Time to Distribute Group SPDs
By now you should have received one or more Message Center alerts linking to your cooperative’s 2016 Group Benefits Program summary plan descriptions (SPDs). The distribution deadline is March 1, 2016. Distribution acknowledgements are due by March 11, 2016.
Before you give the SPDs to employees, here are a few important tips to make the process easier.
- Compare your SPDs to the elections you made in Benefit Plan Rating and Renewal (BPR) feature of the Employee Benefits website to be sure the provisions you chose for each plan and subgroup are properly reflected. Each proposal you submit receives a unique Proposal ID. This ID appears in BPR, on your Message Center alert, on your SPDs and on the distribution acknowledgement form. Use this ID to track each plan through the entire distribution and acknowledgement process.
- Review the electronic distribution rules. These rules describe how you must deliver notices to your employees.
- Remember who must receive the SPDs:
- New employees (within 90 days of the date they first become covered under the plan); and
- These individuals (by the March 1, 2016 deadline):
- Active & disabled employees
- Retirees
- Directors & retained attorneys
- COBRA qualified beneficiaries
- Dependents of deceased employees/retirees who continue to be covered
- Children covered under a Qualified Medical Child Support Order (QMCSO)
Other general requirements
As you distribute the SPDs, you must also tell all employees why the notice is important, how it will be provided and how they can request a free paper copy if you use an electronic distribution method. You must provide the free paper copy to anyone who wants it within 30 days of the request date, regardless of how they originally received the notice.
If you have questions as you review and distribute your SPDs, contact the group compliance team at 866.673.2299, option 7, or email us at group.compliance@nreca.coop.