BASE® ERISA Wrap Offers Another Layer of Protection!
Avoid $110 per-day per-employee Department of Labor penalty in the event of an audit with the BASE ERISA Wrap.
In March, BASE announced a new ERISA compliance service offered through the BASE ERISA Wrap.
The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) mandates that employers/plan administrators must provide an SPD to each participant and that ERISA-covered plans be maintained in accordance with a written Plan Document.
Many businesses mistakenly assume that insurance contracts, certificates of insurance and benefits summaries fulfill the ERISA requirements for an SPD and Plan Document, but they don’t include the required or recommended provisions that protect the plan, the employer and plan fiduciaries.
Why do you need it?
ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) requires employers who are plan administrators of their health and welfare benefit plans to maintain and distribute Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs) to plan participants, while maintaining a written Plan Document to be made available to plan participants and beneficiaries upon request for every benefit you sponsor. While BASE® currently provides an SPD and Plan Document for your Premium Only Plan, if you sponsor any other benefits such as health insurance you may be out of compliance.
Quick Facts
- Virtually all employers who offer or sponsor benefits, regardless of size or number of participants must have an ERISA Wrap.
- In a random-sampling of plans by the Department of Labor, 7 out of 10 plans failed to comply with some aspect of ERISA’s provisions.
- If you offer any type of health and welfare benefit plan (ie. medical plan, dental plan, Health Savings Account (HSA), prescription drug plan, etc.), you must supply your employees with Summary Plan Descriptions and written Plan Documents.
- Insurance contracts, certificates of insurance and benefits summaries do not fulfill the ERISA requirements for an SPD and Plan Document.
BASE is a local Adel company providing employee benefits and compliance services to businesses across the country. Let us help you make sure you are fulfilling DOL requirements in the event of an audit by calling 1-888-386-9680 or visit http://www.baseonline.com/ERISA_Wrap.html to learn more.
Base
601 Visions Pkwy
Adel, Iowa 50003
Phone: (515) 993-5050
Website: www.baseonline.com
