Business students receive expert advice on retirement planning

It’s never too early to start planning for retirement, as proven by a group of Alfred State business students who recently traveled to Rochester to learn about best practices, mistakes to avoid, and more.

Hosted by the Rochester chapter of the Financial Planning Association at the Locust Hill Country Club, the event was titled “Social Security Optimization and Retirement Income Planning.” The featured presenter was Joe Elsasser CFP®, RHU, REBC, president of Covisum, and co-author of “Social Security Essentials: Smart Ways to Help Boost Your Retirement Income.”

Elsasser’s presentation was designed to provide an understanding of the basic rules regarding Social Security retirement benefits, the various elections available to dual-income earners, and other retirement planning issues surrounding the Social Security process. Scott DuMond, assistant professor in the Business Department, said the event was excellent.

“Mr. Elsasser taught on the 2015 changes in Social Security and when to take it to maximize your benefits,” DuMond said. “Along with that, he discussed how to best withdraw from your retirement accounts in a tax-wise fashion to get the most out of your investments. It was fantastic and a huge benefit to our students.”

Students who attended the event included financial planning majors Rebekah Partridge, of Hornell; Sierra King, of Clyde; Bryanna Godfrey, of Barton; Valerie Wallace, of Rexville; Marika Middelkoop, of Tucson, AZ; Marcus Zeigler, of Canisteo; Shohei Ono, of Aichi, Japan; Bryan Guild, of Cameron Mills; and Nathanael Gisellie, of Jakarta, Indonesia, as well as business administration major (Calvin) Tay Chok Hong, of Kuantan, Malaysia; and business management major Jerome Hart, of Wellsville.

King, the vice president of the Financial Planning Association’s student chapter at Alfred State, said Elsasser’s presentation was a great learning experience.

“I appreciate the FPA of Rochester for having us,” she said. “I was able to pull a lot away from the meeting. Overall, it provided a lot of wisdom and exposure from current professionals.”