Jennifer Kraft

Practice Areas

Employee Benefits; Health & Welfare Benefits; Retirement Plans; Executive Compensation; Fiduciary Governance

Career

Jennifer advises employers of all sizes on designing, implementing, and maintaining differentiated and legally compliant benefit plans—and what to do if problems arise. Clients turn to Jennifer for advice on cutting-edge benefits, as well as the tried and true basics that form the foundation of a great benefits plan. She guides her clients through myriad intersecting (and ever-changing) benefits laws, counseling them on approaches that reduce risk and prevent mistakes. Jennifer began her practice in employment litigation almost 20 years ago, before shifting to employee benefits. This experience provides her with an understanding of the "real world" that employers face on a day-to-day basis, and how to be practical in finding legally sound solutions that meet the business needs of her clients.

Jennifer advises clients on the design, administration, and fiduciary responsibilities related to qualified retirement plans (401(k), traditional defined benefit and cash balance plans) and welfare benefit plans. Her experience in this area includes engaging with the Department of Labor, IRS, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation on behalf of employers and plan fiduciaries, addressing plan corrections, assisting with significant corporate and plan spinoff and merger transactions with related integration issues, negotiating vendor contracts, and facilitating transitions to new record-keepers. Additionally, Jennifer advises clients on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations as it relates to retirements plan investments, an area that is quickly evolving across the globe. Jennifer also regularly counsels on welfare benefits issues, including wellness programs. She has assisted a number of clients with the transition to retiree medical exchanges and has counseled and trained clients extensively on HIPAA compliance. Jennifer has also helped numerous clients deal with changes in the economy through the design, implementation, and administration of severance plans.

Professional Memberships

American Benefits Council Health and Welfare Task Force; Coalition of Women's Initiatives in Law; Chicago Bar Association (Alliance for Women co-chair; Alliance for Women Mentoring Circles program co-founder)

Publications

• Co-Author, "If You Can Find an At-Home COVID-19 Test, Your Plan Must Now Pay For It," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (January 11, 2022)

• Co-Author, "Human Capital Disclosure Report: With Vague SEC Guidance Comes General Disclosures," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (July 30, 2021)

• Co-Author, "Yes, I Know it’s a Pandemic, But What About ERISA?!?!?!?," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (December 23, 2020)

• Co-Author, "DOL Addresses Health Plan Coverage for Return-to-Work COVID Testing and Other Pressing Issues," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (June 25, 2020)

• Co-Author, "All Bets Are Off: IRS Issues New Playbook for Section 125 Plans During Pandemic," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (May 13, 2020)

• Co-Author, "Months After Ordering Plans to Disregard Sub-Regulatory Guidance, Trump Administration Learns to Love the Informal FAQs," Beneficially Yours Blog, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (April 13, 2020)

• Co-Author, "Too Much Time on My Hands: Helping Employees Through COVID-19 Pandemic with PTO Donation," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (April 13, 2020)

• Co-Author, "CARES Act Relief: Health and Welfare Plan Provisions," Beneficially Yours Blog, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (March 28, 2020)

• Co-Author, "Part II: Emergency Childcare: State-Specific Measures," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (March 24, 2020)

• Co-Author, "Feeling Left Out, Senate Proposes ANOTHER Bill—CARES Act—Mandating COVID-19 Testing," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (March 21, 2020)

• Co-Author, "Apparently all it takes to get Congress to Agree on Something is a Global Pandemic," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (March 18, 2020)

• Co-Author, "House Passes Technical Corrections to COVID-19 Relief Bill – One Small Word Creates Many Big Questions," Beneficially Yours Blog, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (March 18, 2020)

• Co-Author, "In a Rare Move – House and White House Agree on Initial Coronavirus Relief," Beneficially Yours Blog, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (March 15, 2020)

• Co-Author, "Don’t Get Caught in the 'Low-Hanging Fruit' HIPAA Harvest," Beneficially Yours Blog, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (February 24, 2020)

• Co-Author, "Deadline is Approaching for Group Health Plan Service Agreement Updates," Beneficially Yours Blog, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (January 30, 2020)