Overview
Michelle McCarthy advises clients of all types – from tax exempt organizations and governmental plans to Fortune 100 companies – regarding every facet of employee benefits law, including the design, structure, implementation, regulatory compliance and administration of retirement, health and welfare benefit plans. With nearly 25 years of legal experience specializing in employee benefits and taxation, Michelle advises clients from both the private and public sectors and has served as trustee-appointed counsel to some of the largest and highest-profile pension, health and welfare funds in the nation.
Specific to governmental plans, Michelle advises on matters pertaining to federal tax qualification and compliance (including defined benefit, defined contribution, hybrid, cash balance and 457 plans), fiduciary duties and governance, federal and state tax withholding and reporting and health and welfare plans. Michelle’s experience serving as outside tax counsel to public retirement systems includes advice on tax compliance matters related to missed required minimum distributions, correction of overpayments and underpaid contributions, error correction policies and procedures, federal, state and local tax withholding and reporting issues, potential impact on state and local public retirement systems of Congressionally mandated Social Security on newly hired state and local governmental employees, FICA replacement plans, governmental pick-up contributions, participation agreements, error correction policies and procedures, expanded ability to self-correct operational errors under SECURE 2.0, trust certification requirements, assessment of property tax, possessory interest tax and government “in-lieu” fees on real property investments by state and local public retirement systems and fiduciary duties, among other things.
Michelle frequently assists governmental plans in the development and drafting of internal policies and procedures, member notices and communications and statutory and regulatory amendments required to remain compliant with federal tax laws and regulations. Michelle has represented state and local public retirement systems in matters before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including in requests for determination letters, private letter rulings and compliance statements and frequently assists these clients in self-correcting operational errors under the IRS’ Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS), as expanded under SECURE 2.0.
In addition, Michelle has vast experience advising public pension systems, state and local governments and governmental agencies, multiemployer health plans and private plan sponsors on matters related to the design, establishment and ongoing administration of group health plans (including self-funded major medical, dental and vision plans, FSAs and HRAs (both excepted benefit and integrated)). Michelle’s experience includes advising on all aspects of group health plan compliance, including but not limited to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA), the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA), the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), among other things.
Michelle frequently advises plan sponsors and administrators on issues pertaining to plan governance, administration and compliance, has represented numerous of her clients in matters before the IRS (including in IRS audits and examinations) and has helped clients to obtain determination letters, private letter rulings, closing agreements and compliance statements with respect to corrective filings under EPCRS. Michelle also has represented numerous clients in matters before the Department of Labor (DOL) and Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PGBC) (including audits, examinations and corrective programs) and regularly advises on data privacy and cybersecurity issues relevant to retirement, health and welfare plans.
Michelle also has had a strong focus on benefits issues arising for Taft-Hartley multiemployer plans throughout her career, serving as management-appointed fund counsel to numerous multiemployer plans and advising boards of trustees on multiemployer plan governance, administration and compliance issues. She has represented numerous of her multiemployer plan clients in matters before the IRS, DOL, Social Security Administration (SSA) and PBGC, including in audits, examinations and voluntary compliance program (VCP) filings. In addition, Michelle advises contributing employers regarding their participation in multiemployer health and pension plans and provides corporate transaction support on multiemployer plan issues, including potential withdrawal liability.
In addition to the numerous publications she has authored, Michelle frequently speaks on employee benefits and tax compliance issues at conferences sponsored by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, the American Bar Association, the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys, the State Association of County Retirement Systems, the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems, the California Association of Public Retirement Systems, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Beverly Hills Bar Association, the California Society of Certified Public Accountants and Lorman, among others.