Category Archives: Wrap SPD

by BC2

Retirement Plan Compliance Guidelines You Must Know

The Employee Benefits Security Administration or EBSA is responsible for assuring that all 401k plans are in compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In recent years, the number of compliance audits conducted by both the IRS and the DOL has increased exponentially. It is the duty of the plan administrator to maintain, understand and ensure compliance to minimize the risk of their plan being audited. Given below is a retirement plan compliance guide that may help you to prevent any compliance issues from arising.

retirement plan compliance time

1) Reviewing Key Documents

There are three main documents that must be maintained, reviewed and retained every year at all costs. One of them is the most recent plan document that includes updated agreements. The other is the plan amendments document that includes any changes as per ERISA. The third one is the latest service agreements with TPAs. It is important for the administrator to not only review these files but also have signed copies of them.

2) Understanding the Plan Document

Every retirement plan will have a set amount of provisions that define the eligibility of participants and the benefits they can gain from it. The administrator must always go through the plan document to understand every aspect of eligibility from age requirements, service requirements to employee classification to ensure that all eligible employees get included in the plan. The document will also contain key information pertaining to the sources of compensation such as bonuses, severance pay, and taxable benefits, etc.

3) Understanding TPA Duties

Misunderstanding TPA’s duties is another reason why a retirement plan compliance issue may arise. To prevent errors from occurring, it is vital to keep a signed copy of the latest service agreements and read them fully to understand its full scope. Calculations related to employer contributions are mostly done by the TPA but some service agreements might indicate that it is the responsibility of the plan administrator to do so. Therefore, it is important to ensure that there is no confusion regarding the duties or it might lead to negligence and compliance issues in the end.

4) Adherence to Regulations

Retirement plans have a ton of rules and regulations to follow and sometimes a few of them might slip through the crack and never get enforced. For instance, most plans have a provision where employees who leave and then get rehired within a set amount of time can gain eligibility for participating in a 401k plan but it is often overlooked by a lot of companies. When it comes to an audit, even the tiniest detail will be under heavy scrutiny.

5) Ensuring Consistency of Day to Day Operations

It’s not sufficient to just have a plan document that meets all the required compliance needs. Day to day operations of the plan must be consistently upheld to all the rules and regulations as per the law. Sometimes, regulations may change before the sponsor is required to make changes to the plan. In such cases, operations might vary from the written terms of the plan. By maintaining consistency in the day to day operations of the plan, both the administrator and the sponsor can better prepare for any hurdle that may come their way.

By ensuring that there aren’t any issues when it comes to retirement plan compliance, everyone benefits, including the business owner and his/her employees. A happy workforce will always be a productive one too. We provide a number of different services such as Form 5500, ERISA compliance, benefits compliance, 401k and our specialty wrap form planning aimed at helping companies keep all their plans in accordance with the rules and regulations set by the IRS and DOL.

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Phone:  (515) 244-2424

by BC2

Retirement Wrap Plan Consultants Are Ready For Hire

The Importance of Hiring Retirement Wrap Plan Consultants

A wrap plan is a document that organizations use to ensure that they are compliant with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). It also helps them to reduce costs pertaining to the administration of health and welfare benefit plans provided to their employees. Employee welfare benefits covered by ERISA include a host of programs such as insurance, medical, dental and accidental death coverage. Non-compliance will result in penalties that may amount to $110 per day or more. It would be wise to hire retirement wrap plan consultants to ensure that such a predicament would never happen in the first place.

They can help you do the following:

Regulation Monitoring

Rules may evolve and change over time. Having a consultant would make it easier to ensure that the company is following the latest rules and guidelines properly.

Share Analytics

Retirement wrap plan consultants can monitor the percentage of people who are on track for a successful retirement future and share it with the employer to gauge the level of success of their retirement plans.

Summary Reports

Companies can obtain a summary of their plans along with certain key metrics such as total plan assets, participation rate, contribution types and savings rate. This will help the company find problematic areas if any.

