Margaret "Peggy" M. Baron
Practice Areas
Education
- Indiana University School of Law, J.D., 1997
- Indiana University, MBA, 1997
- University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., 1989, magna cum laude
Bar & Court Admissions
Peggy is of counsel in the Vorys Columbus office and a member of the labor and employment group. She focuses her practice on employee benefits and executive compensation. Peggy has experience designing and drafting welfare plan documents, including cafeteria plan, wrap plans and summary plan descriptions; and qualified and nonqualified retirement plan documents. She also advises clients on fiduciary compliance and wellness plan design and compliance; conducts compliance reviews of welfare plans and retirement plans; and conducts due diligence on employee benefit plans in mergers and acquisitions.
Notable experience includes:
- Preparing Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System and Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program submissions
- Representing clients in Department of Labor audits
- Reviewing nonqualified deferred compensation plans and severance agreements for compliance with Code section 409A
Peggy has given numerous presentations on current employee benefit topics.
Peggy received her J.D./MBA from Indiana University, where she was a member of editorial staff of the Indiana Law Journal. She received her B.A. magna cum laude from University of California, Los Angeles.
Events
- 10/8/2021Throughout the Vorys Virtual Benefits Conference, Vorys attorneys provided updates and valuable insights regarding a variety of benefits-related topics.
- 10/12/2020Vorys was proud to host a weeklong virtual program providing insights and updates for HR professionals from October 12-15, 2020.
- 7/29/2020Vorys attorneys Peggy Baron and Jacquie Abbott presented a complimentary webinar on the issues related to identifying employees on July 29, 2020.
- 9/11/2019The Vorys benefits team hosted the inaugural Vorys Benefits Conferences in Cincinnati on September 11, 2019 and in Columbus on October 16, 2019. These conferences were designed and developed specifically for in-house benefits professionals.
- 8/6/2019Vorys attorneys Peggy Baron and Elizabeth Howard hosted a webinar titled, “Become a “Qualified” Expert: Legal Requirements and Best Practices in Administering Qualified Domestic Relations Orders” on August 6, 2019.
- 11/15/2018Vorys attorneys Peggy Baron and Elizabeth Howard presented a webinar on November 15, 2018 entitled, Missing Plan Participants: Best Practices in Light of Increased DOL Scrutiny.
- 3/15/2017Vorys attorneys Christine Poth and Peggy Baron presented a webinar titled "DOL Fiduciary Rule: Planning for Contingencies," on March 15, 2017.
Insights
- 6/21/2021In the 7-2 decision in California v. Texas handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 17th, the third constitutional challenge to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that reached the Supreme Court was dismissed without reaching the merits of the constitutional arguments.
- 8/28/2020The DOL expanded the option for electronic delivery of retirement plan notices and documents.
- 6/5/2020Can’t Find an In-Person Notary to Witness a Spousal Consent? IRS Provides Relief to Retirement PlansThe IRS temporarily waived the physical presence requirement for spousal consent to participant benefit elections in a qualified retirement plan.
- 12/31/2019On December 18, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held in Texas v. U.S. that the provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires individuals to maintain health insurance or pay a “shared responsibility payment” (i.e., the individual mandate) is unconstitutional.
- 12/23/2019The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act generally eliminated the exception to the $1M deduction cap imposed under Code Section 162(m).
- 12/11/2019The Vorys Employee Benefits Team has drafted alerts covering an array of regulatory and legislative changes throughout the year.
- 10/2/2019On September 23, 2019, the Treasury Department published final regulations affecting hardship distributions for 401(k) and other retirement plans.
- 4/26/2019In 1990, Congress enacted the Federal Debt Collection and Procedures Act. One feature of that law allows a federal court to issue a “writ of continuing garnishment” to access a convicted participant’s retirement plan benefits to satisfy a restitution order entered as part of the participant’s criminal sentencing.
- 12/18/2018On December 14, 2018, a District Court in Texas held that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional. Texas v. United States, No. 4:18-cv-00167 (N.D. Tex. 12/14/2018). While the case makes its way through the appeal process, group health plan sponsors should continue to comply with the ACA.
- 12/3/2018On November 29, 2018, the IRS announced a 32-day extension of the deadline to distribute 2018 Form 1095-Cs to employees.
- 11/13/2018New hardship distribution regulations have been proposed for 401(k) and 403(b) retirement plans. Clients will need to make decisions about what changes they want to adopt and when.
- 10/30/2018With open enrollment approaching for many employers, we thought it might be helpful to provide a list of the various notices and disclosures generally required to be provided to participants around this time of year.
- 8/28/2018On August 17, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published Private Letter Ruling 201833012, which directly addressed an employer’s ability to provide a student loan repayment benefit in its 401(k) plan.
- 8/22/2018We previously wrote about the changes to 162(m) under the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” which significantly expanded the $1,000,000 deduction cap on compensation paid by publicly traded companies to certain executive officers.
- 1/25/2018On December 22, 2017, the PBGC issued final regulations that expand their acceptance of benefits for missing participants.
- 1/9/2018After postponing the effective date of Obama-era regulations on claims and appeals for disability benefits, the Department of Labor announced on January 5, 2018 that it would allow the regulations to go into effect for claims filed after April 1, 2018.
- 1/8/2018On December 22, 2017, tax reform became official. There were several changes in the final version, including renaming the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” to the “Act.” The Act will have significant impact on business. This alert focuses on the impact of the Act on employee compensation and benefits programs.
- 12/14/2017The U.S. House and Senate have both passed tax reform proposals, which are currently being reconciled. These proposals will have significant impact on compensation and benefit programs.
- 11/8/2017Labor and Employment Alert: Finding Lost Participants, Annual Limit Update and Tax Bill ImplicationsWe have become aware that the Department of Labor (DOL) has started to take issue with the standard processes used by retirement plans to identify and locate lost participants in ongoing plans.
- 9/15/2017After years of anticipation, sponsors of 403(b) plans have finally received guidance from the IRS regarding preapproved 403(b) prototype and volume submitter documents.
- 8/3/2017Unfortunately, sometimes an employer needs to end an employment relationship. In many situations, it is in the best interests of the parties to enter into an agreement that defines the terms of the separation. Whether called a “separation agreement,” “severance agreement,” “retirement agreement” or any other name, the issues remain the same.
- 6/27/2017On June 16, 2017, the Department of Labor (DOL) published a draft of a model form that an employee (or his or her representative) could use to request documentation of compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA).