Deals and People June 10, 2014

Steptoe & Johnson Adds ERISA Attorney

June 10, 2014 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Joni Andrioff has joined Steptoe & Johnson LLP as a partner in the Tax and ERISA, Labor & Employment Groups.
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Andrioff, who will work in the firm’s Chicago and Washington, D.C., offices brings more than 25 years of experience in the areas of employee benefits and executive compensation. She has advised corporate, tax-exempt and institutional fiduciary clients, and her work has included matters relating to Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transactions; transactions involving employer securities, employee benefit plan design, administration, funding and correction; executive compensation, including severance arrangements, employment agreements, deferred compensation, equity-based arrangements, nonqualified retirement plans, and supplemental executive retirement plans (SERPS); mergers and acquisitions; and health and welfare plans and trusts. 

Andrioff has also counseled employers in the funding and administration of multiemployer pension and health and welfare plans. In addition to her law firm experience, Andrioff served as a principal at Deloitte Tax LLP.

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“Joni brings a wealth of experience to the firm that will greatly enhance the capabilities we offer clients in retirement, welfare, and compensation arrangements,” says Phil West, chair of Steptoe.  “Her presence in our Chicago office will provide a natural bridge between the employee benefits and executive compensation capabilities we offer in both our D.C. and Los Angeles offices.”

Andrioff is ranked in the legal directory Chambers USA for her work in employee benefit and compensation matters. She has also been recognized by Best Lawyers in America and Illinois Super Lawyers. Active in the legal community, Andrioff has served as the chair of the Employee Benefits Committee of the American Bar Association’s Tax Section (2011-2012) and of the ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits (chair in 2007; member, 2003-2012). Earlier in her career, she served as a law clerk to Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Andrioff holds a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and was awarded a juris doctor with high honors from the Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Benefits June 10, 2014

Half of Boomers Do Not Know Retirement Need

June 10, 2014 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - More than half of Baby Boomers polled expressed uncertainty about how much money they will need in retirement.
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According to the Wells Fargo Millennial Survey, 54% say they “can’t estimate” how much they will need in retirement. Twelve percent say they will need $500,000 to $1 million, and another 12% say $1 million to $2 million.

The survey also found more than half of Boomers (56%) favor a mandatory retirement savings policy. Only two-thirds (66%) say the stock market is the best place to invest for retirement, representing a roughly 10 percentage point increase from last year’s study.

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Boomers are also feeling vulnerability in their careers; 58% of Baby Boomers said if they lost their job they could find a comparable one within a year. This is in sharp contrast to 78% of Millennials who said the same (see “Millennials Learned Lesson About Saving”).

When asked whom they trust for financial advice, Boomers cited “personal finance experts/personalities” as their first choice (57%), followed by “financial institutions” (45%) and “family” (40%). Asked what advice they would give to those starting out in their careers, 43% would tell them to start saving for retirement now.

The 2014 Wells Fargo Millennial study was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of the Wells Fargo Wealth, Brokerage, and Retirement (WBR) team between April 15 and May 2. Survey respondents included 1,639 millennials between the ages of 22 and 33, as well as 1,529 baby boomers between the ages of 49 and 59. 

 

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