Plan sponsors seriously disadvantage themselves and their plan participants by announcing the migration of their plan from one record-keeper to a new record-keeper before all the conditions for a smooth transition have been fulfilled.
There are record-keepers that know this and take full ...
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Public Employer Plans: Giving Employees Benefit Choices Can Lead To Problems
When our public agency clients negotiate with their collectively bargained employees, both sides strive to make the most of limited compensation and benefits dollars. Sometimes the parties believe they can create greater value by letting the employees choose between two employer-provided benefits. ...
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Retirement Plan Eligibility Mistakes That Can Surface in M&A Transactions
Retirement plan eligibility mistakes are on the IRS list of the top 10 most common retirement plan errors that are brought to its Voluntary Correction Program. According to the IRS, this mistake most often surfaces as a result of a merger or acquisition. In this podcast Wendy Gilligan discusses ...
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No Fooling: New Rules For SBA ESOP Loans Took Effect April 1
The changes that the Main Street Employee Ownership Act made to the Small Business Administration's lending rules for ESOP transactions are now in effect. The revised rule makes an SBA loan potentially more attractive for sellers who want to sell their companies to an ESOP but do not ...
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Don’t Pick Up COBRA As Part of Your Next Deal
"Who has to pay for COBRA coverage?" is a question we often hear from transaction lawyers and their clients in a stock sale or an asset sale. COBRA requires some employers to provide certain participants and their beneficiaries with group health plan coverage after certain events occur that ...
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It Pays to Give Your Retirement Plan A Comprehensive Review
Employee Benefits Law Group often works on retirement plans that have been in place for years and we know that simply making sure a plan is up to date is not enough.
We look at a plan’s “foundational basis.” If the underlying plan design, tax assumptions and fiduciary structure—the plan's ...
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Aren’t ESOPs Expensive?
We hear this question all the time. Aren't ESOPs expensive? Aren't they complicated? Well, that's actually the wrong question to ask. The right question to ask is this:
How do the costs and details of an ESOP transaction compare to a transaction where you sell your company to a private equity ...
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Doing M&A Due Diligence In Phases Lets You Decide How Much Review Is Enough
The deal lawyers we work with appreciate having ERISA counsel with serious transaction experience on their side. We understand that deal cost and time have to be kept in check. Our phased approach to employee benefits diligence puts you and your client in control of how much review is enough. In ...
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Failure to File a Form 5500: An Expensive Problem To Acquire
In a merger or acquisition, late or never-filed Form 5500s can be an expensive benefits problem to acquire and a sign there may be other issues with the company's benefits plan.
In this podcast, Wendy Gilligan shares some helpful general information for buyers and ...
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