Colleges and Universities Benefit Plans
Our Perspective on Providing Services to Clients
The Benefits Group understands the budget constraints with which our clients must operate and that employee benefits represent an ever-increasing cost. We also appreciate the role benefits play in obtaining and retaining a competitive faculty and staff in today's labor market. Benefits serve as an important foundation for the financial security desired by faculty, employees and administrators. We work closely with our college and university clients to create and implement employee benefit plans that will provide the best benefits possible with available resources. Of course, even the best benefit program does not fully achieve its goals unless faculty and staff understand the program and appreciate its value. To achieve this goal, we work with our clients to create effective employee communication programs. We pride ourselves on the ability to provide innovative, effective solutions to complex benefit problems for our college and university clients.
The Services We Provide
The Benefits Group provides legal and consulting services to its college and university clients on all aspects of employee benefits, such as
- 403(b), 401(a) and 401(k) qualified retirement plans;
- health and welfare plans, including retiree health programs and defined contribution health care options;
- severance programs, phased retirement, and early retirement incentives;
- student FICA regulations and tax reporting and compliance;
- fringe benefit plans and tuition reduction programs;
- flexible benefit plans;
- 457 deferred compensation plans;
- executive compensation and incentive arrangements; and
- intermediate sanctions.
The services we provide to our college and university clients include designing and drafting retirement and welfare plans, evaluating different funding options, auditing for the compliance of existing programs with Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor rules and regulations, analyzing the extent of and compliance with fiduciary responsibilities, correcting plan failures, performing non-discrimination and coverage testing, developing administrative and executive compensation packages, and addressing benefits issues arising from collaborations and affiliations with other entities.
We additionally handle ERISA disputes and litigation on behalf of college and university clients, defending institutions, officers, and fiduciaries against such claims as fiduciary breach, prohibited transactions, and defects in plan administration.
Keeping You Informed
The Benefits Group is committed to timely communicating new and hot button benefit legal issues through periodic and special college and university e-bulletins directed to its college and university clients. The Benefits Group publishes A Guidebook for Qualified Governmental Retirement Plans which it updates annually, as well as an Employee Benefits Guide published by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce which addresses basic benefit issues. The Benefits Group additionally regularly publishes articles of relevance to its college and university clients. Most recently, an article entitled "Rethinking Deferred Compensation Plans for Executives of Tax-Exempt Employers" was published in the Journal of Deferred Compensation. Our lawyers and specialists regularly speak at national forums and seminars directed to college and university audiences, and many are active participants in national associations such as NACUBO and NACUA.
Representation Before the Agencies
The presence of several Benefits Group lawyers in Washington, D.C., aids us in keeping close track of all legislative and regulatory developments on the federal level that affect the retirement and welfare plans sponsored by our clients. We are, therefore, able to provide on-going advice with respect to plan amendments or operational or policy changes needed as a result of such developments. We are frequently called upon to review legislative and regulatory changes to determine their impact on governmental clients. In assisting our college and university clients, we represent them before the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation on such matters as plan qualifications, audits, private letter ruling requests, and plan terminations.
We also regularly communicate and negotiate with the Internal Revenue Service with respect to legislative and regulatory provisions and proposed changes to these provisions. In one such case, the Internal Revenue Service issued a private letter approving a retirement program that provided for employer contributions on behalf of employees after retirement. In 2001, Congress recognized the value of such post-retirement programs by amending Code Section 403(b) accordingly.
Benefits Consulting
Ice Miller employs two employee benefits specialists who are knowledgeable in evaluating, developing, managing, and communicating employee benefits programs to clients' employees. Our consultants contribute to our ability to offer a wide range of employee benefit services to college and university clients.