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About Robert J. Toth, Jr

Bob Toth has practiced employee benefits law since 1983. His practice focuses on the design, administration and distribution of financial products and services for retirement plans, one which combines elements of ERISA, tax law, insurance law, securities law and investment law for both 401(a) and 403(b) plans. Bob's experience includes the design of multiple employer plans; implementing 403(b) programs under the new regulations; designing investment products for 401(k) plans; annuitization programs for defined contribution plans; advising on prohibited transactions issues related to retirement plan products and services and their distribution, development of open architecture programs for 403(b) plans and writing and implementing standards for fiduciary and advisory practices.

Bob was a partner at Baker and Daniels and spent 17 years in the legal division of Lincoln National Corporation, where he was Associate General Counsel managing the legal affairs of LFG's employer market division. Prior to joining LFG, Bob was a Senior Attorney at Kellogg Company in Battle Creek, Michigan, where he provided in-house counsel for all benefit law issues related to the company.

Bob is a Fellow of American College of Employee Benefits Council, an Adjunct Professor at John Marshall School of Law’s Employee Benefits LLM Program, teaching the 403(b) and 457 plan courses; a member of the John Marshall Law School Employee Benefits Advisory Board a member of the Faculty of the ALI-ABA Advanced Law of Pensions course; member of the Tax Facts Advisory Board;and is Co-Chair of the ASPPA Tax-Exempt/Government Plans government affairs subcommittee. He graduated from Wayne State University Law School in 1983, and from the University of Michigan in 1978.

 Bob is licensed to practice in Indiana and Michigan, and is admitted to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

His professional associations have included the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (Member; former Board Member of ABC of Northern Indiana; Great Lakes Benefits Conference Executive Committee;  Chair, Tax Exempt Plan Committee; Chair of the 403(b) Transparency Task Force)); EP Program Chair of the IRS Great Lakes TE/GE Council; member of the American Bar Association's Taxation Section/Employee Benefits CommitteeCo-founder of the Institute for Pension Plan Mgt, Purdue University; Past member of the Advisory Board of the American Benefits Council; and Past Chair of the American Council of Life Insurance's Pension Committee. He is licensed to practice in Indiana and Michigan and is an Adjunct Professor at John Marshall School of Law.

Practice Areas

 

  • Fiduciary, Fees and Prohibited Transaction issues
  • Annuity and Insurance Law
  • Retirement Plan Products, Services and Distribution
  • 403(b) Plans
  • Multiple Employer Plans 

Professional Associations

  • ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries)
  • Great Lakes TE/GE Council
  • American College of Employee Benefits Counsel
  • Indiana State Bar Association
  • Michigan State Bar Association
  • Allen County Bar Association
  • American Bar Association

Education

  • Undergraduate: University of Michigan
  • Law School: Wayne State University Law School

Bar Admissions

  • Michigan
  • Indiana

About Conni Toth

Conni Toth, co-founder and managing consultant for Applied Pension Professionals, LLC, brings more than 25 years of experience in retirement planning to the financial services industry.  Conni applies her experience toward assisting fiduciaries with finding solutions for plan design, compliant processes and documentation for retirement plans.

Prior to her current role, she was the head of Internal Account Management for Lincoln Financial Group in Fort Wayne, IN.  During her 23 years at Lincoln Financial Group, positions held include Regional Vice President of Key Accounts, Second Vice President of New Business and Plan Administration, management and administrative roles in customer service supporting registered and non-registered annuity and mutual fund products.  Prior to Lincoln, she spent 8 years in customer service and commercial lending with banks located in Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, IN.

Conni holds FINRA series 6, 7, 24, and 26 registrations.  Industry memberships and activities include the American Society of Pension and Professional Actuaries  (ASPPA) since 1993 maintaining designations as a qualified plan administrator (QPA) and qualified 401(k) plan administrator (QKA); the IRS Great Lakes TE/GE Council; graduate class presenter for the John Marshall School of Law’s Employee Benefits LLM Program; the ASPPA Technical Committee; and Co-authored Thompson Publishing’s “The 403(b) and 457 Handbook”.

