Health and welfare benefit plan sponsors subject to the Employee Retirement and Income Security Act (ERISA) must disclose certain materials to plan participants. Department of Labor (DOL) regulations specifically contain a safe harbor under which plan sponsors may use electronic means to distribute certain documents and other information required under ERISA.
Employer plan sponsors must distribute the following benefit materials to employees and other plan participants. (Certain other documents must be provided only upon written request; for example, the ERISA plan document and Form 5500, if applicable.)
• Health Plan Enrollment Notices (e.g., Medicare Part D,
Newborns’ and Mothers’ Health Protection Act Notice)
• Notice of HIPAA Privacy Practices
• Summaries of Benefits and Coverage (SBCs)
• Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs)
• Benefit summaries (EOCs, certificates, etc.) that supplement a
“wrap-plan” SPD
• Summaries of Material Modifications (SMMs)
• Summaries of Material Reductions (SMRs)
• Summary Annual Reports (SARs)
• Qualified Medical Child Support Order notices (QMSCSOs)
• COBRA notices
• Notice of Marketplace Coverage