Overview
Accomplished employee benefits and ERISA attorney Sharon Lippett helps companies design and administer employee benefit plans that contribute to the retention and motivation of their employees. A patient and keen listener, Sharon creates compliant, unambiguous employee benefit plans that address her clients’ needs.
Her clients (which include large companies across multiple industries and locations with individually designed employee benefit plans) also value Sharon’s practical, commercial advice regarding plan administration and communication.
Sharon helps her clients comply with the myriad legal requirements applicable to employee benefit plans. With an MBA and prior work experience as an employee benefits manager at a global telecommunications company, Sharon combines business acumen with legal knowledge to solve the benefits-related problems her clients face.
Fiduciaries (including investment fiduciaries of plans sponsored by employers in the financial services industry) seek Sharon’s advice on plan governance and best practices for plan fiduciaries, the administration of retirement plans and welfare plans, and on the formulation and implementation of policies for the investment of retirement plan assets.
Sharon counsels employers on the design, administration, and regulatory compliance of tax-qualified defined benefit and defined contribution plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans, and other arrangements. She drafts plan documents, summary plan descriptions, and agreements between plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries, and plan service providers, such as trustees, record keepers, asset managers, third-party administrators, insurers, and auditors. Clients also rely on Sharon for advice on compensation and benefit matters and legal compliance (related to ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, and HIPAA) in connection with corporate transactions and plan terminations.
Before joining Epstein Becker Green, Sharon was an attorney in the Compensation, Governance & ERISA Group of a large global law firm.
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Focus Areas
Experience
- Interpreted newly promulgated IRS regulations to amend and restate cash balance pension plans. Sharon responded to IRS queries regarding the plan, and the clients received determination letters from the IRS for the plans.
- Drafted a legal memorandum required by the client’s CFO as a condition of approving the termination of the client’s pension plan. The memo addressed all of the issues raised by the CFO, who then approved the pension plan termination in the required timeframe.
- Obtained IRS approval of a client’s application regarding the correction of pension plan calculations for several hundred participants over a 20-year period. Sharon provided the IRS with a clearly drafted summary of the correction methodology, with examples. The IRS issued a compliance statement approving the correction methodology, which protects the client from audits and sanctions related to these corrections.
- Provided advice and counsel relating to correction of operational failures under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code affecting the client’s senior executive.
- Served as benefits counsel to sponsors of tax-qualified and non-qualified retirement plans.
- Advised plan investment fiduciaries on their duties under ERISA’s fiduciary and prohibited transaction rules.
Recognition
- The Legal 500 United States, Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation, and Retirement Plans: Design (2017 to 2019, 2021 to 2022)
Credentials
Education
- Rutgers University School of Law – Newark (J.D.)
- New York University, Stern School of Business (M.B.A., with distinction)
- Washington University (B.A.)
- Phi Beta Kappa
Bar Admissions
- New York
Media
Events
Past Events
- November 3, 2021
Insights
Insights
- Media CoverageSharon Lippett Quoted in “4 Benefits Policy Developments to Watch in 2022's 2nd Half”3 minute read
- Firm Announcements
2022 Edition of The Legal 500 Recognizes Epstein Becker Green with High Rankings in Health Care and Workforce Management ...
3 minute read - BlogsA First Look at Secure 2.0—New Requirements for Plan Sponsors3 minute read
- BlogsReminder to ERISA Fiduciaries: ERISA May Not Protect Fiduciaries from Liability Under State Law2 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Epstein Becker Green Receives High Rankings for Health Care and Workforce Management Practices in 2021 Edition of The Legal ...
