Compensation & benefits

Plan design and consulting services.

Mazars in the US's Compensation and Benefits Practice can plan and design, review annual compliance tests and tax reporting, assist the plan sponsor with annual plan data requests, and calculate contribution allocations (such as cross-tested contributions).

Our approach

Mazars can be retained by the sponsor of a deferred compensation or employee benefit plan as an independent plan consultant. In this capacity, we can assist with:

With over two decades of third-party administrator (“TPA”) experience, we can review the calculations, analyses, and reports provided by your TPA.
We possess the credentials and experiential skills to respond to virtually any technical inquiry in the compensation or benefit plan areas.
We discuss and analyze the objectives, economics, demographics, and investment approach, and provide analyses of.
Mazars employs the most modern and current plan designs that may help achieve important benefits for both the business owner and plan participant.
We can prepare plan documents for defined benefit, defined contribution, and cafeteria plans. In addition, for qualified retirement plans, we can submit the plan document to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) with the goal of obtaining a favorable letter determination.

Our services

Section 409A deferred compensation plan design and review

New rules enacted in 2004 can cause executives in non-qualified deferred compensation plans ("NQDCPs") to have income recognition accelerated and subjected to substantial additional taxes and penalties.

Governmental representation

Given the powerful tax and economic benefits of compensation and employee benefit plans, the government constantly reviews the operational and documentary compliance with the rules. Both the IRS and the Department of Labor (“DOL”) have the authority to enforce lengthy and complex rules.

Retirement and deferred compensation for Tax-Exempt and Governmental Employers ("TE/GE")

The maze of benefit plans and the complexities of their operation make designing plans for TE/GE ripe for opportunities yet fraught with traps for the unwary. Mazars will listen and understand management objectives for implementing a plan in order to select the right program or combination thereof.

Mergers, Acquisitions (M&A) and corporate transactions

Our experience in M&A work spans more than two decades. We perform a thorough analysis of all related benefit plans and assist with making business decisions based on current facts, alternative approaches to calculations, and tax and economic implications.