Manager, Retirement Plan

Foley & Lardner LLP is a great place to work because of what we do and how we do it. Here, your unique perspectives, experiences, and abilities will be embraced and developed, so you can excel. Being a part of Foley means having the opportunities and resources necessary to gain experience, advance professional goals, and forge meaningful connections. It’s a place where you can build your career and enjoy professionally satisfying work. We have over 2,300 people who are #HappyatFoley, and we think you will be too.

About the role

The Manager, Retirement Plan leads the strategy, administration, and governance of the firm's retirement programs, ensuring compliance, operational excellence, and a positive participant experience. Acting as the primary retirement plan expert, this role collaborates across Talent, Payroll, Accounting, Finance, Legal, and external partners to manage plan operations, vendor performance, regulatory requirements, and process improvements. The position provides oversight of retirement plan data, reporting, audits, and participant services while supporting broader benefits initiatives and organizational objectives.

Responsibilities

• Retirement Plan Administration
  • Serve as the firm's subject matter expert on retirement plans including defined contribution plan, cash balance plan, non-qualified plans.
  • Partner with actuaries, auditors, legal counsel, and third-party administrators to ensure compliance with ERISA and IRS regulations.
  • Assist employees and partners with retirement plan inquiries, education, distributions, retirement transitions, and benefit elections.
  • Oversee eligibility, enrollments, contributions, distributions, loans, beneficiary administration, and participant transactions.
  • Coordinate funding activities, budgets, compliance testing, audits, Form 5500 filings, and other regulatory reporting.
  • Support retirement committee activities, governance processes, plan reviews, and participant communications.
  • Develop reporting, metrics, and analyses to support decision-making and program effectiveness.
  • Serve as primary contact for retirement vendors, monitoring service delivery and resolving operational issues.
  • Ensure accurate retirement plan data is maintained across HRIS, payroll, and external recordkeeping systems.
• HRIS, Data Integrity & Process Improvement
  • Validate data integrations, payroll deductions, contribution files, and system interfaces.
  • Support system updates, testing, annual enrollment activities, and vendor implementations.
  • Create and maintain process documentation, workflows, and operating procedures.
  • Identify and implement opportunities to improve efficiency, automation, reporting, and participant experience.
• Benefits Administration Support & Coordination
  • Support health and welfare benefit administration, including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and voluntary plans.
  • Assist with enrollments, life event changes, eligibility processing, and employee inquiries.
  • Partner with benefits team members and vendors to resolve escalated issues.
  • Serve as a backup resource for benefits administration activities and projects.
  • Maintain working knowledge of applicable benefits regulations, including ACA, COBRA, and HIPAA.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree required.
• Minimum of eight (8) years of progressive experience administering retirement plans required.
• Proven experience coordinating annual retirement plan cycles, including compliance activities such as audits, nondiscrimination testing, regulatory reporting, plan reviews, participant communications, and vendor deliverables.
• Experience with health and welfare benefit administration and employee support.

Pay

• Milwaukee: $116,900 - $175,400
• Chicago, Dallas: $128,600 - $192,900

The actual offered amount will be between the range minimum and midpoint based on education, experience, geographic market, and internal pay equity at Foley.

Benefits

• Paid Time Off
• Paid Holidays
• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance
• 401(k) Retirement
• Disability and Life insurance
• Adoption Assistance
• Backup Care for Dependents

About Foley & Lardner

Foley is an Am Law 50 law firm consistently ranked among top-tier practices. With over 1,100 lawyers in 26 offices across the United States, Mexico, Europe, and Asia, our market-leading platform includes Corporate, Intellectual Property, and Litigation. Adding depth to our bench strength, we focus on four primary sectors: Energy, Health Care & Life Sciences, Innovative Technology, and Manufacturing. We look beyond the law to focus on the constantly evolving demands facing our clients and act as trusted business advisors to deliver creative, practical, and effective solutions. For nearly two centuries, Foley has maintained its commitment to the highest level of innovative legal services and to the stewardship of our people, firm, clients, and the communities we serve. While respecting our roots, we’re also continuously looking to modernize all aspects of our business and elevate who we are and what we do, which keeps us focused on the future.