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Information
for EPP Sponsors
What
is the purpose of the Estate Protection Plan (EPP) as a benefit program?
The EPP helps small to medium-sized businesses attract, retain and
reward employees by offering access to discounted Life & Estate
Planning legal services designed to protect them, their loved ones, and
their assets (to include company benefits such as qualified retirement
plans and life insurance) from a wide variety of tax and non-tax related
threats. It can also be introduced as a group member benefit for
religious groups and a client benefit for allied professionals such as
insurance agencies and CPAs.  Who
is eligible to participate in the EPP?
All current and former (retired or disabled) employees (regardless
of their status as full- or part-time), current group members and
current allied professional clients ... and members of their
families. This includes the children, parents and siblings of your
participant. This broad class of eligible participants enhances the value
of the EPP to the employees/members/clients and the company/sponsor. Consider the following:
Seven
to 12 percent of workers report having some responsibility for an older
relative now, but by 2020 an estimated one in three will have elder care
responsibilities. Corporate American loses $17 billion per year to elder
care problems. (Source: Why Companies Should Care, Working
Woman, June 1995) Note:
By offering the EPP to the aging parents of your employees, you may help
them avoid some of the financial and legal headaches they may encounter
in the future. And this, in turn, may reduce absenteeism due to those
headaches. What
is our cost to offer the EPP to our employees/members/clients?
There is NO FEE charged to the company/sponsor by
the law firm. All legal fees are paid directly by the participating
employees -- unless the company/sponsor CHOOSES to subsidize all or part of the
cost (see below). Companies/sponsors also may choose to showcase the benefit to
participants (and their family members) as part of an employee/member/client appreciation
event hosted on premises or at an outside location. Are
there any legal restrictions if we want to subsidize all or part of the
EPP as a benefit to certain employees?
No. Companies may choose to pay all or part of
the legal fees for some, but not all, of their employees. Any such fees
paid on their behalf are deductible to the company and are included as
income to the employee. Since the EPP is a non-qualified
benefit, there are no non-discrimination rules or tests that apply. How
do we get started with the EPP?
The EPP is simple to establish and administer. Here are the general
steps:
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Contact
our firm and schedule a meeting to discuss coordinating a custom
program for your company or group. This includes a plan to introduce,
promote, administer and maintain your EPP.
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Schedule
our firm to conduct a 45-minute employee workshop on Life &
Estate Planning issues. This workshop can be customized to fit any
particular interests or concerns common to the audience, as well as
to accommodate any unique logistical needs for your company. General
questions will be answered for about 15 minutes following the
presentation.
-
Meetings
with interested participants will be held at the law firm, unless other
arrangements are made (e.g., the company makes a meeting room and
time available to interested participants for on-site consultations
during the work day.)
Once
started, how is the EPP maintained?
As new employees join the company, they should be informed about the
EPP as part of the employee benefits briefing. We will supply membership
kits including written information and a membership card that can be
personalized for your new employee. Additionally, contact the firm to
schedule quarterly, semi-annual or annual 45-minute workshops for
employees and their families.
To
schedule an appointment to discuss bringing the EPP to your business,
please complete the following form ... or call us directly at (800) 660-7564. Simply mention that you are calling
about bringing the Estate Protection Plan to your business.
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