Paula A. Calimafde

Paula A. Calimafde chairs the firm's Retirement Plans and Employee Benefits practice groups and is also a member of the Estate Planning, Government Relations, Nonprofit and Tax groups. She has nearly 30 years of experience advising companies and tax-exempt organizations on qualified and non-qualified retirement plans and employee benefits, including non-qualified deferred compensation and cafeteria plans. She is a nationally recognized leader in the field of creative retirement plan designs for businesses and works closely with owners and management to prepare retirement plans which suit their particular corporate needs. Ms. Calimafde's practice encompasses sophisticated estate planning and advising individuals with significant assets, including retirement plan assets. She also works closely with the owners of family-owned businesses in the estate planning and retirement planning areas and assists them in planning for the succession of the business.

A longtime legislative advocate for businesses in the Federal tax and employee benefits arena, Ms. Calimafde is the current chair, past president and a member of the Board of Directors of the Small Business Council of America (SBCA). The SBCA is the only national nonprofit organization which has represented the interests of privately owned businesses exclusively in the Federal tax, retirement, health care and employee benefits areas for the past 25 years.

Her ability to analyze and explain complicated tax issues has earned Ms. Calimafde invitations to speak and present to groups throughout the region and around the country. In July of 2000, she was selected as a Charter Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to elevating the standards and advancing the public's understanding of the practice of employee benefits law and recognizing the achievements of distinguished employee benefits attorneys. In 2007, she was elected as a Fellow to the American College of Tax Counsel.

Ms. Calimafde has fashioned a formidable government and public service resume over the years. In 1986, she was elected at the Maryland State Conference as a delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business; she was subsequently appointed to serve as one of 11 national commissioners of that year's conference. She chaired the Payroll Costs session, which covered qualified retirement plans, employee benefits and social security, among other issues.

In 1995, Ms. Calimafde was appointed by the White House to serve as a Presidential Delegate at that year's White House Conference on Small Business. In that capacity, she was instrumental in drafting and promoting many of the adjustments in the tax and employee benefits area which were included in the top 20 recommendations.

Three years later, Ms. Calimafde was appointed by the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Honorable Trent Lott, to participate in the 1998 National Summit on Retirement Income Savings. Since 2003, she has served as a member of the IRS Determination Letter Liaison Group.

Ms. Calimafde received her B.A. from Swarthmore College and her J.D. from Catholic University. She is admitted to practice in Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Education

J.D., Catholic University, Columbus School of Law, 1976
B.A., Swarthmore College, 1973

Speeches & Presentations

Testified on multiple occasions before Congressional Committees, including the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, on such topics as “Private Retirement Plans and Oversight of the Internal Revenue Service,” “Pension Access and Simplification Issues,” “Cross-Tested Retirement Plans,” “Impact of Capital Gains Taxes on Business Owners,” “Increasing Savings for Retirement” and "Enhancing Retirement Security.”

Made presentations with outlines for national, regional and local associations, including the American Bar Association, ALI-ABA, Corbel, BNA, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, IRS Employee Benefits Conference, the American Society of Association Executives and the American Society of Pension Actuaries, as well as numerous State and local Bar Associations, CPA Associations and Estate Planning Councils.

Lectured on such topics as "Insider's View of Washington – Update on Recent and Pending Tax Legislation,” “Designing 401(K) Plans for Professionals and Closely Held Businesses – A Practical Approach,” “The ABCs of Choosing a Pension Plan – Whether and What Kind of Plan to Adopt from a Small and Large Employer Perspective,” “New Retirement Plan Designs, Including the Cross-Tested Plan,” “Methods of Dealing with Large Retirement Plan Accumulations,” "Legal Aspects of the Perfect Retirement and Estate Plan,” “The 3 P's of Pensions – Protecting Assets after the Bull Market, Plan Selection and Plan Distribution" and "Income Tax Traps and Pitfalls for Estates and Estate Planners.”

Spoke to leading regional companies on such topics as “Practical Considerations of Estate Planning and Building Blocks to Minimize Estate Taxes," “Important Planning Opportunities To Build and Preserve Estate Assets” and “Retirement Plan Assets and Estate Planning."

Presented to National Life Northwestern Mutual on such topics as “Upcoming Retirement Plan and Estate Legislation,” “Sophisticated Estate Techniques,” “Washington Update" and “Compensation Plans for Key Employees.”

Served as panelist for Congressional Members and Staff for the Senate/House Ad Hoc Steering Committee on Retirement Income Security for Americans including “Employment-Based Retirement Programs: Who's In, Who's Out and For How Long?” and “How to Provide Americans with Greater Retirement Income Security.”

Addressed leading CEOs and CFOs of non-profit associations on such topics as “Pension Enron Legislation – Impact on the Non-Profit Community” and “How to Maximize Employee Satisfaction with the Association's Retirement Plan.”

Participated as panelist for the Congressional Business Summit with IRS Commissioner Rosotti and Congressmen Earl Pomeroy and Ben Cardin on “Partnership for a Growing America—Pensions and Taxes Workshop.”

Publications

“Getting the Most Out of Your Retirement Plan,” For Nonprofits and Charitable Associations, January 10, 2006

“Impact of Tax Reform on the Small Business Retirement Plan System,” Chapter 11, New York University Review of Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, 2005

“Retirement and Deferred Compensation Plans for Tax Exempt Organizations,” Chapter 15, New York University Review of Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, 2003

Maryland State Bar Journal's Estates and Trusts edition, “A Primer on Required Minimum Distributions: How to Take Maximum Advantage of Retirement Plan Assets,” 2003

“Small Business and the Cafeteria Plan,” Chapter 15, New York University Institute on Federal Taxation—Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, 2002

“Increasing Small Plan Formation: A Blueprint for Congressional Action for the Next Five Years,” Chapter 14, New York University Institute on Federal Taxation—Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, 2001

Point and Counterpoint on Pension Reform with Dianne Bennett in GPSOLO, The Best Articles Published by the ABA, September 2000

“401(K) Safe Harbors Work for Small Business,” Chapter 2, New York University Institute on Federal Taxation—Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, 2000

"The State of Small Business Retirement Plans: 25 Years After ERISA,” Chapter 2, New York University Institute on Federal Taxation—Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, 1999

Memberships

Board of Directors of the Small Business Legislative Council (1992-present)

Past Chair (1988-1990) and Vice Chair (1986-1988) of the Closely Held Committee of the ABA Tax Section

Washington, D.C. Estate Planning Council, 1994-Present

Advisory Board of the Journal of S Corporation Taxation, 1989-1994

Employee Benefits Council, Chamber of Commerce of the United States, 1986-1994, 1996-present, and Small Business Council of the U.S. Chamber, 1995-1998

Tax Sections of the bars of Maryland, the District of Columbia and Montgomery County

Member, Director, 1984-, President, 1988-1994 and Chair, 1994-, Small Business Council of America

Charter Fellow, American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, 2000

Named as a Top Attorney in Maryland by Maryland Super Lawyers, 2007

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