Shareholder
Having practiced employee benefits law exclusively since 1979, Ken (a co-founder of the firm in 1989) is among the most knowledgeable and experienced employee benefits attorneys in the U.S. He partners with the firm’s clients to address all aspects of their employee benefits from design and documentation, to compliance and administration issues, to plan termination, with a particular focus on:
- Executive compensation such as nonqualified deferred compensation, phantom stock, stock appreciation rights (SARs), 457(b), 457(f), and Code section 409A compliance and correction.
- Retirement benefits including 401(k), other defined contribution, defined benefit, cash balance, 403(b), and SEPs.
- Employee welfare benefits (group health plans, COBRA, HRAs, cafeteria plans, VEBAs and MEWAs).
- Controlled group, common control, affiliated service group and leased employee analyses.
- Public agencies and church plans.
Most Read Series – Employee Aggregation Rules
It was not a dark and stormy night — at least it didn’t start out that way. Instead, it was a sunny and calm afternoon, and a routine year-end review meeting was taking place between the owners of SMALLCO (a manufacturing business), their accountant and their retirement plan third party administrator (TPA). And then it happened…read more
Pats On The Back
Preeminent Rating, Martindale Hubbell.
Fellow, American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, which recognizes significant contributions to the advancement of the employee benefits field.
Registries, “The Best Lawyers in America” and “Super Lawyers.”
Education And Bar Affiliation
LL.M. (Master of Laws) in taxation from Golden Gate University School of Law (graduated first in class), J.D. from the University of California Hastings College of the Law, B.S. from the University of Kansas
Admitted to practice in California
“Ken Ruthenberg hit the ground running in our first conversation.”
– Corinna Adams, Director of Benefits, Reiter Affiliated Companies