21st Annual Employee Benefits Update 2025

  • OnDemand seminar
  • Employment Law
Up to 7.0 Credit Hours
View schedule and faculty
21st Annual Employee Benefits Update 2025

Your Benefits Briefing

When advising employers, keeping pace with the evolving world of employee compensation and benefits is crucial. From recent federal legislation to emerging trends in executive pay, the legal and regulatory challenges surrounding benefit plans continue to mount, as do the risks of falling behind.

The 21st Annual Employee Benefits Update gives you the focused insight and in-depth analysis you need to support your clients with confidence. Whether you’re counseling on Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) or ERISA compliance, this full-day seminar delivers timely updates and practical guidance to keep you current.

You’ll gain a deeper understanding of executive compensation and tax considerations in mergers and acquisitions, including how various equity awards and deferred compensation plans are treated during a change in control.

Plus, get a breakdown of critical developments under the SECURE 2.0 Act, from mandatory Roth catch-ups to expanded in-service withdrawal options.

8:30 am
Annual Executive Compensation in Mergers and Acquisitions

David Eckhardt

  • Discuss tax complexities of executive equity awards in M&A transactions, including non-qualified and incentive stock options, restricted stock units, restricted stock, and profits interests. Understand their typical taxation and potential treatment in a deal, such as cash out, assumption, exchange, or cancellation.
  • Navigate the rules for non-qualified deferred compensation plans and other arrangements affected by a change in control. Learn how these plans are structured, how a change in control impacts payments under IRC Section 409A, and the conditions under which such plans can be terminated upon a change in control.
  • Understand the impact of IRC Sections 280G and 4960 tax rules, which apply to payments and benefits received by executives in connection with a change in control, and how to mitigate the impacts of potential excise taxes.
  • Review other general planning considerations for designing executive compensation arrangements in anticipation of M&A.
9:20 am
Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) Update

Rebecca Greene

  • What is an ESOP?
  • Why do employers adopt ESOPs?
  • High-level overview of the complex regulatory landscape for ESOPs
  • ESOP trends and hot topics
10:10 am
Break
10:25 am
Plan Corrections Under EPCRS

Brian L. Anderson

  • Overview of EPCRS
  • SECURE 2.0 expansion of EPCRS
  • Explanation of most-used correction procedures
  • Common errors that are correctible
11:15 am
Annual Executive Compensation Update

Martin P. Tierney

  • Top Hat Severance Plans
  • Fiduciary exception to attorney-client privilege
  • Terminating nonqualified defined benefit plans • Impact of New Legislation on Executive Compensation
12:05 pm
Lunch (On Your Own)
1:05 pm
SECURE 2.0 Update

Leigh C. Riley

  • Super catch-ups
  • Mandatory Roth catch-up
  • DOL Lost & Found program
  • New in-service withdrawals
1:55 pm
The Web of Leave and Accommodation Laws – ADA, FMLA, PWFA, and More!

Mary Ellen Schill

  • Examination of the various state and federal laws that give employees rights to unpaid leave and other accommodations
  • High-level overview of the complex web of leave and accommodation laws
  • Essentials of the ADA, FMLA, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), and the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA)
2:45 pm
Break
3:00 pm
ERISA Case Law Update

John B. Tufnell

  • Latest Developments and Trends
  • A Discussion of Recent Supreme Court Decisions
  • A Discussion of Seventh Circuit Decisions
  • Key takeaways for the Diligent Practitioner
3:50 pm
Program Concludes

Program Chair

Michael W. Taibleson
Godfrey & Kahn S.C. · Milwaukee

Presenters

7 total
Brian L. Anderson
DeWitt LLP · Madison
David Eckhardt
Husch Blackwell LLP · Milwaukee
Rebecca Greene
Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren, S.C. · Milwaukee
Leigh C. Riley
Foley & Lardner LLP · Milwaukee
Mary Ellen Schill
Ruder Ware L.L.S.C. · Wausau
Martin P. Tierney
Michael Best & Friedrich LLP · Milwaukee
John B. Tuffnell
Salberg Tuffnell Law, S.C. · Milwaukee

  • Stay ahead of legislative changes and regulatory trends affecting your clients’ benefit plans
  • Provide clear, strategic guidance to clients on complex compensation structures
  • Strengthen your ability to spot compliance issues before they become costly mistakes
  • Gain insight into common plan errors and learn effective correction strategies
  • Strengthen your expertise in executive compensation planning for mergers and acquisitions
  • Review the essentials of state and federal leave and accommodations laws
  • Keep up with the latest ERISA case law and executive compensation updates
  • Employee benefits lawyers
  • Employment lawyers
  • Insurance lawyers
  • Business lawyers
  • In-house counsel
  • General practitioners

Book Bonus!

Wisconsin Employment Law
Save 15% on Wisconsin Employmant Law.* .* It’s the most comprehensive source on Wisconsin law governing private-sector nonunion employment, presenting perspectives from both management and employee advocates. Use discount code CA3801 when you order online or by calling (800) 728-7788.

*Discount applies to both print and digital Books Unbound editions of this title and cannot be applied to previous purchases. Offer valid through 12/31/26. For Books Unbound users, discount may be applied to purchase of individual Books Unbound title only and may not be used on the purchase of libraries. Discount cannot be combined with any other offers.

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