Benefit Compliance Issue for Employers of All Sizes: If I say, “SPD” and you say, “What?”, you need to read this!

Many small and medium size employers, I’d even go as far as saying MOST small and medium size employers, are not aware that the plan documents provided by the carrier (usually referred to as Summary of Benefits and Coverage, SBC’s, benefit summaries and Explanation of Coverage, EOC’s) do not contain all of the information that is required by ERISA law. ERISA requires employers to have a Plan Document and Summary Plan Description (SPD). These are not the documents created by the carrier!

If you have never heard this before, you are not alone. This is not a new requirement and has been overlooked for some time but that trend is changing. As the scrutiny of employee benefits compliance continues to increase, it is important to be aware that many laws apply to employee benefit offerings for all companies, regardless of size. ERISA audits are increasing and fines and penalties are costly.

There is a fairly simple rule: if you offer employee benefits, you likely have multiple plans that are subject to ERISA. If you have plans that are subject to ERISA, you must have a Plan Document and SPD. There are a small number of companies that specialize specifically in this area of benefit compliance due to the complexity of the law and its requirements. Bestefits works with these entities because they are recommended over nearly all other internal ERISA resources as a result of their niche of specialty.