Alex M. Brucker is a nationally recognized lawyer, speaker and writer on employee benefits and ERISA. For clients, he brings rare insight and authority to his field of expertise.

Alex began his ERISA practice in 1974, when the act was passed. His legal career grew with the law — a claim that few attorneys practicing benefits law can make. As a public speaker on ERISA, 401(k), pension, and profit sharing issues, he has appeared before numerous audiences, including the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries, the National Institute of Pension Administrators, and the California CPA Foundation for Education Conferences.

He is a long-time and tireless advocate for tax equity, particularly for owners of small businesses, and has written and edited comments to Congress on pending pension legislation. He is a director of the Small Business Council of America of Washington, D.C., a national nonprofit organization representing the interests of privately held and family-owned businesses. The group honored Alex at its 2009 Congressional Awards for his outstanding leadership, dedication and achievements on behalf of the SBCA. 

Alex leads continuing education workshops for plan administrators, accountants, and insurance professionals. At the request of the California CPA Foundation for Education, he designed an eight-hour program entitled, “Tax Planning for Qualified Plan Distributions and IRAs.” He co-designed a tax interpretation spreadsheet that evolved into the popular software program, the Brentmark Pension and Roth IRA Analyzer.

Alex is known for never taking “no” for an answer. He is known to inspire dread among Internal Revenue Service auditors when they hear CPAs and plan administrators say, “If you don’t settle reasonably, we’ll call in Brucker.”

Professional Associations
American College of Employee Benefit Counsel (2001-), Fellow
Board of Directors of the Small Business Council of America (2007-)
Employee Benefits Committee, State Bar of California (1994-1995) Chair, (1992-2009), Member
American Society of Pension Professional and Actuaries, Member
California CPA Foundation for Education and Research, “Pensions and Profit Sharing Plans: Advanced Issues and Investments” (2004-2009), Author and Instructor
California CPA Foundation for Education and Research, "What the CPA Needs to Know About the Pension Protection Act” (2005-2007), Author and Instructor
Motion Picture and Television Tax Institute (1994-2009), Member
Employee Benefits Committee, Los Angeles County Bar Association (1981-1982), Chair; (1976-2009), Member
Entertainment Industry Conference, California CPA Education Foundation (2000-2001), Chair
Employee Benefits Committee, Taxation Section, American Bar Association (1982-2009), Member
Retirement Plans Conference, California CPA Foundation for Research and Education (2004-2007), Co-Chair
Entertainment Industry Conference & Tax Update & Planning Conference, California CPA Foundation for Research and Education, Personal Service Corporations Conference, High-Bracket Taxpayers Conference, New Tax Law Conferences, Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Conferences and Estate Planning Conferences, Employment Practices Conference (1981-2009), Planning Committees

Publications
Retirement Plans, California CPA Education Foundation (2008 Tax Update and Planning Conference)

Retirement Plan Update, USC Tax Institute, USC Gould School of Law (2007)

Recent Court Cases and Legal Considerations Affecting Actuaries and Their Businesses (2007 Advanced Actuarial Conference)

What the CPA Needs to Know About the Pension Protection Act, California CPA Education Foundation (2007 Retirement Plan Conference)

Compensation and Benefits Planning Update, Annual Program on Current Developments on Taxation, Taxation Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (2004)

"To Every Thing There Is A Season For The Family Boggs", Journal of Pension Benefits (Winter, 1998)

"For Whatever A Man Sows, This He will Also Reap"(Galatians 6:7)" Journal of Pension Benefits (Summer, 1997)

"The Good Doctor: A Cautionary Tale", Journal of Pension Benefits (Spring, 1997)

"A Prohibited Transaction That Wasn't", Journal of Pension Benefits (Winter, 1997)

Distribution Planning Column, Journal of Pension Benefits (1994-1997) (Co-author)

Deferred Compensation & Retirement Benefits, Family Law Reference Book (1995 Los Angeles County Bar Association) (Co-author)

Small Business Pension Plans IRS Actuarial Audits, 43 Major Tax Planning (1991) University of Southern California 43rd Annual Institute on Federal Taxation

Estate Planning for Qualified and Non-Qualified Plans, 41 Major Tax Planning (1989) - Chapter 17, University of Southern California 41st Annual Institute on Federal Taxation (Co-author)

Tax Planning for Qualified Plan Distributions and IRAs, California CPA Society, 1988-1992

Tax Planning for Investing and Distributing Pension Plan Assets, California CPA Society, 1986-1987
Estate, Planning and Distribution of Employee Benefits, California Continuing Education of the Bar, 1985 and 1987 (Co-author)

The Impact of TEFRA and DEFRA on Required Distribution Under Qualified Plans and Planning for the Non-Participant Spouse, New York University Institute on Federal Taxation, 1984 Tax Conference Series - Estate Planning, Chapter 9

Comments on HR 6410 "Pension Equity Act of 1982", Prepared and submitted to Ways and Means Committee of House of Representatives on behalf of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (June, 1982) (Co-author and editor)