Funding and Governance

Defining and administering the right options

Plan assets and how they’re handled can make or break an employee benefit plan. Decisions regarding the custody, investment and oversight of plan assets are critically important. The Lewis Law Office helps employers define and administer their best funding and governance options.

Service Segments

Funding

Lewis Law Office LLC will structure and provide plans documents for:

• Retirement plan tax-qualified trusts
• Other Post Employment Benefit (OPEB) trusts
• Section 115 Government trusts
• Voluntary Employee Benefit Association (VEBA) trusts

Lewis Law Office will also review and adapt ADV and other custodial and investment management agreements to ensure fee transparency and the proper level of fiduciary oversight.

Governance

Every employee benefit plan needs a governance structure. Whether it is a designated internal or external Plan Administrator, an Oversight Committee, or a Board of Trustees, Lewis Law Office can provide the charter, bylaws, articles and other documents required for legally compliant plan governance.

FAQs

We always thought we had to accept our plan vendors’ standard agreements even though they did not fit our situation. Can we negotiate the terms of those agreements?

Employers can and should negotiate a service vendor agreement when the terms may be detrimental to the Plan Sponsor. For example, public employers in Wisconsin should not agree that an employee benefit plan document will be interpreted under New Jersey law. Similarly, some plan service provider agreements disclaim fiduciary liability or transfer the fiduciary role to the Plan Sponsor even when the service provider would be a fiduciary by operation of law.

Service provider standard agreements are drafted to meet the service provider’s legal needs. Gaps between the service provider’s agreement and the Plan Sponsor’s legal obligations can be addressed through negotiation before the agreement is finalized.