(Money Manager) - Teacher retirement systems are offered by individual states, for the purpose of offering pension and retirement benefits to teachers and other qualifying education system employees. These systems can vary widely from state to state in the way they are funded and how the contributions are made. There are also differences in how the percentage of the teacher's final salary is calculated according to the plan and how a teacher qualifies for the pension. There are also differences in the portability of the pension benefits.

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(Money Manager) - A thrift savings plan, commonly referred to as a "TSP," is a retirement plan that was created as a result of the Federal Employees Retirement System Act of 1986. This plan was designed to provide for the retirement needs of those who worked for the federal civil service. The thrift savings plan was designed to provide these federal employees with the same kind of retirement savings plan that private sector employees have as a result of a 401(k) plan. Contributing to the thrift savings plan is accomplished in a similar fashion as with other retirement planning accounts, with a set amount being automatically deducted from the employee's paycheck while they are employed. There are a variety of funds within the thrift savings plan that a person can choose from when planning their retirement investments.

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(Money Manager) - A SARSEP was an employer-sponsored retirement plan limited to state and local governments. Private businesses could not establish SARSEP, and SARSEPs can no longer be established. 1997 was the final year SARSEPs were able to be established.

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(Money Manager) - What is a SIMPLE IRA? A SIMPLE IRA is an employer-sponsored retirement plan. It stands for "Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees".

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(Rick Willoughby) - This was a very common statement in 2001, and still is in many parts of the country. Is this just a fringe real estate investment? Well not anymore! Total raised in 2001 was a paltry $166 million. Then a few years with growth of about 80% annually finds us with a 2007 forecast of $4.5 billion for the industry *.

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(Money Manager) - You have probably seen financial advisors list an alphabet soup of abbreviations after their names, such as "John Smith, CPA, CIA". Okay, CPA you may have heard of, but does the second abbreviation mean John is a former employee of the Central Intelligence Agency? Well, no. There is actually a financial designation known as the Certified Internal Auditor, or CIA, so don't think John will regale you with stories of his past experience as a spy. The abbreviations indicate that John has achieved a certain level of education and passed examinations in the areas of accounting and internal audit.

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(Money Manager) - This fellowship is offered by the Conference of Consulting Actuaries. The candidate must be working either as an actuarial consultant, a government actuary, and Enrolled Actuary, an insurance actuary, or a teacher of actuarial sciences.

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(Money Manager) - This designation is offered by the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils.

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(Money Manager) - This designation is offered by the Enrolled Agent Program of the Internal Revenue Service. Enrolled Agents can serve as representatives of taxpayers to the IRS, just as an attorney can represent clients in court.

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(Money Manager) - This designation is offered by Dearborn Financial Services of Kaplan University. The candidate takes one online course that is divided into ten lessons. A quiz must be passed after each lesson, and a final comprehensive examination must also be passed.

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