Fringe Benefit Fund

Comprehensive Fringe Benefit Fund Services
Our attorneys specialize in providing the following services to all types of fringe benefit funds:

• Advice concerning the Department of Labor Audits and enforcement initiatives
• Advice regarding compliance with ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code
• Preparation of Plan Restatements, Summary Plan Descriptions, Participant Notices, and Summaries of Material Modifications
• Preparation of Trust Amendments
• Updates on recent legislation and regulations
• Preparation of Requests for Proposal for Service Provider Searches
• Advice concerning reporting obligations under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code
• Advice concerning disclosure obligations under ERISA
• Counseling on participant claims and appeals
• Review and negotiation of service provider contracts
• Preparation and drafting of policies and procedures

Pension & Retirement Plan Services
Pension and retirement plans operate in a complex legal environment that requires legal support with a broad range of experience and qualifications. With over a century of experience in this arena, we are well-qualified to deliver accurate insight and unparalleled results.
Our legal services specific to pension and retirement funds include:

• Advice concerning Department of Labor Final Service Provider Fee Disclosure Regulations
• Advice concerning Trustee duties in the assessment and collection of employer withdrawal liability
• Advice concerning investment duties and standards of care relative to investment of plan assets, including self-directed defined contribution and cash or deferred (401(k)) plans
• Preparation of Plan Amendments and Treasury Submissions necessary for the continuance of tax-exempt status
• Advice concerning funding requirements
• Counsel to multi-employer 401(k) plans and supplemental retirement plans
• Qualified Domestic Relations Orders services

Health & Welfare Fund Services
Health and welfare funds require the same high level of legal expertise that retirement plans do in order to operate in compliance with today’s complex regulatory requirements. Our fringe benefit fund attorneys apply this skill to provide the highest quality legal counsel to health and welfare funds.
Our services specific to health and welfare funds include:

• Advice regarding rules governing the privacy of protected health information
• Development of multi-employer premium-only flexible spending arrangements
• Advice to funds concerning health reimbursement arrangements and health savings accounts
• Development of internal and external review procedures required under the Public Health Service Act
• Review of Independent Review Organization Agreements

Journeyman & Apprenticeship Fund Services
The number of statutes and regulations governing journeyman and apprenticeship funds pales in comparison to those that are applicable to most other types of fringe benefit plans. A plan sponsor’s failure to comply with the rules that do apply can result in costly personal liability to fund trustees.

Our attorneys include the following legal services for journeyman and apprenticeship funds, with an eye toward minimizing the risk of liability to the fund and trustees:

• Development of trustee and fund employee expense reimbursement policies
• Preparation of conflict of interest and whistleblower policies
• Policies and procedures to comply with Department of Labor rules
• Advice concerning appropriate expenditures on behalf of participants
• Preparation of scholarship loans and legal actions to enforce them
• Restatement of Agreements and Declarations of Trust
• Advice compliance with fiduciary standards of care under ERISA