| The landscape of employee benefits design, implementation and maintenance is increasingly complex. As a result, employers face constantly changing, highly technical laws with more at stake than ever before, given the increased incidence of major litigation involving employee benefits. Companies need a knowledgeable, collaborative team of attorneys whose collective expertise covers the range of employee benefit issues.
Davis Wright Tremaine has one of the largest and most experienced employee benefits teams in the Pacific Northwest. We have worked with companies of all sizes and dealt with virtually every conceivable benefits issue. Although benefits programs are governed by the same federal laws, we recognize that each client may have unique needs that require a customized approach.
We can assist in the following areas:
- Benefit program design: identifying the greatest tax advantages, taking advantage of cross-testing and integration with Social Security and analyzing the compatibility of different plans
- Plan drafting: creating both individually designed and IRS-pre-approved plan documents that satisfy requirements for qualified retirement plans
- Plan qualification: overseeing and managing the process of obtaining IRS favorable determination letters for qualified retirement plans
- Compliance counsel: advising on how best to satisfy tax, labor, employment, PBGC, SEC and ERISA rules, including ERISA reporting and disclosure requirements
- Flexible benefit and group health plans: designing flexible benefit (cafeteria) and group health plans and helping clients administer them, including compliance with COBRA and HIPAA rules
- ERISA litigation: defending (and occasionally initiating) ERISA litigation, advising clients on litigation risks and handling administrative enforcement activities
- Plan administration and correction: helping clients interpret and administer plans and, if necessary, correcting problems using IRS and DOL correction programs
- Fiduciary counseling and plan termination guidance: counseling employers, plan trustees and others about fiduciary responsibility, prohibited transactions, unrelated business income, mergers and transfers of plan assets, plan termination and multi-employer plan issues, including withdrawal liability
- Equity compensation: drafting and advising on stock-based plans that provide for both incentive and nonstatutory (nonqualified) stock options, stock appreciation rights plans and outright stock bonus grants; analyzing and advising on tax consequences; submitting related state or federal securities law filings
- Nonqualified deferred compensation: drafting and advising on the structure and tax ramifications of arrangements that defer compensation; analyzing compliance under Tax Code Section 409A
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