Kristi L. Hill

Attorney – Partner

Kristi L. Hill
Phoenix Direct: (602) 613-0786
Phoenix Office: (602) 282-0313
E-mail: [email protected]

Kristi Hill advises employers on a wide range of employee benefit matters and enjoys applying her legal expertise to help employers attract and retain valuable employees. She works with employers to find practical and workable solutions to problems they face that comply with applicable legal requirements.

Kristi counsels clients regarding all aspects of qualified retirement plan compliance (401(k), profit sharing, 403(b), ESOP, defined benefit, and governmental), including document drafting and review, plan design, operations and implementation, prohibited transaction analysis, and other Internal Revenue Code and ERISA compliance matters. She is experienced in guiding clients through plan mergers, terminations, and spin-offs and in assisting clients with compliance resolution and corrections under both Department of Labor and IRS guidance when necessary. Kristi advises plan sponsors regarding fiduciary duties and risks and recommended best practices and procedures. She also defends clients in IRS audits and Department of Labor investigations to resolve investigations favorably for employers.

In addition, Kristi assists employers with health and welfare plan compliance, including cafeteria, flexible spending, and health savings plans, addressing issues governed by ERISA, the Affordable Care Act, HIPAA, and COBRA.

Kristi is experienced in advising clients regarding retirement, health and welfare, and executive compensation benefits issues that arise during corporate transactions, including with respect to nonqualified plans and Section 409A issues.

Kristi and Erwin bring a team approach to each client and each matter, allowing us to apply the necessary expertise to solve clients’ ERISA and employee benefits-related legal issues as efficiently and effectively as possible.

When she is not at work, Kristi enjoys an active life. She is an avid Arizona Wildcats fan and enjoys traveling and running. She also loves spending time with her husband and children and is an avid reader.

Prior to joining ERISA Benefits Law, Kristi practiced at Fennemore in Phoenix.

Education and Recognition

  • J.D., magna cum laude, Duke University School of Law
    • Executive Editor, Law and Contemporary Problems, Duke University School of Law
  • M.A., Brigham Young University
  • B.A., magna cum laude, Utah State University
  • Best Lawyers in America®, Ones to Watch – Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, 2024
  • Southwest Rising Stars®, Employee Benefits, 2021, 2023-2024

Admissions and Community Activities

  • Member, State Bar of Arizona
  • VP of Marketing, Governing Board of Directors, Western Pension and Benefits Council (2020-present)
  • President, Board of Directors, Western Pension and Benefits Council – Phoenix Chapter (2018-2019)
  • Member, Board of Directors, Western Pension and Benefits Council – Phoenix Chapter (2015-2022)

Representative Clients and Experience

  • Advise plan sponsors on self-correction of administrative errors and prepare necessary documentation.
  • Prepare formal correction applications and negotiate compliance statements with the Internal Revenue Service.
  • Defend clients in IRS audits and DOL investigations, including negotiations to resolve investigations favorably for employers.
  • Represent clients in all aspects of plan terminations, mergers, and spin-offs.
  • Counsel clients (both buyers and sellers) regarding benefits issues in corporate transactions with respect to qualified retirement and health and welfare plans, nonqualified plans, and Section 409A issues arising in executive compensation or other agreements.
  • Evaluate impact of common control rules on groups of related corporations.
  • Prepare plan documentation, including plan documents, amendments, and policies.
  • Prepare employee communications, including summary plan descriptions, summaries of material modifications, and letters to employees explaining the correction of operational errors.
  • Advise clients regarding fiduciary duties for plan sponsors, trustees, administrative committees, and others, including assessment of fiduciary risks and recommended best practices and procedures.
  • Counsel clients regarding health and welfare plan compliance, including cafeteria, flexible spending, and health savings plans, and addressing issues arising under ERISA, the Affordable Care Act, HIPAA, COBRA, and other laws governing health and welfare plans.
  • Conducted extensive benefit plan due diligence for international engineering company for $800 million acquisition and assisted with resulting plan merger.
  • Successfully designed and defended complex and unconventional IRS correction application for regional healthcare network’s qualified retirement plan resulting in employer corrective contributions totaling just 15% of the approximately $1.5 million required under the IRS safe harbor correction approach.
  • Successfully defended complex IRS Form 5310 application for a favorable determination letter on the plan termination of a large health network’s 401(k) plan.
  • Successfully defended small employer’s profit sharing plan in Department of Labor investigation involving multiple findings of prohibited transactions which resulted in payments to the plan of less than 15% of the more than $500,000 initially demanded by the Department.

Articles and Presentations

  • Co-Author, New 401(k) Plan Rules Impose Mandatory Eligibility Requirements for Part-Time Employees in 2024, Client Alert, October 5, 2023
  • Co-Author, Roth Catch-Up Contributions Under SECURE 2.0: The IRS Delays New Requirements to 2026, Client Alert, September 6, 2023
  • Co-Author, Health Plans Must Attest They Have No “Gag Clause” By End of 2023: It’s Time to Check Your Service Provider Agreement, Client Alert, August 24, 2023
  • Co-Author, Congress Gives New and Enhanced Tools to Individuals and Employers for Retirement through SECURE Act 2.0, Arizona Attorney Magazine, April 2023
  • Co-Author, SECURE Act 2.0 gives Arizonans new and enhanced tools for retirement, InBusiness Phoenix, December 30, 2022
  • Co-Author, SECURE Act 2.0 gives Arizonans new and enhanced tools for retirement, Arizona Digital Free Press, December 30, 2022
  • Co-Author, SECURE Act 2.0 gives Arizonans new and enhanced tools for retirement, AZ Big Media, December 29, 2022
  • Interview, American Rescue Plan Act adds new rules to COBRA, Arizona PBS, May 5, 2021
  • Co-author, The New Mandatory COBRA Subsidy: What Employers Need to Know, InBusiness, April 28, 2021
  • Co-author, New COVID-19 Legislation Provides Partial Plan Termination Relief, Mondaq, January 8, 2021
  • Co-author, IRS Issues Initial Guidance on The SECURE Act, Client Alert, October 5, 2020
  • Co-author, The CARES Act: Implications for Health and Welfare Benefits, Client Alert, April 20, 2020
  • Co-author, The SECURE Act: What Employers Sponsoring Retirement Plans Need to Know, InBusiness, April 1, 2020
  • Co-author, Attention Arizona Small Employers:  Don’t Let Arizona’s New Mini COBRA Law Bite You!, Client Alert, November 2018
  • Co-author, QSEHRA Update: IRS Provides Promised Additional guidance for Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements, Client Alert, November 2017
  • Co-author, HSAs: More Than Healthcare, InBusiness, October 2017
  • Speaker, Overview of Fiduciary Duties and Liabilities: Working with Others and Avoiding Pitfalls, 2017 Joint Spring Meeting for ABA-GPSOLO, May 19, 2017
  • Speaker, Benefits Update: The Affordable Care Act Survives Again, but What is Next for Health Care Reform?, Labor and Employment Seminar, May 4, 2017
  • Co-author, The Rebirth of Standalone HRAs for Employers After ACA, GLSA, April 2017
  • Speaker, What Every Professional Needs to Know About Health & Welfare Plans, Western Pension & Benefits Council Spring Conference, April 28, 2016