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Matthew focuses his practice on employee benefits and executive compensation matters. He is experienced in a wide range of employee benefits matters, including tax qualified retirement plans (401(k) plans, pension plans, employee stock ownership plans (“ESOPs”), etc.), nonqualified deferred compensation plans and arrangements, welfare benefit plans, COBRA, HIPAA, and Affordable Care Act issues. Matthew also advises clients regarding compliance with Internal Revenue Code Sections 280G and 409A. His executive compensation experience includes employee fringe benefit plans, stock option plans, supplemental executive retirement plans (SERPs), employment agreements, severance plans, and various other forms of incentive compensation arrangements.

In addition to assisting employers with day-to-day employee benefits-related matters, Matthew has guided employers through cases where the employer participated in a distressed multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) where a court appoints a receiver/independent fiduciary to oversee plan liquidation and payment of employee medical claims. Matthew also counsels clients on employee benefit matters in employer bankruptcies.

Matthew advises tax-exempt entities from formation to termination, and represents clients in controversy proceedings before the IRS and the Department of Labor.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (2021) and the Inflation Reduction Act (2022) provide ample opportunity for construction industry employers to win government contracts. For some employers, one hindrance to competing for government construction contracts is that under the Davis-Bacon Act, all government construction-related contracts require employers to pay their laborers and mechanics not less than the prevailing wage and fringe benefits. Often, employers who have chosen to provide self-funded benefits struggle to have such benefits credited toward the fringe

Continue Reading Did you know there’s a straightforward way to have self-funded health and welfare benefits credited toward federal prevailing wage requirements?

On February 7, 2024, the IRS announced it would continue its Pre-Examination Retirement Plan Compliance Program pilot with the Pre-Examination Compliance Pilot 2.0. The pilot program aims to enhance tax compliance for retirement plans by allowing plan sponsors to identify and address issues before their retirement plans are subject to a full-scale examination.

If selected for the pilot program, plan sponsors will receive a notice from the IRS that their retirement plan has been chosen for an examination and that

Continue Reading Did you know the IRS has extended its Pre-Examination Retirement Plan Compliance Program pilot, allowing retirement plan sponsors to avoid costly penalties?

On August 25, 2023, employers, employees and ERISA attorneys all over the nation breathed a collective sigh of relief after the IRS announced that it would provide a two-year “administrative transition” period for employers and plan administrators to coordinate and prepare for the implementation of the new Roth catch-up contribution rules expressed in SECURE Act 2.0.

By way of background, for people age 50 and older, the IRS allows additional pre-tax deferrals to their 401(k) of an annual amount in

Continue Reading Did you know that the new Roth catch-up contribution rule created by the SECURE Act 2.0 has been delayed by two-years?