Mergers & Acquisitions Compliance

The Fiduciary’s Role In A Merger Or Acquisition

If your organization is facing a Merger or Acquisition, ERISA requires you to follow a specific set of steps to protect participants and beneficiaries of your Health & Welfare Benefits or Qualified Retirement Plan.

As a Plan Sponsor or Fiduciary, you must first engage in due diligence to understand the existing plans administered by all parties in the transaction before the deal is closed – so you can ensure that any plan you are inheriting is stable and in compliance with ERISA.

Then, you must decide whether to:

Maintain the buyer’s and seller’s plans separately.
Terminate existing plans, so you can move all employees under one centralized plan. Or,
Merge the seller’s plan into the buyer’s plan, without compromising any of the existing benefits employees are due.

Due to the complex nature of these corporate transactions, we provide an array of services to ensure your Merger or Acquisition runs as smoothly as possible in regards to your ERISA Plan.

How We Help

Perform a comprehensive review of the Buyer’s and Seller’s current ERISA Plans
Identify issues or problems in either party’s current plan structure and compliance measures
Find solutions to remedy any issues or problems with the plan before the transaction is closed
Provide a written report outlining the action steps to implement solutions so the buyer and seller have complete knowledge of the details before closing
Provide a follow-up review to ensure all steps were taken and the process was clearly documented for future DOL inquiries or audits

Streamlined Plan Transitioning & Legal Compliance

Mergers & Acquisitions are famous for being the most complex transactions in the business world. Ensuring legal compliance is met when inheriting an ERISA Plan is just one obstacle along the way.

However, if done improperly, this will quickly become one of your biggest (and most expensive) problems to correct after the deal is closed.

To minimize the risk of choosing the wrong transition strategy, or facing legal compliance issues, hire an ERISA Independent Fiduciary to streamline this process for you.

Contact Us To Ensure Your Transition Is ERISA Compliant

If you are facing a Merger or Acquisition and want to ensure that your company properly transitions its ERISA Health & Welfare or Qualified Retirement Plan, then schedule a time to speak with one of our fiduciaries.

At the ERISA Advisory Group, we have nearly 30 years of experience helping businesses deploy the best plan strategy, while staying ERISA compliant through a Merger or Acquisition.