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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 25 S E P T E M B E R 7 , 2 0 1 5 looking to join a larger fi rm, for us to turn to Eaton Peabody." Moving with Wakelin to Eaton Peabody are Leslie C. Hallock and Anne E. O'Donovan. Collectively, the three lawyers bring almost 100 years of experience in employee benefi ts, executive compensation, fi duciary compliance, mergers and acquisi- tions, pensions and estate planning to the expanded practice group. Eaton Peabody has almost 50 lawyers serving New England and Atlantic Canada from offi ces in Augusta, Bangor, Brunswick, Ellsworth and Portland. "It's adding strength and extra capacity to our strengths," says David M. Austin, a shareholder and managing partner of Eaton Peabody. " is practice group has a lot of other practice groups it can draw upon as additional resources. It's an opportunity for a group of professionals who have worked closely together to continue working together even more closely and effi ciently." ACA remains challenging Wakelin has been handling Employee Retirement Income Security Act (or ERISA) and estate planning legal mat- ters for more than 40 years, with clients ranging from large multi-national corporations to self-employed business owners and small corporations. He says employee benefi ts and compensa- tion issues have emerged as a growing concern for most of his business cli- ents, in part because of the complexity of the federal Aff ordable Care Act and emerging trends related to whether employers choose to continue provid- ing health care insurance as a "defi ned benefi t" for their employees or as a "defi ned contribution." An ACA-related issue that looms on the horizon, he adds, is the so-called "Cadillac tax" — a 40% non-deductible excise tax on the amount by which employer-sponsored health benefi ts exceed government-set thresholds. ose thresholds, representing the total premium costs paid by the employer and employee, begin at $10,200 for individual coverage and $27,500 for family coverage. Although the intent is to reduce excess health spending by employers and employees as well as generate rev- enue to help pay for the ACA's various programs and reforms, Wakelin says the Cadillac tax poses a particular problem for Maine employers. "In Maine, our medical costs are substantially higher than the rest of the country, so it's more likely to trig- ger the Cadillac tax," he says. at potentially creates a confl ict for employers wanting to provide com- petitive benefi ts to attract and retain qualifi ed employees, but in doing so might run the risk of getting hit with the Cadillac tax in 2018 or beyond. And simply moving to high-deduct- ible health plans that require their employees to cover signifi cantly more expenses out of pocket before insur- ance coverage kicks in doesn't necessar- ily solve the problem either, since the tax is based on the full cost of the plan, not just the employer contribution. "It's quite challenging," Wakelin says, "especially if the benefi ts are col- lectively bargained. at's one of the things we're dealing with right now." Feibel agrees, adding that a more immediate ACA compliance challenge will be the Internal Revenue Service information reporting requirements slated to take eff ect early next year. " at's coming up very quickly," he says. "For the employer with 40 employ- ees or less, they don't have any ACA problems to speak of. If you go past 40, or go past 50 employees, those employers typically have some problems in making sure they're in compliance. Folks who are at 50 to 100 employees, or who have a lot of part-timers, they're the ones who struggle the most in complying with all of the ACA's requirements." A 1982 graduate of the University of Maine School of Law, Feibel Eaton Peabody One Portland Square, Portland Additional offices in Bangor, Augusta, Brunswick and Ellsworth Founded: 1917 by George F. Eaton, joined in 1937 by George F. Peabody. Partnership finalized in 1939 Managing partner: David M. Austin Practice groups: Business law; business lending and commer- cial finance; creditors' and debtors' rights; economic development; employee benefits and executive compensation; environmental and land use; estate planning and wealth transfer; immigration; intellectual property; labor and employment; legislative and government relations; litigation and dispute resolution; municipal law and finance; natural resources and timberlands; real estate; tax. Employees: Nearly 50 lawyers and consultants, with another 50 in support staff Contact: 274-5266 (Portland) www.eatonpeabody.com PORTLANDGLASS.COM PORTLANDGLASS.COM Celebrating 84 years of internal succession & success Know future q We are pleased to announce the election and succession of officers at Clark Insurance, an employee-owned independent insurance agency. Since our founding in 1931, we have perpetuated the leadership of our agency from within which creates continuity both for our customers and the many fine insurance companies we represent. With careful planning, we have grown from one office in Portland, Maine to more than 100 employ- ees serving customers and communities from offices in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. So when we say "know future", it's no surprise. WE KNOW MORE SO YOU CAN WORRY LESS Maine • New Hampshire • Massachusetts www.clarkinsurance.com • (800) 244-6257 Jeff Shaw, President Jeff Lind, EVP Kenn Ross, Chairman C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E »

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