While the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) establishes baseline disclosure requirements, a well drafted SPD will go beyond those basic requirements and can play a much broader role in plan administration. With thoughtful drafting, SPDs can help address operational challenges, clarify participant expectations, support compliance efforts, and provide employers with valuable protections in the event of disputes or regulatory scrutiny.
Foley’s recent webinar examined 16 key provisions employers may want to consider when drafting or updating summary plan descriptions that go beyond ERISA’s basic requirements. The key provisions covered in the webinar included provisions to help address these common issues:
- Missing participants
- Cybersecurity risks
- 401(k) election implementation errors
- Beneficiary designation disputes
- Incorrect information provided by third party administrators
- Requests for medical plan premium refunds
- How Evidence of Insurability (EOI) requirements impact benefit coverage
- Correction of overpayments
- Judicial standard of review over administrator decisions
- And more!
It also includes easy to implement tips to make your SPD easier to understand and navigate for your average participant.
If you were unable to join us for this webinar, we encourage you to view the on-demand recording.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