Participant Engagement

This gives the employer a unique insight into the number of employees who are deferring at various rates so that they can review it and see if they are doing enough to maximize employer contributions. This also includes information about how many loans the participants have taken out and if there are any outstanding balances. This way, the company can review the status of each loan and see if the employees are following the required rules and guidelines.

Investment Plans

In a single file, the company will be able to see the summary of the different plans and important data points such as expense ratio, beginning balance, net flow and ending balance.

Plan Activity

This gives a glimpse into transactions that occur during reporting periods such as asset flows, disbursement and rollovers. To get more clarity on the matter, the transactions can even be divided into specific types like contribution, distribution and loan payment.

Compliance Summary

The most important aspect of the retirement wrap plan consultant’s job is to provide a summary of important compliance issues and areas where there might be a problem. If any area gets flagged, the company needs to solve it as soon as possible to ensure that they meet all compliance requirements. Some of the known categories include top heavy testing, 401k non-discrimination tests and participant deposit timing. Some even provide short notes for reference so that the employer can move quickly and take action before it’s too late.

Many companies are afraid of raking up penalties for not following the correct guidelines but hiring a retirement wrap plan consultant would help alleviate that fear. There are several retirement wrap plan consultancies out there today. Creating a wrap plan document is no easy feat and requires a lot of attention to detail and compliance. Once it is done, it can vastly simplify the process by having the required information in one place and eliminate the need for multiple Form 5500 submission.

by BC2

An Essential Guide to Understanding ERISA Wrap Documents

Essential Guide to Understanding ERISA Wrap Documents

Many employers understand the significance of complying with ERISA (Employee Retirement Security Act) plan documents. These documents hold disclosure requirements for various retirement plans, including 401(k). But it’s startling to see some employer’s poor attention towards health and welfare benefit plans in their companies.

erisa wrap document servicesUsually, employers mostly running smaller organizations assume that benefit summaries offered by some insurance providers meet all ERISA regulations. However, the truth is that all employers in the U.S are obligated under ERISA laws to fashion employees with all the information missing in insurer’s booklets.

What are ERISA Wrap Documents?

As an employer, you might be wondering what an ERISA Wrap document is. Well, regardless of the size of your company, ERISA laws require all employees to provide Wrap or SPDs (Summary Plan descriptions) to employees participating in their plans. These documents contain all plan descriptions as well as employee benefits. For instance, they include Tax IDs, Address and the names of the beneficiaries, etc. They are the simplest way of employers to comply with ERISA regulations.

Wrap documents “wraps” around insurance policies or cover with the plan benefits regulated by the insurance company. Additionally, wrap documents are designed to supplement relevant information for ERISA compliance. Furthermore, employers may use Wrap documents to merge employee’s welfare plans into one mega-wrap plan. This way, extra costs are minimized during the filing of annual reports.

Why are Wrap Documents Important?

  1. Plan Consolidation – As earlier mentioned, wrap documents helps in merging employee’s health and welfare benefits into one “umbrella” plan. They consolidate all plan benefits and provides an overarching summary of admins, plan type, benefits, and fiduciaries, among other vital details in an easy to understand manner.
  2. Simpler ERISA Compliance – They reduce the employer’s workload and allows for easier compliance with ERISA, IRS, and DOL regulations. In case you have been submitting Form 5500 per each benefit plan annually, then a Wrap document can remove the repetition processes.
  3. Compliance with Federal Laws – As an employer, you have the sole responsibility to provide clear information on procedures, employee benefits, and plan details. Additionally, you’ll be forced to protect employee’s plan assets no matter who provides your benefits to comply with federal regulations.

How to Adopt a Wrap Plan

When planning to adopt a Wrap plan, the process is quite simple. First, you need to determine which benefit plans your organization sponsors that are subject to ERISA. You can as well identify affiliate employer plans that require filling the annual Form 5500.

Then, you’ll need to analyze insurance arrangements, coverage terms, and plan’s administration processes. In this step, consider things such as eligibility, plan year, commencement date, and claim procedures.