Attending Indiana University and University of Indianapolis, she focused on her BS of Business Administration while furthering her education at Indiana Wesleyan University in Fort Wayne, IN.

Conni is a native of Monrovia, CA relocated to Fort Wayne in 1982.  She and her husband, Bob, enjoy life, travel, their children, and their grandchildren.

 

About Phil Troyer

Phil Troyer is the former General Counsel of NRP Financial, Inc. and NRP Advisors, Inc., which operated as subsidiaries of National Retirement Partners, Inc., a recognized leader in the retirement plan industry.  

As in-house counsel for a broker-dealer and registered investment advisory firm supporting the nation’s largest network of financial professionals focused upon serving the needs of qualified retirement plans, Phil assisted some of the industry’s leading advisors in developing practical solutions to maintain compliance with ERISA and the Advisers Act. In addition, he worked with ERISA counsel for plan sponsors, as well as third party product and service providers, to negotiate a wide variety of customer and product agreements. 

Phil graduated with a B.S. degree in political science from DePauw University in 1986 and worked on Capitol Hill prior to obtaining his law degree from Indiana University in 1994. He holds FINRA Series 7 and 24 licenses, as well as an Indiana Resident Producers License for life, accident and health products. Phil previously served as Associate General Counsel for the nation’s oldest medical malpractice carrier, and in that role he maintained regular contact with state insurance regulators and legislators around the country while also chairing the company’s Endorsement Committee and drafting all of its policy forms and endorsements. Phil later utilized the knowledge he gained to represent the interests of insurance policyholders as a partner with the firm of Boeglin & Troyer, P.C. 

He was candidate for Congress in 2010 and enjoys travel, spending time with his daughter, and participating in a wide variety of sports.

 

About Sandy Koeppel

Sandy Koeppel, who has more than 35 years of employee benefit law and related experience, primarily focuses his practice on tax and fiduciary issues relating to guaranteed lifetime income plan distribution options . Prior to his retirement from Prudential in March 2011, Sandy was Vice President, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs for Prudential’s Retirement business where he coordinated and helped develop policies, positions and strategies on proposed legislation, regulations and other external issues impacting Prudential Retirement and the retirement industry – with particular emphasis on matters relating to guaranteed lifetime income.

Recently, Sandy founded Plan Income Consultants and Evaluation Services, LLC to assist plan sponsors and their financial consultants in their consideration of guaranteed lifetime income as a distribution offering for their plans.

In the spring of 2008, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao appointed Sandy to serve a three-year term as the insurance industry’s representative to the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans (the “ERISA Advisory Council”).

During his 32 year career at Prudential, Sandy also held the position of Vice President, Relationship Management in Prudential’s Structured and Stable Value Products Group where he had responsibility for the sales and client service function. Prior to joining Prudential’s Guaranteed Products business in 1992, Sandy served as Assistant General Counsel from 1978 to 1992 in Prudential’s Law Department where he was the lead attorney of the Employee Benefits and ERISA practice. From 1976 to 1978 Sandy was an associate in the New York law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver and Jacobson.

He is a past chairman of and served on the Pension Committee of the American Council of LifeInsurers (ACLI). He has served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the American Benefits Council (ABC); the Stable Value Investment Association (SVIA) Government Relations Committee; the Investment Company Institute (ICI) Pension Committee; and the Government Relations Committee of the SPARK Institute. Throughout his career, he has been active in many industry policymaking activities and projects. Sandy has been a frequent speaker at industry conferences and has authored numerous articles including co-authoring a chapter of The Handbook of Stable Value Investments.

Sandy received his B.S. degree in 1971 from the State University of New York at New Paltz and his J.D. degree in 1975 from Widener University School of Law.