Employee Plans and Executive Compensation Group Committees

We are a group of lawyers who help businesses, their workers and other individuals understand and solve issues that arise in the operation of employee benefit plans and compensation arrangements. Our clients’ plans are central to the economic wealth and well-being of their employees. The plans also are an important part of our clients’ efforts to recruit, retain and motivate employees. The plans are often involved in real estate and other common business transactions and create legal risks for businesses and others involved in them.

Our Group provides great value to members by helping them to stay current on the many and changing legal rules that apply to their clients’ plans, especially ones relating to qualified plans, medical and other welfare plans and nonqualified deferred compensation plans. Some of our Group members also focus on fiduciary responsibilities related to the operation of plans. Others focus on the formation and termination of benefit plans, and litigation involving this area of practice. The Group is a past Diversity Award Recipient from RPTE and has a strong commitment to diversity.

Fiduciary Responsibility, Administration and Litigation

This committee focuses upon responsibility of fiduciaries under ERISA and also reviews issues relating to the administration of employee benefit plans under the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA. The committee monitors and provides comments to the IRS, DOL, and PBGC with respect to the administration of the employee benefits laws by these agencies, and, as appropriate, prepares reports for publications on matters of interest to practitioners in this area. The committee also monitors litigation in the employee benefit area and meets periodically to discuss matters of practical significance to its members. The committee also publishes information for Section members on these topics, and participates in or sponsors Section CLE programs.

Individual Retirement Accounts and Plan Distributions

This committee focuses on legislation, regulations and other developments relating to IRA contributions, distributions, rollovers and investments. It focuses as well on similar developments relating to distributions and participant loans from 401(k) and other retirement plans. The committee also publishes information for Section members on these topics, and participates in or sponsors Section CLE programs.

Nonqualified Deferred Compensation

This committee concentrates on the issues relating to nonqualified deferred compensation, including methods of fundingnon-qualified deferred compensationarrangements, theemerging trends in the executive compensation, stock-based compensation arrangements and estate planning for executive compensation programs. The committee prepares comments on legislation and regulations, publishes information for Section members on these topics, and participates in or sponsors Section CLE programs.

Plan Transactions and Terminations

This committee deals with events and actions that are major structural changes in retirement and employee benefit plans. Special emphasis is given to employee benefit programs in corporate acquisitions and dispositions, plan terminations and plan mergers or spin-offs. The committee develops and submits comments on legislative proposals, regulations and rulings that are in the committee’s area of responsibility. The committee also publishes information for Section members on these topics, and participates in or sponsors Section CLE programs.

Qualified Plans

The committee considers income and transfer tax issues related to employee benefits and gathers, analyzes and disseminates information concerning planning for retirement in old age, with special emphasis on distributions from qualified retirement plans (including employee stock ownership plans or ESOPs), individual retirement accounts, and other such arrangements, including government programs. The committee monitors proposed and enacted legislation affecting qualified plans and also considers state laws that affect retirement and old age planning. The committee prepares technical comments on legislation and regulations, publishes information for Section members on these topics, and participates in or sponsors Section CLE programs. Recent activities of the predecessor committees include the preparation of detailed comments on the qualification of payments under employee benefit plans for the marital deduction, and an ongoing project to propose modifications to the regulations under IRC§401(a)(9) with respect to trusts as beneficiaries of qualified plans and IRA’s.

Welfare Benefit Plans

The primary focus of this committee is the operation, funding and regulation of Employee Welfare Benefit Plans; including compliance with ERISA, COBRA and the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act. The committee has developed comments on regulations relating to OWBPA and has been monitoring the legislative proposals to restructure the nation’s health care delivery system. The committee also publishes information for Section members on these topics, and participates in or sponsors Section CLE programs.