Stephen L. Ferszt
Practice Group Leader Stephen L. Ferszt concentrates his practice in employee benefits matters and advises clients on tax, estate and succession planning matters as part of the Tax & Personal Planning practice.
Stephen’s practice is primarily focused on ERISA and employee benefits matters where he represents clients on the design, implementation and administration of qualified, non-qualified and welfare benefit plans, including health and life insurance benefits and cafeteria plans. He also counsels corporations and executives on executive compensation matters.
As part of his Tax & Personal Planning practice, Stephen advises clients on estate and succession planning, wealth preservation and transfers, as well as their responsibilities as estate fiduciaries.
Understanding that ERISA and tax matters are complex, he works with clients to diligently explain each aspect and distills technical regulatory procedures so that clients feel confident and empowered about their decisions.
Stephen represents clients before the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and various state agencies. He advises boards of directors, companies and plan fiduciaries on a wide range of plan administration matters, including voluntary compliance initiatives with the IRS, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the DOL, where he has obtained numerous correction resolutions for his clients. He counsels clients on welfare benefits, including health and life insurance as well as cafeteria plans. He also assists clients in securing private letter rulings from the IRS.
Having served as Chairman of the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT), he provided the IRS with direct input on the development and implementation of IRS policy. The ACT was established to provide advice to the IRS Commissioner on a wide range of tax administration matters relating to employee retirement plans, tax-exempt organizations, tax-exempt bonds and federal, state, local taxation and Indian tribal government issues.
Stephen is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events covering a broad spectrum of topics of interest to attorneys, accountants, third-party administrators and other pension and tax professionals.
Stephen lectures for the New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education, the New Jersey State Bar Association and other associations, covering a broad spectrum of topics of interest to attorneys, accountants, third-party administrators and other pension and tax professionals.
Prior to joining Olshan, Stephen was a partner and Chair of both the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation and the Trusts and Estates practices at Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP.
Honors:
- Chair, Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT) of the Internal Revenue Service
- Employee Benefits in Estate Planning Committee of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC)
- Stephen has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in the fields of Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law | Trusts and Estates from 2007-2017
- New York magazine’s “Top Lawyers”, Employee Benefits and Trusts and Estates Law
- Stephen has been consistently named to the New York Super Lawyers list, a Thomson Reuters lawyer rating service, for 2009, 2013-2016
- New Jersey Super Lawyers
- Martindale Hubbell’s AV® rating
New York, New York 10019