The Employee Benefits & Compensation Practice Group of Gallop, Johnson & Neuman, L.C. provides assistance to clients in all aspects of retirement, compensation and benefit programs. This encompasses qualified retirement plans, employee stock ownership plans, including the design and drafting of both qualified and non-qualified compensation plans and programs. Our attorneys also provide counsel with respect to the establishment, administration and operation of welfare benefit plans.
We provide guidance and advice with respect to compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA") and the Internal Revenue Code, the primary laws in the complex regulatory scheme surrounding employee benefits. Our attorneys represent clients before the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
Qualified Plan Design and Drafting
Our attorneys are experienced in the design, drafting and implementation of all kinds of qualified retirement plans such as profit sharing plans, cash or deferred 401(k) plans, employee stock ownership plans, target benefit plans, money purchase pension plans and defined benefit pension plans. We will analyze and develop design proposals to enable a qualified retirement program to be a cost effective part of the employer's total compensation package. The analysis includes consideration of the business objectives of the client, as well as the tax and economic effects on the employer, the employees and their families.
Advice and Assistance with Ongoing Plans
One of the primary responsibilities of the Employee Benefits & Compensation Practice Group is to provide advice to clients with regard to issues and problems that arise in the course of retirement plan administration. The Group provides advice in all areas of plan operations, including participant eligibility, plan accounting, compliance with reporting and disclosure requirements of ERISA, benefit calculations, plan loans, 401(k) hardship withdrawals, plan distributions and fiduciary responsibility issues. We constantly monitor proposed legislation and regulations affecting qualified retirement plans, review new legislation and regulations in light of our clients' retirement plans, and are aware of the developments in case law that may affect qualified retirement plans.
Employee Stock Ownership Plans
The Employee Benefits & Compensation Practice Group has participated in the consideration, establishment and operation of numerous employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and has significant experience in the establishment of ESOPs and various associated transactions such as leveraged buy-outs, corporate stock repurchases and ownership succession. The firm's extensive experience in the ESOP arena gives it the depth necessary to advise any party to an ESOP transaction.
Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plans and Executive Compensation
Our attorneys are very involved in the design, drafting and implementation of non-qualified deferred compensation programs. Numerous and creative arrangements are used on a regular basis to provide deferred compensation to key employees; accomplishing the goals of both the company and the key employee(s) involved. We have designed plans that reward individual performance and provide compensation that can be measured by company performance, thus providing the incentive for both individual and corporate success. Excess benefit plans have been designed to restore benefits lost through application of Internal Revenue Code restriction on benefits available to key executives. Design and drafting of stock option plans, both incentive plans and non-qualified stock option plans, is provided by the Employee Benefits & Compensation Practice Group. Group members work closely with corporate management in order to design plans that attract and retain key employees.
Health or Other Welfare Benefit Plans
With the increasing cost of health care coverage for employees and for the increasing obligations and complexities imposed on employers in connection with that coverage, we are frequently called upon to advise clients with respect to health care coverage and insurance. Our attorneys can advise clients with respect to plan design and various options that play a significant role in bringing health care costs under control. Members regularly advise employers in the areas of self-insurance and other funding alternatives, and can provide assistance in plan design and drafting in order to encourage efficient use of health care benefits.
Cafeteria (Section 125) Plans and Fringe Benefits
One of the most cost-effective methods of providing certain qualified fringe benefits to employees is through the use of a cafeteria plan. Such a plan can permit employees to select among various benefit options including medical and dental insurance, life insurance, disability insurance and dependent care, and pay their portion of the costs of those benefits on a pre-tax basis. We can provide the design, drafting and implementation of a cafeteria plan, whether the plan is designed as a full flexible benefits plan or merely a plan that allows employees to pay their portion of medical plan premiums on a pre-tax basis.
Individual Tax Analysis and Advice
We also advise individuals as to the options available as a participant in a qualified retirement plan or as an account holder of an IRA. We are able to provide tax projections on distributions from qualified retirement plans and advise as to the impact of various options, including lump sum distributions, annuitized payments and rollovers. Our analysis includes consideration of the tax on excess distributions and the applicability of minimum distribution rules.
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