Group SPD Distribution Resources and Reminders

Your cooperative’s 2021 Group Benefits Program summary plan description (SPD) documents are now available on the Employee Benefits website for download and distribution. All SPDs for plans with special or exception designs will be available on January 29.

Deliver SPDs to existing plan participants no later than March 1, 2021. Also give them to employees you hire during 2021 (within 90 days of their hire date) and to directors elected or appointed during 2021. COBRA plan 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.

Note these points during download:

• SPDs are in Adobe Acrobat format. They include a link to download a free copy of Acrobat Reader.
• If your co-op offers the NRECA Retired Life Insurance Plan, the SPD is now separate from the NRECA Group Term Life and AD&D Insurance Plan SPD.
• A unique proposal ID is assigned to each proposal you submit. The ID appears on your Message Center notification, on your SPDs and on the distribution acknowledgement form. Match the ID at each step to be sure you’re distributing and acknowledging the right documents.

Before distribution:

• Ensure that your SPDs correctly reflect the elections you made during annual renewal in the Benefit Plan Rating and Renewal feature of the Employee Benefits website (e.g., eligibility, premium cost-sharing, deductible amounts and coinsurance), even if those elections did not change for 2021. 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.
• The list of 2021 SPD updates helps answer questions about this year’s changes.
• Visit the BA Guide to find a detailed distribution checklist, guidelines for who must receive SPDs, and electronic distribution guidelines. Check the COVID-19 page on timeline extensions to find out if your co-op can use certain temporary electronic delivery methods during the pandemic.

During distribution and acknowledgement:

• Give the SPDs to these covered individuals no later than 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.
• Finally, acknowledge all outstanding distributions using 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 2021 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 email us at group.compliance@nreca.coop.