximum, and embedded versus aggregate family limits
Apply HSA eligibility rules, contribution limits, and comparability requirements alongside FSA and HRA rules including use-or-lose and carryover
Describe COBRA qualifying events, notice timelines, election windows, and duration rules for employers and qualified beneficiaries
Your checkpoint
A worked cost-sharing worksheet for three claim scenarios across two plan designs, plus a 10-question self-quiz on HSA/HRA/FSA and COBRA rules scored at 80% or better
Retirement Plans: Basic Features, Design, and Administration
Differentiate DB, DC, and hybrid designs by benefit formula, risk allocation, and funding implication
Apply qualified plan coverage and nondiscrimination tests conceptually: coverage under 410(b), ADP/ACP, top-heavy, and 415 limits
Sequence the operational calendar of a DC plan: eligibility, entry dates, deferral elections, match true-up, vesting, and distributions
Explain vesting schedules, forfeitures, loans, hardship withdrawals, and required minimum distribution triggers
Your checkpoint
An annotated annual plan administration calendar for a 401(k) plan with at least 12 dated compliance and operational events
Retirement Plans: Basic Features, Design, and Administration & Retirement Plans: Funding, Investments, and Plan Financing
Compare DB funding measures: accrued benefit, funding target, target normal cost, and how the funding shortfall drives minimum required contributions
Compute a simplified minimum required contribution and identify the consequences of missing it, including excise tax and benefit restrictions
Explain PBGC premium categories and the variable-rate premium base, plus reportable-event and coverage rules
Reconcile plan investment policy with ERISA fiduciary duties under the prudence and loyalty standards, including the role of 404(c)
Your checkpoint
A funding calculation exercise for a hypothetical DB plan showing funding target, asset valuation, shortfall, and minimum required contribution with each input labeled
Retirement Plans: Funding, Investments, and Plan Financing
Distinguish DC plan investment responsibilities among trustee, named fiduciary, and participants, and identify where 404(c) relief does and does not apply
Evaluate qualified default investment alternatives, fee disclosure requirements, and revenue-sharing treatment in participant disclosures
Compute a participant's projected DC account balance at retirement from contribution rate, match, and assumed return, then test sensitivity to a lower return
Assess how plan-level investment menu design, share classes, and recordkeeping fees affect participant outcomes
Your checkpoint
A retirement projection model in a spreadsheet for three savings rates and two return assumptions, with a short written interpretation of the results
Employee Benefits: Retirement and Other Benefit Plans (Executive Compensation, Equity, and Fringe Benefits)
Compare nonqualified deferred compensation structures (SERP, excess plan, 457(f)) and apply 409A concepts to deferral elections, distribution timing, and acceleration prohibitions
Differentiate incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, restricted stock, RSUs, and ESPPs by tax timing and employer accounting impact
Explain golden parachute and 280G mechanics at a conceptual level and identify when excess parachute payments arise
Classify common fringe benefits by tax treatment, including group-term life over the 50,000 dollar threshold, dependent care assistance, transportation benefits, and 125 cafeteria plans
Your checkpoint
A two-page decision matrix mapping five equity and deferred compensation vehicles to tax timing, employer deduction, and key compliance constraint
Employee Benefits: Concepts and Health Care Benefits (Group Health Plan Design, Financing, and Regulation) & Retirement Plans: Basic Features, Design, and Administration & Retirement Plans: Funding, Investments, and Plan Financing & Employee Benefits: Retirement and Other Benefit Plans (Executive Compensation, Equity, and Fringe Benefits)
Integrate cross-domain scenarios such as an executive with a SERP plus a 401(k) match plus an HDHP with HSA, tracing the tax and compliance consequences of each layer
Diagnose the most commonly confused distinction pairs across all four domains and write a one-line discriminator for each
Complete a timed mixed set of at least 60 questions and log every error by domain and by failure mode (knowledge gap, misread, or calculation slip)
Re-teach the two weakest subtopics from scratch without consulting notes, then verify against source material
Your checkpoint
An error log covering at least 60 timed practice questions, tagged by domain and failure mode, with a written remediation note for each wrong answer
Employee Benefits: Concepts and Health Care Benefits (Group Health Plan Design, Financing, and Regulation) & Retirement Plans: Basic Features, Design, and Administration & Retirement Plans: Funding, Investments, and Plan Financing & Employee Benefits: Retirement and Other Benefit Plans (Executive Compensation, Equity, and Fringe Benefits)
Execute two full-length timed practice exams under test-day conditions and record scores by domain
Recompute the highest-yield calculations from memory: cost-sharing, minimum required contribution, and DC retirement projection
Review only the error log and discriminator list, avoiding new material in the final days
Confirm logistical readiness including exam-day timing strategy and question-pacing benchmarks by domain
Your checkpoint
Two completed timed practice exams with domain-level score breakdowns and a final one-page formula and rule sheet written from memory
Milestones
Week 2: Can explain self-funded versus fully insured risk transfer and pass a 10-question HSA/FSA/HRA and COBRA quiz at 80% or better
Week 4: Can compute a simplified DB minimum required contribution from given inputs and explain each step without notes
Week 6: Can state the tax timing for ISO, NQSO, RSU, and 409A deferral on sight and identify at least three fringe benefits with their tax treatment
Week 7: Timed mixed set of 60 or more questions completed with every error logged and categorized by domain and failure mode
Week 8: Both full-length practice exams completed under time, with no domain scoring below 65% and an overall trend above the prior attempt