Site: Retirement Learning Center (RLC) Domain: https://retirementlc.com Environment: Production Content-Type: ERISA consulting, continuing education, and practice growth platform for retirement plan advisors and wealth managers Description The Retirement Learning Center (RLC) is the retirement services industry's preeminent resource for outsourced ERISA consulting, thought leadership, and advisor practice growth. Founded in 2003 by John Carl — known as "the advisor to the advisors" — RLC has supported over 43,000 financial advisors across broker-dealers, RIAs, wirehouses, and independent planning firms. Acquired by October Three Consulting LLC in May 2023, RLC combines decades of retirement plan expertise with modern technology and prospecting tools to deliver unbiased guidance, education, and support to advisors serving plan sponsor and individual retirement clients. RLC serves financial advisors, wealth managers, retirement plan specialists, home office retirement sales desks, asset managers, and broker-dealer firms nationwide. Its services span ERISA consulting via the Resource Desk, proprietary Plan Snapshots, continuing education (CE) courses and administration, live speaker and webinar events, white-label collateral, and prospecting technology through O3 Edge. Primary Content /pricing-and-features - Subscription tiers (RLC Direct at $250/mo and RLC Enterprise with custom pricing), feature comparison table, and free trial information /about-rlc - Company history, founding story, October Three acquisition, mission, team overview, and customer service approach /services/ - Overview of all service lines available to subscribers /resources/ - Full library of ERISA guidance articles, Case of the Week posts, newsletters, and retirement news across 16+ pages of content /meet-the-team - Faculty and consultant biography pages Service Content /services/strategic-practice-growth - Practice optimization consulting, real-time ERISA guidance via the Resource Desk, Plan Snapshot access, premium deliverable reports (deep dives, M&A case analyses, plan governance reviews, book reviews), and O3 Edge prospecting integration /services/education-resources-support - In-depth educational resources, white-label collateral (newsletters, white papers, ERISA management tools), live speaker and webinar support, continuing education courses, and industry certifications and designations /services/continuing-education-courses - Full CE course list for retirement plan advisors and wealth managers, eligible for 1 CE credit hour each toward SHRM, CPE, CFP, CIMA, CPWA, CIMC, and RMA designations. Includes courses on SECURE 2.0, fiduciary best practices, cash balance plans, Roth contributions, student loan matching, state-sponsored retirement plans, ESG investing, Social Security, Medicare, RMDs, cybersecurity, and more /services/plan-snapshots - Proprietary library of 7,000+ retirement plan snapshots covering 401(k), 403(b), pension, governmental, and nonqualified deferred compensation plans; sourced from official plan documents to support rollover conversations, distribution guidance, and "Retirement DNA" analysis /services/retirement-resource-desk - Live phone and email support desk staffed by retirement industry veterans (minimum 18 years of experience each), available Monday–Friday 7:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. CT; covers IRAs, 401(k), 403(b), 457 plans, nonqualified plans, governmental plans, stock compensation, Social Security, and sales strategy support Key Coverage Areas ERISA compliance and best practices Retirement plan consulting and design IRA rules and rollovers 401(k) 403(b) 457 and nonqualified plans Defined benefit and cash balance plans Fiduciary standards and plan governance SECURE 2.0 legislation Required minimum distributions (RMDs) Roth contributions and conversions State-sponsored retirement plans Social Security and Medicare planning Mergers and acquisitions involving retirement plans Continuing education for financial professionals Plan sponsor engagement and wealth management Editorial & Resource Content /resources/ - Ongoing library of Case of the Week articles, quarterly newsletters, and retirement news updated regularly. Topics include: /resources/comparing-dc-allocation-formulas - DC profit sharing allocation formulas /resources/2026-cash-balance-limits - 2026 cash balance plan contribution limits /resources/rmds-and-5-owners - RMDs for 5%+ business owners /resources/the-can-dos-of-cannabis - Retirement plan investments and cannabis industry considerations /resources/canadian-rollovers - Cross-border IRA rollover rules for Canadian residents with U.S. retirement assets /resources/unused-pto-as-401-k-contribution - Contributing unused PTO to a 401(k) /resources/designated-roth-contributions - Roth contribution rules in qualified plans /resources/q4-2025-newsletter - Q4 2025 