SPD's
KD13
44 Posts
Does everyone have SPD's for their group health plans? Is this not just a letter form of the insurance booklets that we already give our employees with a few names and address' of contact people? Needless to say, we do not have a SPD. If it is truly necessary and from what I have been reading it is, does anyone have a template that I could go by to write one? To my recollection, I have never been given one by any employer nor have I given one to anyone. I guess the insurance booklet itself can not take the place of the SPD? We do give out new ins. booklets every year. Thanks for any input.
Comments
At any rate, if you're interested, EBIA will be holding a seminar that describes all you'll need to know:
SUMMARY PLAN DESCRIPTIONS (SPDs)
Are You in Compliance? What Employers Need to Know and Do
An EBIA tele-web seminar
April 21, 2005
1:00-2:30 p.m. EDT (12:00 p.m. CDT; 11:00 a.m. MDT; 10:00 a.m. PDT)
Almost every employee benefits plan is required to have a summary plan
description (SPD)--a document that tells plan participants their rights
and obligations in a manner calculated to be understood by the average
plan participant. The DOL regulations on SPDs fill several pages, and
many lawsuits have been decided by what was, or was not, in an SPD. But
many plans, employers, and advisors have difficulty understanding or
complying with the law's requirements. This 90-minute
intermediate-level tele-web seminar is designed to translate the legal
requirements into plain English and to provide practical, hands-on
advice for anyone who is responsible for drafting, reviewing, or
revising SPDs.
Here's some of what we'll cover: How should you go about revising an
SPD or drafting one from scratch? What, exactly, do the regulations
require to be in an SPD? How can an SPD be detailed enough to reflect
plan terms accurately and still be understood by the average plan
participant? Who's responsible for the SPD? Can an employer rely on a
TPA to do the job? Does a fully insured plan need an SPD? Is the
insurer responsible for it? What are the distribution requirements for
SPDs? Is electronic distribution a realistic option? What happens if a
plan doesn't have an SPD that meets the law's requirements?
MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER: For one registration fee ($195), you
and your co-workers can gather in one office or conference room to
attend the seminar. A registration form with more information can be
downloaded at [url]http://www.ebia.com/static/misc/050421teleweb.pdf[/url] .
Your TPA will provide this for you. I feel sure that the booklet that you reference is your SPD. You must provide that to each employee at least at the time they are eligible and any updates/changes/amendments throughout the year. Yes, you have to copy it or print it.
Our SPD is actually our Plan Document. So what employees get is the exact same thing that our TPA uses to pay our claims. It is only about 70 pages (and fairly large print.) We also give them a summary sheet for future reference as well. It is really no big thing. (You have the SPD for Life, LTD, and STD policies as well, if you provide these.)
E Wart