Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation

To attract and retain the best people, you have to offer competitive compensation and benefits programs that meet your business needs. We can help you accomplish your goals by translating complex and sometimes counterintuitive laws, rules, and regulations into planning opportunities — saving you money, helping you overcome regulatory roadblocks, and avoiding countless headaches.

Our Approach

Design and Implement Sophisticated Executive Compensation Programs

Our experienced executive compensation team partners with companies at every stage and size to navigate the legal, tax, securities, financial, and practical considerations involved in designing and implementing executive compensation programs, including:

• Designing equity and cash incentive plans, phantom equity arrangements, and more traditional nonqualified deferred compensation plans.
• Negotiating executive employment and severance agreements.
• Navigating the impact of significant corporate events and, for our public company clients, proxy advisory firms.

Address the Ever-Changing Regulatory Requirements for Health Plans

Our health and welfare team focuses their practice on niche health and welfare issues, monitoring changes in the law, engaging with industry providers, and providing prompt, knowledgeable counsel on a variety of health and welfare programs, including:

• Reviewing and negotiating service provider contracts.
• Assisting with design and implementation of traditional and trending welfare benefit plans, including on-site clinics, telemedicine, and wellness programs.
• Supporting clients through audit inquiries, health plan disputes, and IRS assessments.

Navigate Complex Considerations for 401(k) and Pension Plans

Our accomplished retirement plan team partners with you to navigate through the variety of ERISA, tax, and workforce considerations involved with 401(k) and pension plans, including:

• Implementing cutting-edge designs, including student loan matching and phased retirement programs.
• Developing plan governance and operational procedures to avoid exposure in the event of an IRS or DOL audit or ERISA fiduciary litigation.
• Merging and terminating 401(k) and pension plans, and freezing pension plan benefits and de-risking liabilities.

Craft Benefit Plans and Compliance Strategies

We work closely with you to make sure your plans are legally compliant and structured to minimize your litigation risk. Your employees are your company’s most valuable assets. To retain the ones you have, and attract the ones your business needs, you have to offer the right compensation and benefit programs. But to effectively offer those programs, you have to navigate an ever-increasing and complex variety of federal and state laws, regulations, and court decisions. That is where our Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation attorneys can help. Our experienced attorneys can guide you through the legal maze, making sure your benefit and compensation programs fully comply with all areas of law.

Benefit Plan Operational Error or Plan Document Failure

Because benefit plans are so complex, it is no surprise that errors occur. If you have a plan operational error or plan document failure, we can help you find the best solution. Whether it is a problem than can be self-corrected or one that requires a filing under an IRS or DOL correction program, we walk you through each step.

As part of Foley’s ongoing commitment to provide legal insight to our clients and colleagues, our Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group has a monthly newsletter we call “Employee Benefits Insights,” where we provide you with updates on the most recent and pressing matters concerning employee benefits and other related topics. Click here or click the button to the left to subscribe.