ERISA Benefits Consulting, Inc.

ERISA Benefits Consulting headed by Mark Johnson, J.D., Ph.D., offers expertise in ERISA, pensions, health plans, 401(k) plans and labor union benefits. He managed $14 billion in pension assets for over 100,000 plan participants while serving as Managing Director, Benefits Compliance & Pensions for American Airlines, a Fortune 500 company.

Dr. Johnson has negotiated union contracts for group life, health, disability, pension and 401(k) plans. He’s an accomplished public speaker and an experienced expert and fact witness.

Services

Mark Johnson, J.D., Ph.D. is available to assist plaintiff or defense attorneys in cases involving but not limited to: - Fiduciary Liability - Employee Retirement Income Security (ERISA) litigation - Group life, health, disability, pension and 401(k) plans - Retiree medical programs - Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) for divorce settlement of pension assets - Labor union disputes or collective bargaining regarding health and pension benefit plans - Treatment of pensions & group life/health insurance plans in mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs - Arbitration - Benefits in bankruptcies - OPEB - Non-qualified benefits - Executive Compensation - Multi-employer plans - Severance plans, programs and contracts - Change in control agreements - Stock compensation plans and programs - ESOP - Profit Sharing Plans

Services include:

• - Expert testimony
• - Expert report writing
• - Litigation support
• - Seminars
• - Presentations
• - Benefit plan design and evaluation

Dr. Johnson has worked for both plaintiffs and defendants on ERISA cases involving major employers, including AT&T;, Mary Kay, Kmart, Rexam, CVS, Montana Power, Avon, Delta Airlines, Qwest, Enron, Chevron, City of Cedar Rapids Iowa, CIGNA, MetLife, United Technologies, Acordia, Winn Dixie, Marsh McLennan, Delphi, Sears, Principal Financial Group, Consolidated Edison, Foamex, IMS, Merck, Marsh McLennan.

Litigation Support Services

Mark Johnson, J.D., Ph.D. is a uniquely qualified expert witness in the areas of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), pensions, health plans, 401(k) plans, retiree medical, fiduciary liability and labor relations.

Dr. Johnson's work as a consulting or testifying expert in these type of cases:

• Fiduciary Liability
• Multi-employer plans
• QDROs
• ESOPs
• Cash balance conversion (class action)
• Pension benefits in bankruptcy
• 401(k) fiduciary liability, (class action)
• Severance benefits
• Retiree medical plans
• Survivor benefits
• Third party administrator disputes
• Long Term Disability benefits
• Group Life & Health Plan benefits
• Health plan reimbursement levels (class action)

Areas of Expertise

• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Arbitration
• Bankruptcy
• Divorce
• Employment
• Employment Termination
• ERISA

• Fiduciary Liability
• Human Resources
• Insurance Health
• Insurance Life
• Insurance, Bad Faith
• Investigation
• Investments

• Labor Law
• Litigation
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• OPEB
• Pension Analysts

Additional Expertise:

Group Life & Health Plan; Retiree Medical Plans; Qualified Domestic Relations Orders; Multi-Employer Policy.

Profile

Dr. Mark Johnson, founder of ERISA Benefits Consulting, has a 30 year career history bridging four closely related areas:

• 1. Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
• 2. Pension, 401(k), group life, health and retiree medical plans administration
• 3. Labor relations
• 4. Human Resources (HR) and personnel policies

This experience includes serving at the director level with operational and financial responsibility for twenty (20) qualified plans; Chief ERISA Compliance Officer; presentation of arbitration cases, EEOC proceedings, and federal and state court litigation.

Dr. Johnson offers a unique set of credentials. He is a sought-after speaker on pension benefit, retirement and ERISA topics, with solid experience gained by managing billions of dollars in pension fund assets for thousands of plan participants. A law degree adds the ability to understand the legal issues at stake in ERISA litigation.

Specific work experience includes:

- Served as Managing Director, Benefits Compliance & Pensions for American Airlines, a Fortune 500 company. Also responsible for plan compliance with all ERISA regulations. - Managed pension plans with over $14 billion dollars in assets - Planned and implemented changes in workforce and total compensation strategy - Made hundreds of ERISA presentations to employees, association and union members using practical experience and humor to enliven the program - Negotiated group life and health, disability, pension and 401(k) plans with five labor unions - Created new pension, 401(k) and group life and health in response to changing employer/employee needs, collective bargaining agreements or as part of mergers, acquisitions and spin-offs - Designed and implemented early retirement bridge programs and voluntary severance plans - Directed the ERISA appeals process with authority to decide all pension, group life and health and 401(k) cases - Presented arbitration cases and represented employers in federal and state court.

