You’re reading the Study Guide for your CEBS® course, and you notice the first Key Term in the module. “I wish there were a flashcard for that,” you think to yourself. Put down your pen and deck of index cards! Enroll in a CEBS Online Study Groups With Instructor Support to have access to a library of Study Tools created and curated by an expert instructor to support your learning journey, including printable flashcards, instructor notes, audio overviews and so much more. Follow the syllabus to make sustainable progress. Check your learning with interactive games and quizzes. Engage with your instructor and classmates to get clarification and share study tips.
CEBS Online Study groups are an optional offering designed to augment the self-study approach. Offered over a 12-week session, Online Study Groups set a schedule for your CEBS studies and are facilitated by established and experienced CEBS professionals.
What does an online instructor do?
Your online instructor has many roles, including:
- Designing all content and activities in your class to help you retain knowledge and study for your CEBS exam
- Facilitating live review sessions
- Monitoring the discussion forum to provide clarification and guidance to learners
- Creating discussion questions for each module and Benefits in Action Mini Case to stimulate engagement and enhance learning about employee benefits
- Sharing their real-world experience about being a benefits professional
- Answering questions that students submit via the discussion forum, email and private message.
A Chat With Kyle Riddle, CEBS
How has earning the CEBS designation enhanced your career?
“The CEBS designation has primarily helped me in my career in two ways. The first is when I worked directly in employee benefits advising client companies on compliance with the Affordable Care Act in the first few years following its passage. I was new to the field and wanted to ramp up my education quickly to become more valuable to my clients and my firm, and the program did that better than anything else. It made me a resource for my colleagues as we all were adapting to the unique environment brought on by the legislation.
Since I have moved from employee benefits to personal financial planning, the advantage has changed but is still incredibly meaningful. My clients are typically in sales or are executives employed by large companies. They’re eligible for great benefits that can significantly impact their financial lives if they understand and use them correctly. I’m proud to advise them with confidence and review their benefit packages each year. I use what I learned from the CEBS designation to ensure they enroll in the right benefits for their situation and to have the maximum impact on their lives.”
What will benefits professionals learn from taking RPA 2?
“Retirement plans are a complex part of the employer benefit package—It’s a menu, not a fixed plate. Employers or plan sponsors must decide what type of plan and the underlying investment lineup. Employees and participants must select contribution amounts and investment choices that work for their individual circumstances. RPA 2 breaks down the features, functions and reasoning that underly these decisions. The course will help you lead and inform both parties, sponsor and participants, on how to make the right decisions for the plan and its use. Not only do you learn information that’s helpful to you as a benefits professional, but it’s immensely helpful to you as a personal investor and participant in your own employer’s retirement plan.”
Are there any interesting current events, regulatory updates or industry trends related to concepts the RPA 2 course explores?
“The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 changed several requirements for retirement plans; it drew on findings from the field of behavioral finance and studies illustrating how inadequately many Americans are prepared for their retirement. The Act enforces changes to plans that will hopefully lead to better outcomes for participants as they navigate through their careers and plan for retirement. Examples of changes from the Act include mandatory automatic enrollment, default contribution increases and higher age-based ‘catch-up’ contribution limits.”
What are your best study tips for CEBS students?
“Study constantly! Our lives still include down time when we are driving or waiting. Fill these moments by using printable flashcards or audio overviews from your Online Study Group With Instructor Support to reinforce study blocks you’ve scheduled for yourself. There is a wealth of content available in the program to review. I would prioritize taking interactive games and quizzes from the Online Study Group and the Practice Exam, and then review the subject areas you aren’t mastering. Arrange your next study block to focus on those weaker areas.”
Why would you encourage benefits professionals to earn the CEBS designation?
“I encourage people to earn the CEBS designation for all the reasons it helped me, personally and professionally. Even after I switched careers, all the information and knowledge I gained carried over. This program helps you manage your own financial life through better understanding of your own employee benefits, investments and financial planning. The benefits professional earning this designation will be able to use what they learn in a material way, by better understanding the function and purpose of benefits programs and how they impact the lives of the program participants. If you want to be at the vanguard of your profession, I cannot recommend the CEBS designation enough.”
