Todd Solomon

Todd A. Solomon is the head of McDermott’s Benefits, Compensation & Employment Practice Group. Todd focuses his practice on designing, amending and administrating pension, profit sharing, 401(k), employee stock ownership and 403(b) plans, as well as nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements. He also counsels privately and publicly held corporations and tax-exempt entities regarding fiduciary issues under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), employee benefits issues involved in corporate transactions, executive compensation matters and the implementation of benefit programs for domestic partners of employees. Read Todd A. Solomon's full bio.
DOL Creates Path for 401(k) Plans to Offer Private Equity Investment Options
By Todd Solomon, Brian Tiemann and Rick Stepanovic on Oct 29, 2020
Posted In Employee Benefits, Fiduciary and Investment Issues
In June, the US Department of Labor issued an information letter indicating that it will allow defined contribution retirement plans (such as 401(k) plans) to indirectly invest in private equity funds. While information letters are not binding, this new guidance creates a significant opportunity for plan sponsors to consider investment options that include private equity...
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DOL Proposed Regulations on Proxy Voting
By Todd Solomon and Brian Tiemann on Oct 27, 2020
Posted In Employee Benefits, Fiduciary and Investment Issues
The Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed rule with 30-day comment period to address the application of fiduciaries’ duties with respect to proxy voting and exercises of other shareholder rights. The proposal requires fiduciaries to vote any proxy where the matter being voted upon would have an economic impact on the plan and prohibits...
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“Because of Bostock” – Court Delays HHS Rule Re-interpreting Section 1557 Discrimination “Because of Sex”
By Jacob Mattinson, Todd Solomon, Gregory Fosheim, Judith Wethall and Winnie Uluocha on Aug 25, 2020
Posted In Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
One day before an updated rule of the US Department of Health and Human Services regarding Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act took effect, the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York ordered a stay and issued a preliminary injunction precluding the most recent final rules from becoming...
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Multiemployer Pension Plans: Addressing the Issue of Underfunding
By Todd Solomon on Aug 11, 2020
Posted In Employee Benefits, Retirement Plans
A significant issue facing many business owners is the impact of underfunded multiemployer pension plans. This is most common, but not exclusive to, unionized businesses. McDermott Partner and Global Head of the Firm’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice Group Todd Solomon joins Domenic Rinaldi, owner and managing partner of Sun Acquisitions, for a recent episode of...
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HHS Finalizes Anti-Discrimination Revisions to ACA Section 1557
By Jacob Mattinson, Judith Wethall, Gregory Fosheim, Winnie Uluocha and Todd Solomon on Jul 14, 2020
Posted In Benefit Controversies, Health and Welfare Plans
On June 12, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized a rule under Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the 2020 Final Rule) that rescinds certain protections afforded to LGBTQ individuals and persons with limited English proficiency. At the same...
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COVID-19 — Tax Planning Opportunity for Defined Benefit Participants?
By Erin Turley, Diane Morgenthaler and Todd Solomon on Apr 14, 2020
Posted In Employee Benefits, Retirement Plans
Much has been written about the new CARES Act distribution that allows impacted COVID-19 participants to access up to $100,000 in their tax-qualified defined contribution plan penalty-free and with income taxes spread over three years. However, the CARES Act legislation applies to all “eligible retirement plans” as defined in Code Section 402. So technically the...
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Transgender Health Benefits: Best Practices and Legal Considerations
By Erin Steele, Jacob Mattinson and Todd Solomon on Sep 3, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans
A growing number of medical organizations, courts and administrative bodies have stated that transition-related medical care is medically necessary and should be covered by employer-sponsored medical plans. Access to employer-sponsored healthcare coverage for transgender workers has become an issue of focus for civil rights advocacy groups such as Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties...
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7 Severance Structuring Tips for Tax-Exempt Colleges and Universities
By Joseph K. Urwitz, Erin Steele and Todd Solomon on Aug 20, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Executive Compensation
In-house counsel and human resources professionals at tax-exempt colleges and universities often face a variety of challenges when structuring, and determining obligations due under, severance arrangements. There are some key considerations to bear in mind, which are outlined in this article. Access the full article.
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Fridays with Benefits Webinar | All in the Family: 21st Century Benefit Plan Strategies for Family-Owned Businesses
By Judith Wethall, Bobbi J. Bierhals and Todd Solomon on Jun 6, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation
Those were the days: when family-owned businesses paid only passing attention to the business value of providing tax-efficient—and incentivizing—benefit plans and compensation options. Tomorrow, Employee Benefits partner Todd Solomon and Private Client partner Bobbi Bierhals join host Judith Wethall during our Fridays with Benefits webinar series to discuss benefit plans and compensation strategies for modern...
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Key Considerations with Alternative Investments for Pension Plans
By Brian Tiemann and Todd Solomon on Nov 15, 2018
Posted In Employee Benefits, Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Retirement Plans
Todd Solomon and Brian Tiemann presented on alternative investments for pension plans during the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) Conference in Chicago. They discussed various rules benefit plan investors should consider, including the “look-through” rule and the “significant” investment rule. They also addressed common hedge fund structural and operational issues, and problems if a fund...
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