Craig Wheaton and Katherine Young Biegler Present on Legal Developments in ERISA Reporting and Disclosure

Raleigh, N.C. (May 24, 2011) – Craig Wheaton and Katherine Young Biegler, lawyers with Smith Anderson’s Employee Benefits and Compensation practice group, presented on recent legal developments in Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) reporting and disclosure at the Hughes Pittman & Gupton, LLP ERISA Seminar on May 19, 2011. The inter-disciplinary program was developed for sponsors of larger retirement plans that are subject to the plan audit requirement. Presentations focused on retirement plan reporting and disclosure in addition to accounting and auditing compliance and changes to financial statements. The program addressed recent law changes, practical steps to help employers remain in compliance, and available correction programs to address reporting and disclosure deficiencies.

Mr. Wheaton's presentation focused on new ERISA requirements related to fee disclosures, the identification of retirement plan fiduciaries, common reporting and disclosure pitfalls, minimizing legal risks, and how best to protect fiduciaries through indemnification and fiduciary insurance. Ms. Biegler's presentation focused on how to address Form 5500 filing deficiencies, including correction programs and an overview of general qualified plan correction programs.

Mr. Wheaton, Ms. Biegler and the other attorneys in Smith Anderson’s Employee Benefits and Compensation practice group have more than 50 years combined employee benefit experience and regularly assist employers in maintaining compliance with the myriad of laws, including ERISA reporting and disclosure requirements, that apply to retirement plans, welfare plans, and executive compensation. Mr. Wheaton is a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and has been recognized as a North Carolina Super Lawyer in Employee Benefits/ERISA, and in The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Employee Benefits Law.