Group SPD Distribution Resources and Reminders

By now you should have received a Message Center notification linking to your cooperative’s 2018 Group Benefits Program summary plan description (SPD) and summary of material modifications (SMM) documents. The distribution deadline for these notices is March 1, 2018.

Follow these steps to help make the distribution process easier. All of these steps, and a list of 2018 SPD and SMM updates, are available on the Employee Benefits website.

• Verify that the provisions you chose for each plan and subgroup during Benefit Plan Rating and Renewal are correctly reflected in your SPDs. Each proposal you submit receives a unique proposal ID. This ID appears in the Benefit Plan Rating and Renewal feature, on your Message Center alert, on your SPDs and on the distribution acknowledgement form. Use it to track each plan through the entire distribution and acknowledgement process.
• Review the electronic distribution rules, which describe how you may deliver employee benefit plan disclosure notices to your plan participants.
• Note who must receive the SPDs and SMMs: New employees must receive one within 90 days of the date they first become covered under the plan. Also, give a copy to these individuals (by the March 1, 2018 deadline): 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.
• Tell recipients why the disclosures are important, how they will be provided and how they can request a free paper copy (if you are distributing them electronically). 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.
• 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 email us at group.compliance@nreca.coop.