Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Law
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All times Eastern
Why Attend?
Do you know:
• The ins and outs of designing, adopting, and maintaining a Section 401(k) plan?
• The differences between a defined benefit and a defined contribution plan, and how you can help your clients decide which is better for them?
• Why it’s critical to identify all entities that are related to your client, regardless of their form?
• How a Roth 401(k) plan differs from a Traditional 401(k) plan, and how contributions from a Traditional 401(k) plan can now be converted into Roth contributions?
• How to help your client keep plan loans in compliance?
• How to determine who is a fiduciary and help your clients avoid fiduciary breaches, including those involving excessive fees?
If you don’t know the answers to all of these questions, you need to attend this course!
This annual course of study, comprising more than 17 hours of instruction, familiarizes both nonspecialists, and those who would like to be specialists, with the basic laws and regulations governing employee pension and welfare benefit plans.
What You Will Learn
The course provides the perfect vehicle for lawyers, accountants, actuaries, third-party administrators, and consultants to gain a basic understanding of the rules that apply to qualified retirement plans as well as some of the special rules that apply to health and welfare plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Particular emphasis is placed on the application of the Internal Revenue Code to qualified retirement plans.
A small faculty of experienced practitioners takes the complex web that is ERISA and makes it accessible to registrants inexperienced in the area. The program makes the complexities of employee benefits compliance, administration, design, and policy understandable.
Registrants have access to the small faculty both during and between sessions as well as during the extensive question and answer sessions. In addition, a reception for registrants and faculty following the conclusion of Wednesday’s program provides networking opportunities as well as a chance to speak directly with the faculty about particular legal issues.
Planning Chair
Pamela D. Perdue, Summers Compton Wells P.C., St. Louis (also on faculty)
Faculty
Brian W. Berglund, Bryan Cave LLP, St. Louis
Michael A. Laing, Taft, Stettinius & Hollister LLP, Cincinnati
Cynthia A. Van Bogaert, Boardman & Clark LLP, Madison, Wisconsin
Roberta Casper Watson, Trenam, Kemker, Scharf, Barkin, Frye, O’Neill & Mullis, P.A., Tampa
ALI-ABA Staff Attorney: Kevin J. O’Connor, Associate Director, Office of Courses of Study
Program Schedule
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
7:30 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:25 a.m. Administrative Remarks – ALI-ABA Staff
VIDEO WEBCAST SEGMENT A (ERISA Overview; Types of Qualified Plans; Eligibility Requirements)
8:30 a.m. Introduction: Overview of Legislative and Regulatory Schemes (including what is an ERISA plan) - Ms. Perdue
9:00 a.m. Types of Qualified Retirement Plans (determining what type of plan is right for a client) - Ms. Perdue
9:45 a.m. Controlled and Affiliated Service Group Rules - Ms. Van Bogaert
10:30 a.m. Networking and Refreshment Break
10:45 a.m. Minimum Standards of Eligibility - Mr. Laing
11:15 a.m. Questions and Answers
11:45 a.m. Lunch Break
VIDEO WEBCAST SEGMENT B (Coverage; Fiduciary Rules; Nondiscrimination and Disparity; Vesting)
1:15 p.m. Minimum Coverage Requirements - Mr. Laing
1:45 p.m. Introduction to Fiduciary Responsibility Rules of ERISA - Ms. Perdue
2:45 p.m. Networking and Refreshment Break
3:00 p.m. Nondiscrimination and Permitted Disparity - Mr. Berglund
4:00 p.m. Special Rules for Top-Heavy and Keogh Plans - Ms. Van Bogaert
4:30 p.m. Minimum Vesting Requirements - Mr. Laing
5:00 p.m. Questions and Answers
5:30 p.m. Adjournment for the Day; Networking Reception for Registrants and Faculty
Thursday, May 17, 2012
8:00 a.m. Networking Session and Continental Breakfast
VIDEO WEBCAST SEGMENT C (Taxation; Loans; Reporting; Spousal Rights)
8:30 a.m. Review of First Day’s Topics - Ms. Perdue
8:45 a.m. Spousal Rights (including QJSA & QDROs)- Ms. Van Bogaert
9:45 a.m. Plan Loans - Mr. Laing
10:15 a.m. Networking and Refreshment Break
10:30 a.m.Taxation of Distributions and Required Minimum Distributions - Mr. Berglund
11:15 a.m. Reporting and Disclosure Requirements - Ms. Perdue
12 noon Questions and Answers
12:30 p.m. Lunch Break
VIDEO WEBCAST SEGMENT D $299 (401(k) Plans; Securities; Termination)
2:00 p.m. Section 401(k) Plans - Mr. Berglund
3:00 p.m. Securities Laws and ERISA - Mr. Berglund
3:30 p.m. Networking and Refreshment Break
3:45 p.m. Logistics of Plan Termination - Ms. Perdue
4:45 p.m. Questions and Answers
5:15 p.m. Adjournment for the Day
Friday, May 18, 2012
8:00 a.m. Networking Session and Continental Breakfast
VIDEO WEBCAST SEGMENT E (Intersection with Other Laws)
8:30 a.m. Review of Prior Day’s Topics - Ms. Perdue
8:45 a.m. Introduction to COBRA - Ms. Watson
9:30 a.m. Ethical Issues in Representing Employee Benefit Plans - Ms. Van Bogaert
10:30 a.m. Networking and Refreshment Break
10:45 a.m. HIPAA Basics (Portability and Discrimination) - Ms. Watson
11:30 a.m. Bankruptcy Laws and Employee Benefits Plans - Ms. Perdue
12 noon Questions and Answers
12:30 p.m. Adjournment
Total 60-minute hours of instruction: 17.5 hours, including 1 hour of ethics
Suggested Prerequisite: Limited experience in general legal practice or completion of CLE Orientation Course
Educational Objective: Acquisition of knowledge and skills to develop proficiency as a practitioner
Level of Instruction: Basic
Here's what registrants have said about this course:
“The course was great and exactly what I needed. Pam [Perdue] was especially fantastic. Her ability to clearly present and to provide content and connections was helpful and impressive.”
“Content of course is very comprehensive. The faculty did a good job making the material understandable --- especially Pam Perdue. The ALI-ABA staff, facility, location, etc. were excellent.”
“Pam Perdue, Brian Berglund, and Michael Laing’s written materials are among the clearest I’ve seen in the field. Pam Perdue is a very polished speaker. A pleasure to listen to. Excels at connecting the dots among the various topics. Useful advice from a high level practitioner. A productive investment of my valuable time and money. Keep up the good work!!!”
Times
All times Eastern
