Book Offers Guidance to New Multiemployer Plan Trustees

“Multiemployer Plans: A Guide for New Trustees, Third Edition,” written by the late Joseph A. Brislin, who served 35 years as general counsel with Timber Operators Council, Inc., a forest products manufacturing employer association in Tigard, Oregon, introduces the terms and concepts trustees must understand to fulfill their fiduciary responsibility. Each chapter is filled with practical tips that will help all trustees successfully perform their duties.

The book:

• Covers the basics of how multiemployer plans are funded and administered;
• Explores the various decisions trustees face when managing a multiemployer plan;
• Introduces the plan documents, laws and regulations that impact plan design, funding and operation;
• Describes the basic reporting and disclosure requirements with which plans must comply; and
• Identifies the professional advisers available to help trustees fulfill their fiduciary duties.

Throughout the book is advice about the documents new trustees should request and the questions they should ask of plan administrators and advisers to fully understand the plan for which they are responsible. Commonly asked questions from trustees are a part of each chapter.

This new edition has been updated to reflect the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) impact on multiemployer plans. An online document accompanies the book and will be continually updated with the latest ACA developments concerning multiemployer plans.

The book is available for purchase from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) online store at http://www.ifebp.org/Bookstore/MultiemployerPlans/default.htm.