Marcia S. Wagner is the founder of The Wagner Law Group, a certified woman-owned and operated business and one of the nation’s largest and most highly regarded boutique law firms, specializing in ERISA, employee benefits, executive compensation, employment, labor, human resources, personal law (estate planning, family and immigration) and investment management law.
Ms. Wagner has been practicing employee benefits law for over 30 years. She founded The Wagner Law Group more than 20 years ago and is the Firm’s Managing Partner. She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell University and is a graduate of Harvard Law School.
Ms. Wagner is an authority on employee benefits matters, including qualified and non-qualified plans, fiduciary issues, deferred compensation, and welfare benefit arrangements. Her experience in employee benefits includes plan design, drafting and preparation, compliance, tax planning and consultation on all aspects of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. She consults with law firms, employee benefits organizations, and corporate and public plan sponsors, and serves as an expert witness in ERISA litigation.
She counsels plan sponsors on qualified plans, 403(b) and 457 plans, multiple employer plans (MEPs), IRAs, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), executive compensation arrangements and retiree medical benefits in matters involving plan operation and maintenance, plan terminations, mergers and acquisitions, tax treatment of plan participants, use of life insurance and annuities, and derisking of pension liabilities.
Ms. Wagner also specializes in Title I of ERISA, and has obtained advisory opinions, information letters and prohibited transaction exemptions from the U.S. Department of Labor. She handles fiduciary matters impacting plan sponsors, investment and other fiduciary committees, investment managers and advisors, recordkeepers, broker-dealers, banks, and other financial services firms. Ms. Wagner advises clients on the avoidance and rectification of prohibited transactions, the development of compliance programs, and investment policies. She is a renowned expert in issues concerning pension plan investments and fiduciary issues, and her opinion has been sought by noted authorities in the employee benefits area, including governmental agencies.
Ms. Wagner works on Department of Labor, IRS and PBGC audits of plans as well as of financial institutions that service plans, and has negotiated numerous favorable closing agreements.
She was appointed Chair of the Employee Plans subcommittee of the IRS Tax Exempt & Government Entities Advisory Committee and received that agency’s highest honor. She is a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and is the recipient of more than 50 professional honors.
Finally, Ms. Wagner has written hundreds of articles and 15 books. She is a highly sought after lecturer, and is widely quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Pension & Investments. She has been a guest on Fox, CNN, Bloomberg, and NBC.
Robo-Advisors - 401(k) Advisor, June 2018
Limited Liability of a Trustee - PlanAdviser, May/June 2018
IRAs and Prohibited Transactions - 401(k) Advisor, May 2018
Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative - 401(k) Advisor, April, 2018
Views: SEC proposes ‘Best Interest’ guidance under Dodd-Frank - Marcia Wagner and Stephen Wilkes, Employee Benefits Advisor, April 26, 2018
What a Court Decision Teaches 401(k) Advisers About Choosing Stable-Value Funds - Investment News, April 19, 2018
Duty to Investigate - 401(k) Advisor, March 2018
Tax Reform Will Have a Limited Effect on 401(k) Plans - Marcia Wagner, 401(k) Adviser, February 2018
The Duty to Monitor - 401(k) Advisor, January 2018
Modern Portfolio Theory and Efficient Markets - Marcia Wagner, 401(k) Advisor, December 2017
Recent Cases and IRS Guidance with Respect to Loan Administration Under 401(k) Plans - Marcia Wagner, 401(k) Advisor, November, 2017
Excessive-Fee Litigation in Retirement Plan Market Moving Downstream - investmentnews.com, November 22, 2017
