Paul O. Catenacci

Paul regularly advises single and multiemployer employee benefit plans throughout the United States on all aspects of plan operation. He started with the firm primarily working on matters related to welfare plans, as he was the firm’s principal attorney handling the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act when it was passed in 2010. 

Paul has extensive experience with not only the day-to-day operations of employee benefit plans, but also highly specialized projects such as benefit suspension and partition applications under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act as well as converting defined benefit plans to alternative plan designs. In addition, he has represented clients in complex litigation involving alternative and real estate investments, double-breasting/alter-ego litigation, and has experience setting up capital structures and operative documents for collective and direct investments by employee benefit plans. 

He also has experience navigating employee benefit plans through regulatory audits by the Department of Labor, the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the Internal Revenue Service.  

Paul is a longstanding and regular presenter for the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) as well for regional and local groups connected to employee benefit plans.  In addition to his speaking engagements for the IFEBP, he has authored a number of articles on topics related to employee benefit plan operation for various publications and has also written educational content for the IFEBP’s trustee and professional training courses. 

Professional Affiliations

Member, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

Experience

• Applications to the Department of Treasury and the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation for implementation of plan amendments and for partition of underfunded plans under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014
• Advising health and welfare plans on compliance with the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and federal transparency regulations
• Negotiation of pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) and preferred provider network (PPO) agreements, including proprietary and national coalition purchasing initiatives
• Represented large defined benefit plan in litigation over real estate financing of Detroit hotel complex
• Conversion of health and welfare plans from insured to self-funded, including full implementation of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
• Representation of numerous multiemployer (Taft-Hartley) plans in Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service audits