Drinker Biddle Forms Retirement Income Team to Aid Industry Leaders

As the country’s retirement industry continues to prepare for the possibility that today’s retirees will run out of money, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP has formed a team to aid the industry in navigating the legal and regulatory maze associated with creating sustainable income solutions.

The team, which has lawyers in Chicago, Florham Park, N.J., Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., draws on the experience of several practice backgrounds. Lawyers include those who have focused their careers in employee benefits, investment management, securities, insurance, income taxation and government relations. The combination of these lawyers allows the team to provide industry leaders with a full array of legal and regulatory advice when designing retirement income products, said team chair John W. Blouch.

“Those developing new lifetime income products are dealing with overlapping, and sometimes conflicting, regulatory environments,” Blouch said. “This gives rise to complex legal issues.”

At the core of those complexities is an intersection of securities, insurance, ERISA and tax issues, said Fred Reish, a partner in the firm’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice Group and a member of the team.

The team, Reish said, adds further depth of service to an area of the firm that is consistently recognized for being on the leading edge of the industry.

“Increasingly, our clients are being required to learn how to navigate through changing regulations and legal issues,” Reish said. “This team is another way for us to counsel them on those issues in a forward-looking manner.”

To learn more about the team, please click here.