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Quick Tip: What’s a Summary Plan Description and do we need one?

By July 24, 2016April 15th, 2018Quick Tips

Rebecca Scandaliato, Vice President of Employee Benefits, explains what a Summary Plan Description is.

ERISA, which is a Federal law, states that any employer offering benefits with two or more employees must provide an Summary Plan Description to the members that outlines the qualifications for participation and the rules and regulations for which benefits are available. A common misconception is that an insurance carrier’s Certificates of Coverage, which is sent directly to covered employees by the insurance company, is the Summary Plan Description, but this is not the case. Under the Affordable Care Act, the Department of Labor has begun performing audits and fining employers who have not complied with supplying the employees with the Summary Plan Document at a rate of $110 per employee per day. This issue can be quickly corrected by obtaining an ERISA compliant Wrap Summary Plan Description.

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