Group SPD and SMM Distribution Resources
Your cooperative’s 2022 Group Benefits Program summary plan description (SPD) and summary of material modifications (SMM) documents are now available on the Employee Benefits website. All SPDs and SMMs for plans with special or exception designs will be available by January 31.
Deliver SPDs and SMMs to existing plan participants no later than March 1, 2022. Also give them to employees you hire during 2022 (within 90 days of their hire date) and to directors elected or appointed during 2022. COBRA participants, retirees, surviving dependents and any children covered under a qualified medical child support order must receive their own copy if they do not reside with your employee.
Before distribution, ensure that your SPDs correctly reflect the elections you made during annual renewal (e.g., eligibility, premium cost-sharing, deductible amounts and coinsurance), even if those elections did not change for 2022. If they don’t match, contact your field representative or the benefits compliance team right away. Also, ensure the plan provisions in your SPDs properly reflect your co-op’s human resources policies and procedures.
A list of 2022 SPD updates helps answer questions about this year’s plan changes. Also, the BA Guide contains distribution resources, including a distribution checklist, guidelines for who must receive SPDs and SMMs, and electronic distribution guidelines. Check the COVID-19 page on timeline extensions to determine if your co-op can use certain temporary electronic delivery methods during the pandemic.
Give the SPDs to these covered individuals by March 1: active and disabled employees; retirees; directors and retained attorneys; COBRA qualified beneficiaries; dependents of deceased employees or retirees who continue to be covered; and children covered under a qualified medical child support order.
A unique proposal ID is assigned to each proposal you submit. The ID appears on your Message Center notification, on each document, and on the distribution acknowledgement form. You can match the ID at each step to be sure you’re distributing and acknowledging the right documents.
Finally, acknowledge all outstanding distributions through the “Documents Requiring Acknowledgement” section of the Group Plan Documents page. If you have unacknowledged documents from prior years, please acknowledge those before acknowledging any 2022 documents. Keep a printed copy of the distribution acknowledgement confirmation page in your plan files.
If you have questions as you review and distribute your SPDs and SMMs, contact the group compliance team at 866.673.2299, option 7 or group.compliance@nreca.coop.