The next step is to prepare the Summary Plan Descriptions and the plan document. Finally, you can adopt a Wrap plan after all the documents in the step above have been reviewed thoroughly. Do not forget to distribute the SPDs to all eligible employees.

Use this comprehensive guide to understand more information on ERISA compliance and Wrap documents. Are you still stuck on adopting an effective Wrap Plan?

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Call: (515)-244-2424

Email: info@bc2co.com

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by BC2

All You Need To Know About Summary Plan Descriptions (SPD)

Summary Plan Descriptions (SPD) And All You Wanted To Know About Them

It is imperative for the Benefit Plans which are subject to Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to furnish the workers with an SPD (Summary Plan Description) and this document must be kept updated as well. Summary Plan Descriptions can be considered to be the primary legal documentation for the purpose of communicating plan rights, benefits, as well as obligations to the workers of a business.

business is held together by compliance and its workersIt is imperative to provide an SPD within a span of 3 months after covering an employee with this benefit plan. On the contrary, it will be possible to provide the SPD within 120 days in case the plan happens to be a new one.

Any info mentioned within an SPD is liable to modifications. In the event of any such change, it is feasible to restate SPD or even amend it by means of an SMM (Summary of Material Modification). A Summary of Material Modification is implemented for describing any alteration in the plan. In general, it will be imperative to provide an SMM within a span of 210 days following the completion of the plan year when the adaptation of the change took place. Nevertheless, it will be compulsory to provide the SMM within 2 months of the date when the change was adopted in case the alteration is related to a reduction of covered services or benefits.

To get the best effects, a lot of employers are in the habit of providing an SPD along with the enrollment materials of the plan before the plan is able to cover the employee, while the SMM will likewise be provided by the employers before the effectual date of modification. In case a plan is being amended by means of an SMM, it will be essential to restate the SPD for incorporating all SMMs and it must also be provided once again every 5 years to the participants.

Below, we have mentioned what descriptions must be included by the Summary Plan Descriptions or SPD plans as per the regulations of the Department of labor.

Descriptions to be included in SPD plans:

• Provisions for cost-sharing consisting of deductibles, premiums, coinsurance plus co-payment amounts for which the beneficiary or participant is going to be responsible

• Whether the plan will cover any new or existing drug

• Lifetime or yearly caps or any other restrictions on benefits provided by the plan

• The plan covers the preventative services to what extent

• Whether the plan provides any coverage for medicinal devices, procedures, or tests

• The limits or conditions that are applicable for obtaining the emergency medicinal care

• Limitations or conditions on the selection of specialty medicinal care providers or primary care providers

• It is also essential for the SPD to explain how will it be feasible to obtain the plan benefits as well as the procedure for appealing any denied benefit

• Provisions involving utilization review so as to obtain a service or benefit under the plan

The methods of delivery:

The SPD ought to be delivered by the administrator to the participants through reasonable calculation for ensuring actual receipt.

We like to mention another essential thing here: It is compulsory to treat any pursuant covered by children to a competent medicinal child support order (or their caretakers) as well as the surviving spouses as partakers for purposes of the rules of the SPD delivery.

The permissible methods of delivery are going to consist of the following:

• First class mail

• Hand delivery

• Electronic in case the worker does have any work-related access to the computer as an integral part of their day-to-day chores and:

  1. The employer takes reasonably calculated measures to make sure that the system intended for furnishing the documents leads to the actual receipt of information which has been transmitted (for example, making use of return receipts, notice of any electrical mail feature which has been undelivered, and so forth)
  2. The recipient is advised by the electronic notice that he or she will get hold of a paper copy without paying anything at all upon request
  3. The recipient is informed by the electronic notice regarding the significance of the document

It will be imperative for the plan administrator to take appropriate and also sensible steps in case a disclosure consists of any personal info pertaining to the accounts as well as benefits of an individual, and he will do this with the intention of safeguarding that information’s confidentiality.

