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Susan Niver provides seasoned guidance across employee benefit plan design, governance and regulatory compliance matters offering clients practical, strategic counsel and delivering business-minded solutions.

Susan helps employers, plan sponsors, and boards of trustees navigate complex challenges with precision and insight. Susan provides practice guidance on the full life cycle of employee benefit plans, from initial design and implementation to ongoing administration and plan termination.

Clients value Susan's solutions-oriented approach and responsiveness. She has a unique ability to distill complex legal and regulatory concepts into clear, actionable strategies that help organizations make informed business decisions while minimizing risk. With deep knowledge of IRS and Department of Labor regulations, Susan guides clients confidently through the constantly evolving employee benefits landscape. She defends employers and plan sponsors in IRS and DOL investigations, and negotiates closing agreements and settlements that help clients move forward with confidence

Susan is a trusted advisor to retirement plan sponsors, Taft-Hartley multiemployer funds, educational institutions, tax-exempt organizations, financial institutions and private companies. She regularly advises them on fiduciary compliance, governance, tax-qualification requirements, plan drafting and amendments, plan administration, plan corrections, prohibited transactions, workforce transitions, restructuring, plan investments, pension funding, employee benefit structures and tax-efficient arrangements and benefit plans that attract and retain top talent.

Susan’s practice also includes guiding clients through high-stakes matters such as government investigations, plan mergers and spin-offs securing special financial assistance, large-scale pension de-risking, and plan terminations involving hundreds of millions of dollars in plan assets. A Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, she previously served as Chair of the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities.

• IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT), 2015-Present

  • Chair, 2017-Present

  • Vice Chair, 2016-2017

• Strafford Publications Inc. Employment & ERISA Advisory Board, 2015 New York City Bar Association, 1994-Present

  • Executive Compensation and Benefits Committee, 2015-Present

• New York State Bar Association, 1995-Present

  • Employee Benefit and Compensation Committee, 2004-Present; Co-Chair, 2016-Present

  • Committee on Women in the Law, 2015-Present

• International Foundation of Employee Benefits, 1998-Present

• Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, J.D., 1994

• University of Pennsylvania, B.A., 1991