Agatha Schmidt
Consultant with the ERISA Compliance Department at Ascensus

Agatha Schmidt is a Consultant with the ERISA Compliance Department at Ascensus. In her position, Agatha consults with financial organizations on technical compliance matters through Ascensus’ 800 Consulting Service and serves as an instructor for webinars and various Ascensus sponsored seminars nationwide. She lends technical expertise regarding Traditional and Roth IRAs, health savings accounts, Coverdell education savings accounts, and employer-sponsored plans (such as SEP and SIMPLE IRA plans). She also participates in technical reviews of documents, forms, and publications. Agatha joined Ascensus in 2017, having over a decade of experience in the financial services industry. She has held progressive roles in the retail banking space and in the self-directed IRA space, specializing in alternative assets, encompassing customer service, sales, marketing and operations. Agatha attended the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree. She has received the designations of Certified IRA Services Professional (CISP) from the Institute of Certified Bankers (ICB), the Certified Self-Directed IRA Professional (SDIP) from the Retirement Industry Trust Association, as well as the Certified Health Savings Professional (CHSP) from the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU). Ascensus helps people save for what matters—retirement, education, and healthcare. With nearly 40 years of experience, the firm offers tailored solutions that meet the needs of financial institutions, state governments, financial professionals, employers, and individuals. Ascensus supports more than 105,000 retirement plans, more than 4 million 529 education savings accounts, and a growing number of ABLE savings accounts. It also administers more than 1 million IRAs, 582,000 consumer-directed health (CDH) plans. As of September 30, 2019, Ascensus had more than $261 billion in total assets under administration. For more information about Ascensus, visit www.ascensus.com.

 

Mary Hopkins
Consultant within the ERISA Department at Ascensus

Mary Hopkins has been a Consultant within the ERISA Department at Ascensus since 2021. In her position, Mary answers inquiries from financial organizations on compliance issues through Ascensus’ 800 Consulting Service. She also instructs webinars and Ascensus sponsored seminars and contributes to technical reviews of forms, documents, and publications. Mary earned the Certified IRA Services Professional (CISP) designation through the Institute of Certified Bankers (ICB) in 2007. She has over 17 years of experience with 403(b) plans and IRAs— including Traditional and Roth IRAs, health savings accounts, Coverdell education savings accounts, SEP plans, and SIMPLE IRA plans. Ascensus helps people save for what matters—retirement, education, and healthcare. With more than 40 years of experience, Ascensus offers tailored solutions that meet the needs of financial institutions, state governments, financial advisors, employers, and individuals. Ascensus supports more than 113,000 retirement plans, more than 6 million 529 education savings accounts, and a growing number of ABLE savings accounts. Ascensus also administers more than 1 million IRAs and more than 701,000 consumer-directed health (CDH) plans. As of September 30, 2021, Ascensus had more than $412 billion in total assets under administration. For more information about Ascensus, visit www.ascensus.com.