2023 Group Benefits Program SPDs Now Available

Starting in late December, your cooperative began receiving one or more Message Center notifications directing you to 2023 summary plan description (SPD) and summary of material modification (SMM) documents for the Group Benefits Program. All SPDs and SMMs will be available for download by January 31. Plans with special or exception designs may be released later during January.

SPDs and SMMs must be distributed to current plan participants and beneficiaries no later than March 1, 2023. Also give copies to employees you hire during 2023 (within 90 days of their hire date) and to directors elected or appointed during 2023. COBRA plan participants, retirees, surviving dependents and any children 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, deductibles, and coinsurance). If they do not match, contact the benefits compliance team. Also, ensure the plan provisions in your SPDs properly reflect your co-op’s human resources policies and procedures.

The BA Guide has a full distribution checklist, guidelines for who must receive SPDs, and electronic distribution guidelines. Also, COVID-19 timeline extensions may be available for certain co-ops that have been affected by the pandemic. Once you distribute the documents, acknowledge all outstanding distributions using the “Documents Requiring Acknowledgement” section of the Group Plan Documents page. A list of 2023 SPD changes lists areas within the SPD that are different from 2022.

If you have questions about downloading or accessing your SPDs, contact the Member Contact Center at 866.673.2299 or contactcenter@nreca.coop. For all other SPD questions, call the benefits compliance team at 866.673.2299, option 7, or email us at group.compliance@nreca.coop.