Overview

Erick advises corporate, governmental, and multiemployer health and retirement plans (including 401(k), 457(b), and defined benefit retirement plans) on all manner of employee benefits issues. He counsels on the design and administration of retirement plans, drafts plan documents, policies, and procedures, negotiates vendor contracts and investment agreements, represents retirement plans seeking IRS approval to correct errors in plan administration, and represents fiduciaries and plan sponsors in claims for plan benefits and, for multiemployer plans, collection of delinquent employer contributions and withdrawal liability. Erick also evaluates and tracks trends in the law, such as developing bodies of case law and new regulations, to update clients’ approaches to compliance and risk management. Erick’s work also focuses on:

• Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act compliance, including advising on non-quantitative treatment limitation design and comparative analyses
• Compliance with discrimination laws, such as Title VII and ACA § 1557
• IRS corrections under EPCRS, including both on-model and off-model self-correction program submissions, several of which were significant and had no established roadmap, and all of which were approved
• Resolving disputes over withdrawal liability against employers withdrawing from multiemployer pension plans
• Determining beneficiary status in contested claims to deceased participants’ retirement accounts
• Drafting plan documents and administrative procedures and policies, such as collections, Power of Attorney, and QDRO procedures
• Preparing participant communications, including summary plan descriptions, summaries of material modifications, and benefit distribution forms
• Negotiating and drafting contracts, such as investment, payroll auditor, and third-party administration agreements
• Collecting contributions due from employers that participate in multiemployer plans, via installment payment agreements, joint checks from the delinquent employer’s general contractor, bond claims, and litigation

Hailing from Eagle River, Alaska, Erick spends much of his time outdoors—rowing crew, climbing, skiing, or wandering Washington with his dog, Cooper.