2020 Group SPDs and SMMs due by March 1
The March 1 deadline to distribute 2020 Group Benefits Program summary plan description (SPD) and summary of material modifications (SMM) documents to plan participants is just over a week away. If you haven’t distributed your cooperative’s SPDs and SMMs, do so right away. Download yours from the Group Plan Documents page of the Employee Benefits website.
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 must receive SPDs and SMMs by March 1. New employees must receive SPDs and SMMs within 90 days after the date they first become covered under the plan.
Distribution resources
A list of 2020 SPD and SMM updates helps you answer questions about this year’s changes. And remember to review the electronic distribution rules, to see if you can use an electronic method to deliver documents to plan participants.
Acknowledgement is required
If you’ve already distributed your documents, remember to acknowledge distribution. The Employee Benefits website shows all unacknowledged SPDs and SMMs in the section titled at the top of the Group Plan Documents page. If you have unacknowledged SPDs or SMMs from prior years, acknowledge those before proceeding to your 2020 documents. Remember to keep a printed copy of the distribution acknowledgement confirmation page in your plan files.
If you are unsure how to acknowledge distribution for any of your documents, contact the group compliance team.
More information and resources to help you distribute your plan documents were published in the January 22 issue of NRECA Employee Benefits Weekly. If you have additional questions, contact the group compliance team at 866.673.2299, option 7, or email us at group.compliance@nreca.coop.