BICE and Related Exemptions: Limiting Liability Before Implementation - Pension Plan Fix It Handbook, Volume 25, No. 4, November 2017
Best Practices Arising from the DOL Fiduciary Rule – Investment & Wealth Monitor, September/October 2017
The Courts Differ on Vicarious Liability; Still, Fiduciaries Should Monitor Internal Workers on the Plan – PLANADVISER Magazine, September/October 2017
"NYU Defeats Employees in Retirement Plan Lawsuit" - Washington Square News (NYU), August 3, 2018
"Another University Prevails in 401k Fiduciary Lawsuit" - 401(k) Specialist, August 1, 2018
"Top 10 Retirement Plan Administrator Mistakes" - 401(k) Fridays Podcast, July 7, 2018
"The DOL Rule Is Dead: What's That Mean For Annuities?" - Financial Advisor, July 5, 2018
"California created a savings program for workers without retirement benefits. A group is suing to kill it" - LA Times, May 31, 2018
"Northwestern University beats Jerry Schlichter 403(b) lawsuit" - Investment News, May 29, 2018
- View this article in .PDF format“Supreme Court Decision Likely to Prevent Brokers from Filing Class-Action Lawsuits”; investmentnews.com, May 22, 2018
“SEC Finds ‘Lots of Problems’ With Rollover Advice”, thomson.com/financial, May 14, 2018
“6 Big Questions About the SEC Advice Rule”, investmentnews.com, May 6, 2018
“Next Hot ETF Theme & How Fee Wars Can End”, etf.com, May 3, 2018
“SEC’s Clayton: One Rule to Rule Them All”, barrons.com, May 3, 2018
“Legal Experts See Long Road Ahead for SEC Proposals”, asppa-net.org, April 29, 2018
“Legal Experts See Long Road Ahead for SEC Proposals”, napa-net.org, April 24, 2018
Marcia Wagner: How To Avoid 401k ‘Share-Class Chaos’ - 401(k) Specialist, March 22, 2018
“What Do Benefits Professionals Need to Know About Tax Reform?” - 2018 BPAS Partner Conference, June 13, 2018 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) - Details here
“Common Audit Issues” - Society of Financial Services Professionals of New York City Chapter Lunch & Learn Event, May 23, 2018 (New York, NY)
Raymond James Retirement Plan Advisory Council Meeting, January 19, 2018 (St. Petersburg, Florida)
ERISA Considerations for Employment Attorneys - MCLE: 20th Annual Employment Law Conference 2017, December 8, 2017 (Boston, MA) - Details here
Washington Update - Co-Speaker at the 2017 PLANADVISER National Conference, October 11-13, 2017 (Orlando, Florida) - Details here
IA Watch’s “Commitment to Compliance” Conference - September 18, 2017 (Boston, MA)
Boston Business Women’s 2017 BE BOLD Conference - The Wagner Law Group, sponsor, and Marcia S. Wagner, speaker, May 17, 2017, (Boston, MA)
The New Fiduciary Rule: What Do You Need to Know and Do Know? - Morningstar Institutional Conference, March 9, 2017 (San Antonio, Texas)
DOL Fiduciary Rule – Real Life Impacts to Your Practice - GRP Advisor Alliance National Conference, January 28, 2017 (Phoenix, AZ) - Details here
“Regulation, Legislation and Litigation Concerning the Retirement Plan Industry: The Legal and Political Arena for 2017”, The DCIO Leadership Summit, January 24, 2017 (Boston, Massachusetts)
“DOL Fiduciary Rule Presentation" – 2016 BDC Closed-End Fund and Private Equity Due Diligence Meeting, sponsored by Snyder Kearney LLC, December 13, 2016, (Miami Beach, FL)
Fiduciary Facebook Live – Marcia Wagner interviewed live on Facebook along with Department of Labor Assistant Secretary Timothy Hauser, sponsored by MarketWatch, December 8, 201
“The New Fiduciary Rules: What Do You Need to Know and Do Now?”, 2016 Envestnet Alliance Executive Summit, September 29, 2016 (Charleston, South Carolina)
“IRA Rollovers: Aggregate, Segregate, Document, Communicate, and Education”, Envestnet Retirement Symposium, September 28, 2016 (Chicago, Illinois)
“DOL Landscape: Challenges and Opportunities”, Envestnet Retirement Symposium, September 27, 2016 (Chicago, Illinois)
“The New Fiduciary Rule: What Do You Need to Know and Do Now?”, ADISA 2016 Annual Conference & Trade Show, September 26, 2016 (Las Vegas, Nevada)
“The New Fiduciary Rules: What Do You Need to Know and Do Now?”, Vestmark Client Summit, September 23, 2016 (Boston, MA)
