Thomas McCord

Practice Areas

Thomas J. McCord’s practice deals primarily with employee benefits, including all ERISA issues, retirement plans, insurance and flexible benefit programs and executive compensation arrangements. He is also experienced in the areas of tax-exempt organizations and estate planning and administration.

My three decades of experience enable me to quickly analyze and develop an action plan for a broad range of employee benefits issues presented by clients. Recently, I have been assisting many clients in the following areas.

RETIREMENT PLANS

Clients commonly call me regarding operational errors they have discovered in their plan administration. They are often quite concerned about the potential effects on the qualification of their plans and the need for potential IRS filings. I work with my clients to determine the extent of any problem and explain the alternatives available for making correction. These corrections often can avoid any IRS filing.

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Increasingly I am consulted by both private and public companies about arrangements for attracting, incenting and retaining their key employees, using either equity or cash-based benefits. For example, I recently designed and documented a combined equity and cash retention benefit program for a company that needed to be able to retain its key executive through and after a potential sale.

TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS

I enjoy counseling nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations on how they can make their unique compensation goals harmonize with special tax code rules. In this regard I recently helped a hospital restructure a deferred compensation program for its senior staff and physicians so as to satisfy better the complex requirements of Sections 457 and 409A of the tax code.

I see a growing number of clients interested in exploring alternatives for special compensation arrangements to attract and retain key employees, including supplemental retirement, equity and health benefits.

Publications

He has spoken before the Boston and Massachusetts Bar Associations as well as at live and broadcast seminars nationally, and is the author of articles in Employee Benefits News and other publications.

Career

Harvard University, JD, cum laude; Yale University, BA, summa cum laude.

Professional Memberships

American Bar Association

American Law Institute

Boston Bar Association

Massachusetts Bar Association

Member of the Board and past officer of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Institute of Pension Administrators