Kimberly S. Couch
Counsel
Kimberly has practiced exclusively in the area of employee benefits and executive compensation for more than 30 years. Clients look to her for technical and practical experience, and sound business judgment.
Kimberly advises for-profit and nonprofit employers on employee benefits and executive compensation matters, including qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, executive compensation, welfare benefit arrangements, incentive plans, and fiduciary issues. Her experience includes designing and drafting plan documents and employee communications, implementing and terminating programs, and compliance in all aspects of ERISA and tax laws.
Assisting clients with ERISA fiduciary compliance is a key aspect of Kimberly’s work. She advises and provides fiduciary education to boards, investment committees, and officers; drafts committee charters, resolutions, and meeting minutes; reviews investment policy statements; and assists with internal audits. She also helps clients avoid, prepare for, and respond to Department of Labor, IRS, and PBGC plan audits and drafts submissions for governmental voluntary correction programs.
Kimberly works extensively with welfare plans, including self-insured health plans, cafeteria plans, and wellness programs, drafting plan documents and providing guidance on the Affordable Care Act, HIPAA, and COBRA. She also prepares HIPAA privacy manuals and provides in-house HIPAA training for clients.
A significant part of Kimberly’s practice involves defined benefit pension plan issues, including the implementation of early retirement windows, and other reduction in force programs, lump sum windows and annuity purchases to de-risk liabilities; drafting plan amendments and employee communications; and preparing government filings with respect to plan mergers, spin-offs, and terminations. She works with single employer plans, multiple employer plans, and multi-employer plans.
While Kimberly works with a wide range of domestic and international clients, she has worked extensively with benefit plans for tax-exempt employers and employers in the energy industry.
Outside the office, Kim is an avid skier and baseball fan. She enjoys spending time with her two sons, running with her dog, practicing yoga, and reading classics.
Services/Industries
Education
- The George Washington University Law School (J.D., With Honors)
- Phi Alpha Delta
- Vice Chair, Van Vleck Moot Court Board
- University of Vermont (B.A., cum laude)
Bar Admissions
- Washington, D.C.
- Maine
Memberships
- Maine State and American Bar Associations: Section of Taxation, Employee Benefits (subcommittees on Defined Benefits Plans, Welfare Plan Design and Funding, and Exempt Organizations and Governmental Plans)
- New England Employee Benefits Council
Honors
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law in Portland, Maine
- Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business under Labor & Employment: Employee Benefits & Compensation
Learn more about the third-party ratings, rankings, and selection processes used for inclusion.
Resources