“The New Fiduciary Rules: What Do You Need to Know and Do Now?”, New Orleans Estate Planning Council Meeting, September 19, 2016 (New Orleans, Louisiana)
“The New DOL Fiduciary Rule and Government Initiatives”, 2016 FPA Fall Annual Conference, September 16, 2016 (Baltimore, Maryland)
“The New Fiduciary Rules: What Do You Need to Know and Do Now?”, Think Advisor/The National Underwriter Company Webinar, August 24, 2016
“The Household Balance SheetSM View and the New DOL Fiduciary Rule”, RIIA Summer Conference, July 19, 2016 (Salem, MA)
“The Department of Labor’s New Fiduciary Duty Rule: How Your Business Must Change – Beyond the BICE”, July 18, 2016 (New York, NY)
“Survival – With Marcia Wagner of The Wagner Law Group”, Podcast for LeftFoot, June 23, 2016
“The New Fiduciary Rules: What Do You Need to Know and Do Now?”, 2016 PIE Symposium, May 12, 2016 (Charleston, South Carolina)
“The New Fiduciary Rules: What Do You Need to Know and Do Now?”, 2016 LIMRA LOMA Secure Retirement Institute DOL Fiduciary Rule Symposium, May 3, 2016 (Boston, MA)
“The New Fiduciary Rules: What Do You Need to Know and Do Now?”, Webinar with Kevin Knull, CFP, MoneyGuide Pro, April 19, 2016
Spoke at Conference of Consulting Actuaries - April 12, 2016 (Washington, DC)
“The Fiduciary Rule: What Are the Practical Implications, What Should You Have Done Yesterday and What Should You Do Now?”, Webinar with Kevin Knull, CFP, MoneyGuide Pro, March 24, 2016
“Your ERISA Attorney Isn’t Going Anywhere Anytime Soon”, Pensions & Investments 2016 East Coast Defined Contribution Conference, March 8, 2016 (Miami, Florida)
“Washington Update: New DOL and Governmental Initiatives”, AXA 401(k) Producer Summit, March 7, 2016 (Santa Monica, California)
“Washington Update: New DOL and Governmental Initiatives”, DCIO Best Practices Summit (Financial Research Associates), January 28, 2016 (Boston, Massachusetts)
“How Will Washington DC Affect Your Plans? A Regulatory Update From the Hill”, Northern Trust - Boston DC Investor Event, January 27, 2016 (Boston, Massachusetts)
“Washington Update: New DOL and Governmental Initiatives” - 2016 AXA Western Pension Conference, January 26, 2016 (Las Vegas, Nevada)
“Washington Update: New DOL and Governmental Initiatives” - Financial Planning Association of Central Florida Symposium, January 25, 2016 (Lake Mary, Florida)
“Washington Update: New DOL and Governmental Initiatives” - WisdomTree Asset Management Meeting, January 5, 2016 (Miami, Florida)
“Washington Update: New DOL and Governmental Initiatives” - The MarketCounsel Summit 2015, December 9, 2015 (Miami, Florida)
“Pension Benefits Considerations for Multinational Companies: Cross-Border Issues in the Global Economy” - 2015 HLB North American Tax Conference and U.S Audit Group Meeting, December 4, 2015 (Coral Gables, Florida)
“Washington Update: New DOL and Governmental Initiatives”, 401(k) Coach Big Idea Focus Group, December 3, 2015 (New Orleans, Louisiana)
“Thinking Outside The Box: Is It Dangerous For You & Your Plan?” - Defined Contribution Summit, November 17, 2015 (New York, New York)
“(Almost) Everything You Need to Know About PEOs”, 2015 ASPPA Annual Conference, October 20, 2015 (National Harbor, Maryland)
“DOL’s Fiduciary Rule & Rollovers”, 2015 PlanAdviser National Conference, September 29, 2015 (Orlando, Florida)
“Washington Update: New DOL and Governmental Initiatives”, National Association for Financial Planners Conference, September 28, 2015 (Boston, Massachusetts)
Newly Proposed DOL Fiduciary Rule: Moving to a Universal Fiduciary Standard - LPL Financial Focus 2015 Conference (Boston, Massachusetts), July, 26, 2015 - View Marcia Wagner's presentation in PowerPoint format here
NAPA/ASPPA 401(k) Summit (Las Vegas, Nevada), March 4, 2013 (two presentations)
-View Marcia Wagner's webinar here
DOL Fiduciary Rule: Impact on Retirement Plan Sponsors, Plan Advisers and Service Providers – Webinar for Strafford, Thursday, September 28, 2017, 1:00 – 2:30 PM (ET)
- Register Here
-View Marcia Wagner's webinar here
- Listen to Marcia Wagner's podcast here