QKA study plan
QKA · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Contributions, allocations, and annual compliance testing (ADP/ACP, 415 limits, 401(a)(4)) & Retirement plan regulatory framework, ERISA, and the Internal Revenue Code
Compute the 402(g), 415(c), 401(a)(17), and 414(v) limits applicable to a stated plan year and determine which limit caps a given participant's annual additions
Calculate employer allocations under pro rata, integrated (permitted disparity), and new-comparability formulas from a sample census
Map each ERISA Title I fiduciary duty to its corresponding IRC qualification requirement and identify whether DOL or IRS has enforcement authority
Classify employees as HCEs, key employees, and members of controlled groups or affiliated service groups from short fact patterns
Your checkpoint
A self-built one-page limits reference sheet plus 20 solved limit-and-allocation problems, scored at 85% or better
Contributions, allocations, and annual compliance testing (ADP/ACP, 415 limits, 401(a)(4)) & Top-heavy rules, vesting, and nondiscrimination concepts
Run ADP and ACP tests from raw payroll data, including calculation of excess contributions, refunds, and corrective distribution deadlines
Perform a top-heavy determination and compute the top-heavy minimum contribution and key-employee benefit requirements
Evaluate a plan design against 401(a)(4) concepts by identifying rate groups and the role of the average benefit percentage test
Identify 410(b) coverage and 401(a)(26) minimum participation failures in a small-employer census
Your checkpoint
A completed mock nondiscrimination testing worksheet for a 25-employee census covering ADP, ACP, top-heavy, and coverage results, with a written failure-and-correction summary
Retirement plan regulatory framework, ERISA, and the Internal Revenue Code & Plan design, eligibility, and coverage requirements
Sequence the 401(a) qualification requirements and ERISA reporting and fiduciary rules across the plan lifecycle stages of adoption, operation, and termination
Apply 410(a) eligibility maximums, permissible entry dates, and break-in-service re-entry rules to participant scenarios
Determine plan type design constraints by contrasting DB, DC, 401(k), safe harbor, SIMPLE, and ESOP structures
Test plan designs against 410(b) coverage and 401(a)(26) participation thresholds
Your checkpoint
A plan-design decision matrix for three hypothetical employers, supported by rationale for every design constraint cited
Participant distributions, loans, and related taxation
Determine the tax treatment of eligible rollover distributions, direct versus indirect rollovers, and the 20% mandatory withholding rule
Calculate required minimum distributions using the Uniform Lifetime Table and state the applicable deadline rules
Apply IRC 72(p) loan limits, repayment schedules, and deemed-distribution triggers to participant scenarios
Distinguish the qualifying events, spousal consent requirements, and taxation rules for loans, hardship withdrawals, QDROs, and QJSA/QPSA forms of payment
Your checkpoint
A timed 30-question distribution, loan, and taxation practice set scored at 80% or better, with written explanations for every missed item
Plan administration, government reporting, and fiduciary responsibilities
Assemble the Form 5500 and its required schedules and attachments for a sample plan year
Apply the ERISA fiduciary duties of loyalty and prudence plus 404(c) and 406 prohibited-transaction rules to fact patterns
Identify Form 8955-SSA reportable events and their filing deadlines
Evaluate whether sample fee and participant disclosures satisfy 404a-5 requirements
Your checkpoint
A complete mock Form 5500 package for a small 401(k) plan, accompanied by a one-page prohibited-transaction checklist
Top-heavy rules, vesting, and nondiscrimination concepts & Operational compliance failures and correction programs
Apply statutory vesting minimums, top-heavy accelerated vesting, and service-crediting rules to a participant employment history
Distinguish operational failures such as missed deferrals, late deposits, and excess allocations from plan document failures
Select between SCP and VCP by assessing EPCRS eligibility criteria for a described failure
Compute corrective QNECs and make-whole amounts for a missed deferral opportunity
Your checkpoint
A correction memo resolving three operational failure scenarios, stating the EPCRS method used, the corrective contribution calculation, and the required notices and filings
Operational compliance failures and correction programs & Contributions, allocations, and annual compliance testing (ADP/ACP, 415 limits, 401(a)(4))
Build a self-correction workflow for late 401(k) deposit, failed ADP test, and missed match scenarios
Re-run ADP, ACP, 415, and top-heavy testing on a previously unseen census within a 60-minute time limit
Determine when VFCP applies in addition to EPCRS because a fiduciary breach accompanies an operational failure
Specify the participant notices, deadlines, and recordkeeping obligations triggered by each correction method
Your checkpoint
A 45-minute timed 40-question mixed set across domains 3, 6, and 7 scored at 80% or better, plus a corrected error log of missed concepts
Retirement plan regulatory framework, ERISA, and the Internal Revenue Code & Plan administration, government reporting, and fiduciary responsibilities
Reproduce from memory the core limits, deadlines, and reporting thresholds for all seven domains without reference materials
Complete two full-length timed practice exams under exam conditions and record per-domain accuracy
Re-teach the two lowest-scoring domains by writing plain-language explanations of each missed concept
Resolve every item on the running error log and confirm no repeat misses
Your checkpoint
Two scored full-length practice exams with a per-domain accuracy report showing at least 80% in every domain
Milestones
Week 4: Score 80% or better on the 30-question distributions and loans set, and hold current accuracy of 75% or better on a 20-question cumulative quiz covering domains 1 through 3, 6
Week 6: Produce the Form 5500 package and the EPCRS correction memo with all required schedules, notices, and calculations correctly identified, verified against an answer key
Week 8: Achieve at least 80% overall and at least 80% in each of the seven domains on two full-length timed practice exams