Kyle Svendsen

Kyle Svendsen is of counsel in the San Diego, California, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and a member of the firm’s Employee Benefits practice group. He advises private and public sector employers, multiemployer plans, and labor-management trust funds on the legal, regulatory, and operational considerations involved in designing, administering, and operating employee benefit programs. Kyle believes effective counseling begins with clear communication and focuses on translating complex requirements into plain language. 

Kyle counsels employers on compliance with ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, the Affordable Care Act, COBRA, HIPAA, the Consolidated Appropriations Acts of 2021 and 2026, and other laws affecting employee benefit plans. His practice encompasses health and welfare plans, including pharmacy benefits and PBM arrangements, qualified retirement plans, and multiemployer plan matters. He advises clients on plan design, fiduciary governance and compliance, vendor oversight, health plan transparency, disclosure and reporting requirements, and employee benefits issues arising in corporate transactions, including the evaluation of pension and other benefit liabilities. 

Kyle also advises employers on California state and local requirements affecting employer-sponsored benefit programs, including requirements applicable to fully insured health plans, public-sector service-provider compensation disclosures, and local healthcare spending requirements such as the San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance. 

Before joining Jackson Lewis, Kyle served as a federal government attorney with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), where he represented the agency in matters involving pension liabilities in corporate transactions, restructurings and bankruptcies, fiduciary litigation, controlled group liability, and other issues affecting ERISA-covered retirement plans. He also worked in private practice and advised clients through a global human capital consulting firm. This interdisciplinary background informs Kyle’s approach to helping employers evaluate employee benefits matters from legal, regulatory, and business perspectives. 

Outside of the office, Kyle enjoys spending time with his wife and family.