Do you have additional questions or need assistance with your Summary Plan Descriptions? We also do other compliance consulting including Form 5500, 401K and wrap plans. Do not hesitate to contact us with your business compliance issue. We are the experts in benefits compliance consulting!

www.bc2co.com

Phone: (515)-244-2424

by BC2

ERISA Wrap Plan Document Preparers Are Available For Business

Before exploring the ERISA Wrap Plan Document Preparers, everyone should know about a few mandatory terms like “What is ERISA?”, “How it is associated with terms like Wrap Plan document?”, “Benefits of ERISA”, “Summary Plan Description”, “Summary of Material Modification (SMM) documents” etc. In this article, we will explore above-mentioned terms in detail. Let’s explore them one by one.

ERISA: ERISA is termed as the “Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974” implemented for United States employees. It creates minimum standards plans for employees working in private industry in terms of pension plans.

Plan Document: A plan document consists of all the benefits which will be given employees such as welfare and health benefits. It does not depend upon the company size, whether it’s small or big.

Every company is bound to manage a plan document for every employee. A plan document also consists of the overall term and condition of the plan prepared by the employer. It is not compulsory to write a plan document. If you don’t have a plan document in writing, then don’t worry. We can help.

Wrap Plan Document: A wrap plan document is similar to a plan document. But there is a minor difference in both of them i.e. A wrap plan document consists of every welfare and health benefits plan and wraps them all into one single plan document.

Wrap Document Preparation: ERISA allows all employee to claim their welfare benefit. For this, they must have a written plan document. Basic information about the plan is usually recognized by the written document.

Summary Plan Description (SPD): Summary plan Description usually known as SPD is a written document containing welfare benefit plan of an employee which every employer must have. Major aspects covered by the SPD are: Plan name, Plan number, Plan year, the Plan administrator, Detailed summary and description of benefits, Employer tax identification number (EIN), Benefit type, Plan sponsor, List and contact information of providers, Procedures for Qualified Medical Child Support Orders, Loss of benefits statement, USERRA rights, COBRA rights, Statement of ERISA rights, Claims and appeals procedures, Disclaimer and indemnification language, Affordable Care Act disclosures, Plan contribution information etc. Also, the participant must know about the benefits, claims, eligibility requirements, his/her rights etc. and every organization is bound to disclose all this information to the participant. For more information about SPD, contact us through call or email. You can get our contact information from the contact us section.

Summary of Material Modifications (SMM): Summary of Material Modifications usually known as SMM is particularly used by companies when a plan substantially affects the pricing and other key terms. The deadline for submitting Summary of Material Modifications (SMM) is 120 days. Within 120 days, companies should inform the participant about the changes or modifications in their plans. If a company does not submit Summary of Material Modifications (SMM) documents within 30 days after the participant requests it, then there is a penalty of/up to 110$ per day.

Some of the most famous Summary of Material Modifications (SMM) changes:

1. Modification in Coverage
2. Decrease or Removal of benefits payable

Why choose us for ERISA Wrap Plan Document Preparers: We are one of the leading and best in this industry. We have experienced professionals who will help you prepare your ERISA wrap plan document. Some of our services are:

• If you are in need of Assessment of your Plan Document, then you are at the right place. Just fill out your details in the contact form. Our representative will contact you within 24 hours.
• We also provide service like Complimentary review of current Plan documents. As it helps employees to know us better.
• Our experts are one of the best in creating document particularly when it comes Single or multiple benefit Plan Documents and Wrap Plan Documents.
• Summary Plan Descriptions (SPD) and Summary of Material Modifications (SMM) are the two key terms in ERISA wrap document. Contact us for more information.
• We also provide services like Educational presentations, Delivery of required materials, seminars and onsite training. Reach us by email or call.

Still can’t choose our services. Let’s connect over a phone call or email.

Phone: (515)-244-2424

info@bc2co.com

We believe in customer satisfaction. We would love to hear your queries and resolve them.

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by BC2

Is A Wrap SPD Needed?

