Overview
Will Szanzer helps employers establish and maintain competitive employee benefits plans. Startups and large public companies appreciate his focus on ensuring their retirement and health and welfare packages fit within their organizational culture and remain in compliance with applicable laws.
Will provides effective strategies human resource and in-house teams can use to confront complex benefits issues and enforcement concerns. He helps employers administer their 401(k) and pension plans properly by explaining plan terms and how to correct any issues. In assessing HIPAA and ACA compliance obligations, he uses a thoughtful and diligent approach to spot issues early and avoid penalties. When reporting mistakes do happen, Will has deep experience dealing with the IRS’s appeals process, which helps clients reduce their ACA penalties and resolve matters quickly.
Will frequently guides benefits leaders in negotiating their administrative contracts. Drawing on his vast experience, he can anticipate when and where to challenge a vendor to secure favorable terms for clients.
Will also reviews benefits and compensation matters that arise in mergers and acquisitions, including advising on benefits harmonization and executive compensation arrangements.
Before he joined Davis+Gilbert, Will was a Tax Senior in the People Advisory Services Group at EY.
Representative Experience
Advised an international company on post-acquisition matters involving qualified retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plan), including streamlining the plan merger process. Drafted necessary plan amendments and resolutions effectuating the mergers.
Advised a marketing and communications company on de-risking strategies for its defined benefit pension plan, including offering a lump window to terminated participants and spinning off certain assets to a new plan. Drafted necessary plan amendments and coordinated appropriate government filings.
Drafted a long term incentive plan for a boutique media and entertainment company to properly incentivize key employees to continue to improve company performance and increase company value, as well as providing for an effective retention tool.
Advise a healthcare technology company on HIPAA compliance, including negotiating business associate agreements and preparing responses to suspected breaches of protected health information.
Advised an international company with respect to its obligations to provide health benefits under the San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance, including preparing quarterly and annual compliance reports and responding to audit requests from the city of San Francisco.
Insights + Events
- Alert Opportunities and Risks of Using AI in Employee Benefits Administration
July 10, 2024
- Event D+G Breakfast Seminar | Risks May Be Bigger Than They Appear: A Rearview Look at 2023 Labor and Employment Law Changes and a Guide to Potential 2024 Obstacles
February 6, 2024
- Alert The IRS Releases Grab Bag Guidance on the SECURE 2.0 Act
February 1, 2024
- Publication Employee Relations Law Journal | The Need for Employers To Get ”Control” of IRS Controlled Group Rules
January 24, 2024
- Alert Employee Benefit Considerations When Making Workforce Modifications
December 9, 2022
- Alert Update: Health Plan Considerations in the Wake of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
June 27, 2022
- Publication Employee Relations Law Journal | Qualified Plan Mistakes Happen: What Plan Sponsors Do Next Is What Matters Most
June 7, 2022
- Event Davis+Gilbert Hybrid Seminar | Restrictive Covenants and Non-Disclosure Agreements: Recent Legal Developments and Best Practices
March 30, 2022
- Alert Key 2022 Updates for Health and Welfare Plans
March 9, 2022
- Alert Plan Coverage of At-Home COVID-19 Testing
January 12, 2022
- View More
Credentials
Education
- The George Washington University Law School (J.D., with honors, 2013)
- University of Maryland, Baltimore County (B.A., summa cum laude, 2009)
Bar Admissions
- New York
Associations
Member, Davis+Gilbert Health Insurance Plans Committee
Member, Davis+Gilbert Retirement Plans Committee
Member, New York State Bar Association