IN-PERSON OR VIRTUAL ATTENDANCE 2025

2025 Chairperson: Ms. Tracy Hiesberger, Rally House

Each spring the Employee Benefits Institute sponsors an annual conference that draws hundreds of attendees from a multi-state region. From the very beginning, the organizers of the events made efforts to bring speakers from outside our region to educate and inform the dialogue around employee benefits. The speakers regularly include government officials from Washington D.C. (from both the IRS as well as the Department of Labor) as well as other top talent from around the country. The sessions are divided equally between benefit plans in the health and welfare space as well as benefit plans in the pension and retirement space. Attendees include corporate executives such as the CFO as well as Human Resource professionals responsible for the administration of these employer- sponsored plans. Attendees also include attorneys, accountants, administrators, consultants, and advisors who lend their expertise to serving plan sponsors. The cost to attend the conference, which includes all materials, breakfast and lunch, as well as the applicable Continuing Education credits, is partially underwritten by sponsors allowing EBI to offer this service more affordably.

ACCOMMODATIONS

Book your room for the Employee Benefits Institute at the Sheraton Overland Park.
Conveniently located next door to the Overland Park Convention Center.

Attendees may also call in for reservations. Mention the Employee Benefits Attendees Block 2025 in order to secure the group rate. The telephone number is: (866) 837-4214. The cut-off date for guest rooms is Tuesday, April 8th, 2025. Please be aware, their cancellation policy is 48 hours prior to arrival. Any reservation cancelled less than 48 prior to arrival is subject to 1 night’s room & tax charge. There is an early check-in fee of $50 before 3pm unless otherwise waived.
Individual reservations must be guaranteed with a major credit card, and guests will be required to present payment at check-in. The hotel requires full room & tax plus a $50 incidental authorization up front.

Program Schedules

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Plenary Sessions

Access to the virtual platform starts at 8:00 AM

  • 8:25 a.m. Welcome - 2025 Chairperson Ms. Tracy Hiesberger, Rally House
  • 8:30 a.m. Employee Benefits DC Update (Tracy Watts, Mercer)
  • 9:30 a.m. Employee Benefits Litigation Update (Todd Solomon, McDermott Will & Emry LLP)
  • 10:30 a.m. Break sponsored by McAfee & Tate
  • 10:45 a.m. Morning Breakout Sessions
  • 11:45  a.m. Luncheon: Leadership Principles for Success in Employee Benefits by special guest presenter, Tim Grunhard
  • 12:15  p.m. Luncheon presentation sponsored by Bukaty Companies
  • 1:05  p.m. Break sponsored by CBIZ
  • 1:15  p.m. Afternoon Breakout Sessions
  • 2:15  p.m. Break sponsored by HoganTaylor LLP
  • 2:30  p.m. AI or Cybersecurity Impact on Benefits (Joseph J. Lazzarotti, Jackson Lewis)
  • 3:30  p.m. ERISA 50 th Anniversary: Past, Present & Future, Where are we going!
  • 4:30  p.m. Closing Remarks and exhibitor drawing winners announced
  • 4:45 p.m. Networking Social sponsored by Lockton
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Breakout Sessions

Access to the virtual platform starts at 10:30 a.m.

TRACK A - AM

  • 10:45  a.m. Retirement: Inequities in demographics (Pam Hess, DCIIA)

TRACK A - PM

  • 1:15  p.m. Recordkeeping in the Electronic Age (Judy Burdg, McAfee & Taft)
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Breakout Sessions

ACCESS TO THE VIRTUAL PLATFORM STARTS AT 10:00 a.m.

TRACK B - AM

  • 10:45 a.m. Premption, PBMs ( Kristyn Bunce DeFilipp, Foley Hoag)

TRACK B - PM

  • 1:15 p.m. Innovative HealthCare Solutions ( Patti Wahl, Aon)
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Lunch & Lunch Speaker Sponsor

Breakfast Sponsor

Networking Social Sponsor

Lanyard Sponsor

Bag Sponsor

Power Strip Sponsor

Break Sponsor

Sponsors/Exhibitor

Continuing Education Credit

Continuing Legal Education Credit: Missouri: 8.2 hours | Kansas: pending. Continuing education credit is available for Missouri and Kansas life and health insurance professionals, certified public accountants, certified financial planners and human resource professionals

Contact Us

UMKC School of Law is utilizing Zoom for this live streaming event. Please visit https://zoom.us/test to test your connection and browser’s compatibility. If you receive an error, please follow the instructions as suggested. If you need assistance at any point in the process, please contact our office at:
Phone: 816-235-1648 or Email: umkccle@umkc.edu