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A Shareholder at Winstead PC, Greta Cowart is known for fixing complex employee benefit plan issues, including not only pension plan and 401(k) plan issues, but also issues under COBRA, HIPAA and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (health reform), and has secured significant results in Internal Revenue Service employee plans team audits, U.S. Department of Labor audits of employee benefit plans, including service provider audits and in resolving issues with the Department of Health and Human Services' Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Greta has advised employers through derisking pension, retiree medical, disability and retiree life benefits to help reduce financial statement fluctuations caused by such benefits.

Practicing for 30 years, Greta has worked extensively with employers with collectively bargained worked forces teamed with labor attorneys to resolve benefits issues under collective bargaining agreements and for collectively bargained plans considering the interaction of labor laws and ERISA. Greta has resolved significant employee benefit compliance issues through the various voluntary compliance programs. Through her work as a former chair of the Employee Benefits Committee of the American Bar Association, Section of Taxation, she has worked with the technical provisions governing retirement plans and executive compensation. Greta has also worked extensively with Code section 409A and the regulations under such section governing nonqualified deferred compensation, and other employee benefits issues in depth and provided recommendations to the government for its use in rule making. Greta's extensive knowledge of employee benefits and executive compensation provides her with the background to assist corporations quickly with plan design and administration issues, including litigation of benefit disputes.

Education:
J.D., Indiana University Maurer School of Law (1985) cum laude
B.S., Accounting, Indiana University Kelley School of Business (1982) with high distinction

Bloomberg BNA Tax Management Portfolios:
389 T.M., Medical Plans - COBRA, HIPAA, HRAs, HSAs and Disability (author)
330 T.M., Tax and ERISA Implications of Employer-Provided Medical and Disability Benefits (author)
338 T.M., COBRA - Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. (co-author)