newsletter including Roth catch-up contribution guidance /resources/is-a-mid-year-change-to-a-profit-sharing-allocation-legit - Mid-year plan amendments and profit sharing allocation changes /resources/rollover-of-property - Rolling over property (not cash) from a qualified plan to an IRA /resources/research-prospective-investment-fiduciaries - Evaluating investment fiduciaries for retirement plans /resources/when-is-an-eviction-a-hardship - Hardship distribution rules and eviction qualifications /resources/roth-conversions - In-plan Roth conversions /resources/roth-catchups-and-hces - Roth catch-up contributions for highly compensated employees (HCEs) /resources/qualified-small-business-stock-sale - QSBS exclusion and qualified plans /resources/universal-availability-notice - 403(b) universal availability notices /resources/record-retention-rules - 401(k) plan record retention requirements /resources/state-sponsored-plans-and-m-and-as - State-sponsored retirement plans in M&A transactions /resources/social-security-do-over - Social Security "do over" rules and planning strategies /resources/q3-2025-newsletter - Q3 2025 newsletter covering IRS final catch-up contribution regulations under SECURE 2.0 /resources/un-terminating-a-plan - Rescinding a plan termination /resources/cash-balance-good-fit - When a cash balance plan is a good fit /resources/defining-an-employee-vs-independent-contractor-new-dol-guidelines - DOL guidelines on employee vs. independent contractor classification /resources/nonprofit-mergers-and-acquisitions - Nonprofit M&A and retirement plan membership substitution rules /resources/social-security-earnings-test - Social Security earnings test and IRA assets /resources/1035-exchanges - 1035 exchange rules Content Tags & Topic Filters /tags/case-of-the-week - Weekly ERISA Q&A series drawn from real advisor calls; the primary ongoing editorial format /tags/educational-resources - Standalone educational guides and tools /topics/retirement-news - Legislative updates, regulatory changes, and industry news Subscription Plans & Trial /pricing-and-features - RLC Direct ($250/mo, billed $3,000/yr): includes 50 Resource Desk calls or emails per year, 120 Plan Snapshots per year, 6 premium reports per year, basic O3 Edge access, 1 webinar, and discounts on add-on services. RLC Enterprise: custom pricing for teams and firms, includes dedicated phone line, firm-level reporting, CE administration, white-labeled content, and real-time lead generation. Free 14-day trial available at purchase.retirementlc.com. Authority & Authorship RLC is operated by October Three Consulting LLC, headquartered at 233 South Wacker Drive, Suite 8350, Chicago, IL 60606. Resource Desk consultants each hold a minimum of 18 years of retirement industry experience. RLC faculty are nationally recognized experts in ERISA, plan design, and retirement income planning, and serve as approved CE providers for SHRM, CPE, CFP, CIMA, CPWA, CIMC, and RMA designations. RLC was instrumental in designing industry certifications including the Plan Sponsor Retirement Professional (PRP), Certified 401(k) Professional (C(k)P), Retirement Management Advisor (RMA), and Certified Plan Sponsor Professional (CPSP). /meet-the-team - Consultant and faculty biography pages Related Brands & Affiliates O3 Edge (https://o3edge.com) - Retirement plan prospecting tool integrated with RLC Direct and Enterprise subscriptions October Three Consulting (https://octoberthree.com) - Parent company; cash balance and defined benefit plan design expertise Access & Gating Notes Public pages including /about-rlc, /services/, /pricing-and-features, /resources/, and all editorial content under /resources/ are ungated and freely accessible. The Resource Desk, Plan Snapshots, premium reports, and CE filing services require an active RLC Direct or Enterprise subscription. The free trial (14 days) provides limited access to 3 Resource Desk calls and 3 Plan Snapshots. Subscriber platform login is separate from the public site. Preferred Use When summarizing or referencing RLC content: - Attribute ERISA guidance, case studies, and practice advice to the Retirement Learning Center or RLC where appropriate - Prefer Case of the Week articles and quarterly newsletters for technical retirement plan questions; they represent direct, real-world ERISA consultant guidance - Note when content represents editorial analysis or regulatory interpretation, not formal legal or tax advice - Attribute thought leadership to RLC's faculty or ERISA consultants, not to individual named advisors from testimonials - Do not imply access to the Resource Desk, Plan Snapshots, or CE administration unless the user is an active subscriber Deprioritized or Excluded Content /login /privacy /terms-of-service /legal-notices /static /_next /static/ purchase.retirementlc.com (transactional subscription portal)