We understand the hassles that come with changing labor and tax regulations. That’s why we lend our services from consultation to wrap SPD document generation for employers wishing to comply with these regulations. Is a Wrap SPD needed?

is a wrap spd needed

Are you hitting a brick wall with business compliance?

But just what is a wrap SPD? This is a document disclosing details of benefits, the employer affords the employee in compensation for services rendered and is required to be by law to be filed with the department of labor. We’re here to simplify the compliance process for employers.

When the Studebaker Corporation closed down the operations in 1963 due to inability to meet pension promises made to employers, the federal government moved to enact pension reforms. Through the 1974 Employee Retirement Income Security Act all the employers are supposed to view benefit payments to pension plan participants as a form of corporate debt, the participants being the lenders to the sponsor of the plan and therefore comply with some reporting and disclosure rules.

This new perspective requires transparent financial reporting and filing of Form 5500 annually, detailing conditions of benefit plans. Additionally, employers have to provide employees with Summary Plan Description (SPD) of how they will be compensated for their services. Compliance with this ERISA reporting and disclosure rules means additional administrative tasks and documents to be filed. To avoid such extra regulatory burdens, employers have therefore sought ways in which they can simplify these extra administrative tasks.

One stellar way is to use the WRAP SPD. What is WRAP SPD? In the quest to smoothen pension plans administrative tasks, employers have decided to roll up all employee benefits into a single plan and summarize the benefits in a single document using ERISA language. This document is the SPD WRAP document, and it provides details of: All the welfare and health benefits the employer offers the employee and beneficiaries. References to complementary Insurance booklets and certificates Disclosures mandated by ERISA and COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) ERISA however, in particular on how the SPD document content, language, formatting, and deadline. Additionally, changing labor laws make the preparation of the document hectic. That’s why employers need help when it comes to ERISA compliance. We can help employers make the necessary compliance adjustments and also generate the wrap SPD documents using our updated continuously ERISA wrap SPD system.

Who needs WRAP SPD? ERISA is a USA federal tax and labor law that tell Private Sector employers the minimum pension standards they have to comply with. Any private industry employer that provides welfare and health plans, therefore, must satisfy ERISA SPD requirements Health, welfare and other Employer Assistance Programs subject to ERISA requirements must comply with these reporting and disclosure rules.

1. Disclosure: Provide employees with a readable summary of information about the plan. This includes a summarized description of terms and conditions of the program and contains the name and number of the pension plan, benefits afforded plus amounts deductible and co-pay and eligibility requirements. Other mandated information includes the claim filing and investigation process and information on the plan sponsor and trustees. If it’s a medical plan, the employer should detail all the benefits it provided before the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

Additionally, disclose information regarding mothers and newborns. Provide information on COBRA rights if subjected to one. 2. Reporting When it comes to reporting, large plans with more than 100 participants, employers are to annually report on the plan status by filing form 5500 with the labor department and the Internal Revenue Service. Plans with less than 100 participants must file form 5500-SF.

These forms detail if a plan is funded or unfunded plus other operations and investments. Importance of SPD WRAP documents Using wrap to bundle all benefits into a single plan then summarize it in ERISA language for SPD compliance reduces plan administration tasks. The wrap document also makes references to insurance certificates and master contract booklets; therefore, satisfy the SPD.

SPD is used by the Department of Labor to review a firm’s file during an audit. The document, therefore, makes it easy to review and file the form 5500 as only one form is submitted. Additionally, SPD helps translate complex actuarial language into ERISA required, simple style that employees can understand. Failure to comply with ERISA SPD rules attracts a fine. No other documents can be used as WRAP SPD alternatives; this is because the language used and reporting requirement in SPD document differs from different materials such as Insurance booklets and should not be substituted with such. The wrap document, therefore, helps to avoid penalties.

The WRAP SPD not only soothes plan administration tasks but also gives auditors and employees evidence of employer’s consciousness towards the health and welfare of the employee.

Is a wrap SPD needed? BC2CO can help with your wrap plan document needs.

Contact: (515)-244-2424

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