About Us

The Foundation: Your Plan Documents

These days, maintaining legal documents for plans is a significant challenge. We can provide legal documents as needed, or can work with clients to ensure that pre-approved documents provided by other benefits specialists are completed correctly and advantageously. We can help you to make sure that amendments for legal changes are prepared on a timely basis, so that your plan remains qualified.

We can assist you in filing plan documents with the IRS for a favorable determination letter. If your plan is terminating, we can work with you to make any necessary governmental filings and in negotiating with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (if your plan is a covered defined benefit pension plan).

We can assist you by preparing enrollment forms, distribution forms, QDRO and loan procedures, and other administrative documentation needed for your plan.

Helping You Operate the Plan:

We can help you identify which service provider is doing what function for the plan, and where needs are not being met at all, and commonly assist our clients in getting these unattended areas managed.

Problem Solving:

Resolving a discovered administrative error that threatens the plan’s tax-qualified status.
Structuring a correction of a fiduciary breach by the plan sponsor or trustee.
Representing clients in audits by the IRS, Department of Labor, or the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
Eliminating or minimizing penalties on late filing of governmental forms.
Communications with participants regarding claims in dispute.

Litigation Support:

While the Law Offices of Ilene H. Ferenczy, LLC does not represent clients in the courtroom as litigators, we often support benefits litigators in the technical aspects of preparing their case. We also act as expert witness in benefits litigation.

Our Services to Third Party Administrators and Other Service Providers:

Ilene Ferenczy and Carter Bevis have considerable experience in third party benefit plan administration and recordkeeping, having worked in those industries prior to joining law firms. As a result, we often work with other service providers to address technical questions, to resolve problems of the other providers' clients, and to assist in analyzing and solving TPA business issues. Our understanding of both the technical side of benefits administration and the business side of an administration company gives us a very unique and valuable perspective to these clients.

Training and Speaking:

The Law Offices of Ilene H. Ferenczy, LLC provides educational, training, and communications services to its professional clientele and to human resources and benefits groups of larger employers. These services include:

Training sessions in relation to a myriad of topics, including changes in the law or government regulations
Advice and education on the administration of specific plans of a company
Development of forms for both internal and external use in the administration of benefit plans, such as election forms,
summary plan descriptions, and notices
Development of manuals or other training and administrative material

Our Publishing Arm:

Ilene Ferenczy is the author of four books on benefits issues
Furthermore, Ilene is a co-editor-in-chief and a columnist of the Journal of Pension Benefits, a quarterly periodical of articles and columns regarding employee benefit matters.

Employee Benefits in Mergers and Acquisitions (now in its 7th edition)
Defined Contribution Basics: Volumes I, II, and III -- textbooks relating to the maintenance and administration of defined contribution plans.

These publications can be purchased as follows:

Employee Benefits in Mergers and Acquisitions

The ASPPA Defined Contribution Series (Volumes I, II, I)

Journal of Pension Benefits

Our Efforts in Washington:

As a co-chair of the Government Affairs Committee for the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries, Ilene Ferenczy has significant opportunities to meet with members and staff of Congress, at the IRS, at the Department of Labor, and at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to encourage laws, regulations, and other guidance that are helpful to plan sponsors and practitioners. For example, ASPPA’s GAC was integrally involved in working with Congressional staffers in the development of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, the most comprehensive piece of pension legislation in decades.

Through the relationships developed as part of GAC, Ilene often is able to cut through red tape and assist our clients in their dealings with government officials.