3 minute read - PublicationsIRS Guidance on ARPA COBRA Subsidies: 86 Q&As and Counting16 minute read
- PublicationsDOL Guidance for Retirement Plan Fiduciaries in Search of Missing Participants7 minute read
- BlogsARPA Provides Welcome Change for Participants in Dependent Care FSAs2 minute read
- PublicationsStimulus Bill Includes Temporary Special Relief for Flexible Spending Accounts10 minute read
- BlogsDOL Provides Guidance for Private Equity Investments in 401(k) Plans5 minute read
- BlogsWhat the DOL Giveth, the IRS (May) Taketh Away: Benefits Guidance in the Time of COVID-196 minute read
- BlogsDOL Gives Extra Time to Plan Participants and Beneficiaries: Benefits Guidance in the Time of COVID-193 minute read
- BlogsBenefits Guidance in the Time of COVID-19: RIFs, Furloughs, Layoffs, and Leaves of Absence19 minute read
- PublicationsIRS Grants Covid-19 Relief for High-Deductible Health Plans—but More Is Needed2 minute read
- Media CoverageAct Now Advisory Cited in "Gig Workers, Self-Employed Covered Under CARES Act"3 minute read
- PublicationsThe CARES Act: What Employers Need to Know (Part II): Impact on Certain Retirement and Group Health Plans, and Executive ...13 minute read
- PublicationsThe CARES Act: What Employers Need to Know (Part I)18 minute read
- BlogsTemporary Benefit Strategies to Immediately Help Workers: Benefits Guidance in the Time of COVID-196 minute read
- BlogsMay Employees Take Hardship Distributions Under Their 401(k) Plan? Benefits Guidance in the Time of COVID-195 minute read
- BlogsEmployer-Sponsored Leave Sharing or Leave Donation Programs: Benefits Guidance in the Time of COVID-196 minute read
- PublicationsIRS Grants COVID-19 Relief for High-Deductible Health Plans3 minute read
- PublicationsWhat Employers Should Know About Distributions Under the SECURE Act11 minute read
- PublicationsFive More Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Topics to Address in the New Year11 minute read
- BlogsMonitoring ERISA Investment Fiduciaries4 minute read
- Media CoverageSharon Lippett Quoted in "Disclosure, Transparency Regs Headline DOL Benefits Agenda"2 minute read
- Media CoverageSharon Lippett Quoted in "DOL Final Rule Expands Retirement Plan Options for SMBs"2 minute read
- Media CoverageSharon Lippett Quoted in "DOL's Association Retirement Regs Clear Final Hurdle"3 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Epstein Becker Green Recognized as Top-Tier Law Firm by The Legal 500 United States, Receives Additional High Rankings ...
4 minute read - Media CoverageSharon Lippett Quoted in "DOL May Broaden 'Employer' Again Despite Health Plan Loss"2 minute read
- PublicationsNew Jersey to Require Certain Employers to Participate in a State "Auto-IRA" Retirement Savings Plan Program8 minute read
- BlogsA Reminder from the DOL: Document a Plan’s Procedures for Designating Authorized Representatives5 minute read
- PublicationsThe Proposed Expansion of Health Reimbursement Arrangements: Is This a Game Changer for Employers?8 minute read
- BlogsProposed Rules Loosen Restrictions on Hardship Withdrawals5 minute read
- BlogsPlan Sponsors and Participating Employers: Executive Order May Be a Gift5 minute read
- BlogsNYC Employers: Required Payroll Contributions to IRAs May Be Coming4 minute read
- Firm AnnouncementsLegal 500 United States Recognizes Epstein Becker Green as Top-Tier Recommended Law Firm, Awards Additional High Rankings ...4 minute read
- PublicationsERIC Weekly Retirement eNewsletterFeatures Tip from Sharon Lippett, Epstein Becker Green2 minute read
- BlogsNotice to Financial Advisers: State Regulators Are Enforcing the DOL Fiduciary Rule5 minute read
- PublicationsApril 1, 2018 Applicability Date for Final Regulations on Claims Procedures for Plans Providing Disability Benefits ...3 minute read
- PublicationsTrump Administration Proposes Delay to the New Disability Claims and Appeals Regulations6 minute read
- BlogsPlan Sponsors: Potential Targets for IRS Compliance Examinations6 minute read
- PublicationsBenefits Litigation Update - Summer 20173 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Epstein Becker Green Receives Top Rankings in The Legal 500 United States for 2017
3 minute read - BlogsNo Delay to DOL Fiduciary Rule: June 9, 2017 Applicability Date Stands (for the Most Part)5 minute read
- PublicationsTrump’s Tax Plan and 401(k)s: What's Old Could Be New Again2 minute read
- BlogsPotential Impact of Trump Tax Reform Plan on Retirement Plans: What’s Old Could Be New Again5 minute read
- BlogsDOL Delays Fiduciary Rule5 minute read
- BlogsDelayed: DOL’s Fiduciary Rule3 minute read
- BlogsPrince v. Sears: A Reminder About the Benefits of Complete Preemption4 minute read
- BlogsNew DOL FAQs Provide Additional Guidance (and Comfort) for Plan Sponsors5 minute read