NRECA Benefit Plan SMMs Available by July 1

By June 30, cooperatives will receive one or more Message Center notifications linking to the Group Plan Documents or Retirement Plan Documents page on the Employee Benefits website. New summary of material modifications document(s) for the NRECA benefit plans will be available for download and distribution, based on which NRECA benefit plans their co-op offers. Co-ops must make updates to the top of each of the SMMs to add the cooperative name and subgroup prior to distribution to plan participants.

RS and 401(k) Plans
Retirement SMMs reflect extended timeframes for benefit claims and appeals due to COVID-19 that were announced on May 20. Give the SMMs to current plan participants and acknowledge distribution as soon as possible, but no later than July 28, 2021 (or 210 days after the close of the 2020 plan year). Also give the SMMs to new retirement plan participants along with the current summary plan description (SPD) within 90 days after the individual becomes eligible to participate in the plan.

NRECA Group Benefits Program
Group SMMs describe extended COBRA deadlines and benefit claim and appeal timeframes. The medical plan SMM also reflects prescription drug coverage changes announced on May 27 that take effect July 1, 2020.

Give the SMMs to current participants as soon as possible, but no later than September 1, 2020. Also deliver them with the current SPD to new participants no more than 90 days after they become covered. COBRA plan participants, retirees, surviving dependents and any children under a qualified medical child support order must also receive their own copy if they do not reside with your employee.

The current Performance Drug List is available to participants on the Checking Coverage page of the NRECA Employee Benefits website. Participants can also visit the Manage Your Prescriptions page to check coverage and drug costs.

Health flexible spending account (HFSA) and health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) plans
Model HFSA and HRA SMMs reflect extended timeframes for benefit claims and appeals due to COVID-19 that were announced on May 20.  The SMMs will be available on cooperative.com by July 1.  Co-ops should distribute the appropriate SMM to HFSA and HRA plan participants as soon as possible, but not later than September 1, 2020.

Dependent care assistance program (DCAP) plan
A model DCAP SMM and plan document amendment will be  available on cooperative.com by July 1 for co-ops that wish to amend their plan to permit prospective mid-year changes during 2020 without an underlying qualifying event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Co-ops that amend their plans to permit the new mid-year change must make updates to the model SMM to reflect the change, as amended, and distribute the SMM to DCAP plan participants. Give the DCAP SMM to current participants as soon as possible, but not later than September 1, 2020.

Distributing plan documents
The BA Guide contains guidelines for when and how to distribute plan documents, including a distribution checklist and acknowledgement steps. Temporary electronic distribution guidelines available for use during the COVID-19 national emergency are described on the COVID-19 Information & Resources page of the BA Guide.

Please acknowledge distributing both your retirement and group SMMs right away (as part of the distribution process if possible).  

If you have questions about downloading or accessing your SMMs, call the Member Contact Center at 866.673.2299 or contactcenter@nreca.coop.

For all other SMM questions, call the benefits compliance team at 866.673.2299, option 7, or email group.compliance@nreca.coop (for group plans) or pension.compliance@nreca.coop (for retirement plans).