Consulting Practice

All States

More Information

About Mark Johnson, Ph.D., J.D. - Litigation Support

ERISA Expert Witness

Employee Benefits Consulting, Legal Consultant

ERISA Benefits Consulting Publications

ERISA Benefits Consulting News, Litigation Support

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Professional Experience

Prior to founding ERISA Benefits Consulting, Dr. Johnson served as:

• - Managing Director, Benefits Compliance & Pensions, American Airlines
• - Attorney Southwestern Bell Corporation
• - Associate Professor of Communication, Texas Wesleyan University
• - Assistant Professor of Communication, University of Houston

Licenses

• - Licensed attorney in Texas (not practicing)
• - Board Certified Labor and Employment Law Specialist, Texas Board of Legal Specialization

Legal Experience & Services

Dr. Johnson has participated as an ERISA consulting or testifying expert in complex pension and benefits lawsuits, including:

- AT&T;s cash balance plan class action lawsuit, Engers et al v. AT&T; - American Medical Association (AMA) class-action lawsuit against United Healthcare, challenging how reimbursement levels are determined

Dr. Johnson was employed as an Attorney by Southwestern Bell Corporation in Houston from 1983 to 1987. During this time he was responsible for the litigation of claims by and against the company, predominantly employment issues, advice and counsel on labor relations and employment law.

Mark is a licensed attorney in Texas and is a Board Certified Labor and Employment Law Specialist, Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is experienced in arbitration matters.

Affiliations

• - Southwest Benefits Association
• - International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans
• - State Bar of Texas, Committees on Labor and Employment
• - Colleyville Area Chamber of Commerce in Texas
• - Chairman, Colleyville Center Board of Directors

Qualifications

Dr. Johnson has testified over 20 times in federal and state cases, as well as obligations. He is frequently retained as an expert in complicated class action litigation.

Seminars & Training

Currently teaching insurance adjustors for the state of Texas Department of Insurance on a periodic basis. Frequent lecturer for Medical Educational Conferences, a provider of continuing education for medical professionals; regularly speaks to public groups and professional conferences. Former Adjunct Professor of Business Communication at Tarrant County College (part-time).

Publications

"Private Exchanges Emerge as Alternative to Corporate Employee Benefit Plans", HGExperts.com, 2013 "Detroit Bankruptcy Focuses Attention on Pension Costs", HGExperts.com, 2013 "Experts Offer Differing Opinions on the Future of Pensions", HGExperts.com, 2013 "New Municipal Pension Accounting Rules Draw Attention to Unfunded Liabilities", HGExperts.com, 2013 "Liability Driven Investing Gains Favor with Corporate Pension Plan Sponsors", HGExperts.com, 2013 "401(K) Plan Participants Yawn over New Fee Disclosures", HGExperts.com, 2013 "Corporate Pension Funding Gap Widens as Interest Rates Remain Low", HGExperts.com, 2013 "PBGC Deficit on Multiemployer Plans Reaches $5.2 Billion", HGExperts.com, 2013 "Underfunded U.S. Teacher Pension Liability Estimated at $393 Billion", HGExperts.com, 2013 "How MAP-21 Relates to PBGC Reporting Requirements", HGExperts.com, 2012 "Verizon and General Motors Annuitize Defined Benefit Obligations", HGExperts.com, 2012 "Highway Funding Bill Maps Directions for Pension Plan Interest Rates", HGExperts.com, 2012 "Five Public Pension Mistakes that Increase Municipal Bankruptcy Risk", HGExperts.com, 2012 "Multiemployer Pension Plans: An Overview", HGExperts.com, 2012 "Public Pension Plan Accounting Changes Highlight Shortfalls", HGExperts.com, 2012 "GM and Ford Offer Retirees Lump-sum Pension Payments", HGExperts.com, 2012 "ERISA: The Distinction between Settlor, Fiduciary and Corporate Functions", HGExperts.com, 2012 "Fiduciary Liability Insurance and ERISA", HGExperts.com, 2012 "GM and Ford Offer Retirees Lump-sum Pension Payments", HGExperts.com, 2012 "Public Companies Ask Congress for Pension Funding Relief", HGExperts.com, 2012 "Pensions May Take A Hit from National Mortgage Settlement", HGExperts.com, 2012 "Municipal Pension Holders at Risk as Chapter 9 Bankruptcy Filings Increase", HGExperts.com 2012 "What the AMR Bankruptcy Means To American Airlines Pension Plans", HGExperts.com 2011

Education

• - J.D., University of Houston, 1983
• - Ph.D, Communication Studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1976
• - M.A., Mass Communication, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1973
• - B.A., History, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1971

Articles Published by ERISA Benefits Consulting, Inc.