When you offer health benefits to your employees, you need to make sure you’re providing the right documents to stay in compliance.

We make Compliance a breeze with our in-house ERISA Software. Through the on-boarding process every client is asked to complete a New Hire Questionnaire with one of our consultants. This information is used to build out your profile which facilitates our team in creating your compliance documents in a timely manner. These documents include ERISA WRAP, POP, and ACA Notices.

There are countless rules and regulations governing employee benefit plans, many of which are complex. Our team of compliance experts will help you meet your compliance obligations and keep you up to date on laws and regulations that affect your employee benefits program.

Our compliance services include:

• Free Compliance Assessment
• Compliance calendar
• Wrap Documents
• ERISA Plan Document
• Summary Plan Description (SPD)
• Summary of Material Modification (SMM)
• Summary Annual Report (SAR)
• Form 5500 Preparation
• Compliance Bulletins
• ACA Interactive Tools
• Compliance Newsletters
• Employee Handbook
• Plan Design Assistance
• HR Education and Rules

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Free Compliance Assessment

We know that staying in compliant is overwhelming. Our compliance experts can provide you with a free compliance assessment and audit to determine deficiencies. No strings attached.

Compliance Calendar

The Compliance Calendar is an on-demand resource that is designed to help you track and meet key federal compliance deadlines associated with the health plan you provide.

After completing a short health plan questionnaire, you will receive a customized rolling list of upcoming compliance deadlines, along with resources to help you meet those deadlines. After you set up your Health Plan Compliance Calendar, you will even receive monthly reminders about upcoming deadlines to help you stay on track.

Wrap Documents

Under ERISA, employer-sponsored welfare benefit plans, such as group health plans, must be described in a written plan document. In addition, employers must explain the plans’ terms to participants by providing them with a summary plan description (SPD).

The insurance certificate or benefit booklet provided by an insurance carrier or other third party for a welfare benefit plan typically does not satisfy ERISA’s content requirements for plan documents and SPDs.

However, employers may use wrap documents in conjunction with the insurance certificate or benefit booklet in order to satisfy ERISA’s requirements. This document is called a “wrap document” because it Brokerly wraps around the insurance certificate or benefit booklet to fill in the missing ERISA-required provisions. When a wrap document is used, the ERISA plan document or SPD is made up of two documents— the insurance certificate or benefit booklet and the wrap document.

ERISA Plan Document

The plan document contains a description of the terms and conditions for the operation and administration of the plan. It must be provided within 30 days of a written request.

Summary Plan Description (SPD)

The SPD contains plan information, including the benefits, rights and obligations of the covered participant. It should be written in a style and format that can be easily understood by the average plan participant. The SPD should be provided within 90 days of the participant being covered by the plan, or within 30 days of a written request.

Summary of Material Modification (SMM)

The SMM describes material changes to a plan and any changes in the information required in the SPD. An updated SPD satisfies the SMM requirement. In general, the SMM or updated SPD must be distributed to participants no later than 210 days after the end of the plan year in which the changes were made, or within 30 days of a written request. A shorter deadline may apply to health plans in some circumstances, depending on the nature of the modification or change. For example, if the change is a material reduction in group health plan benefits or services, the deadline for providing the SMM or updated SPD is 60 days after the change is adopted,

Summary Annual Report (SAR)

This report is a narrative report of the Form 5500 and includes a statement of the participant’s right to receive the annual report. Plans that are exempt from annual 5500 filing, as well as large and unfunded health plans, may be exempt from the SAR requirement. The SAR must be provided to participants within nine months after the end of the plan year. For more information on how to stay ERISA compliant, contact ThinkTank Insurance Partners.

Form 5500 Preparation

The Form 5500 satisfies various annual reporting obligations that plan administrators must meet under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. Form 5500 must be filed electronically with the DOL. This form is generally due by the last day of the seventh calendar month after the plan year ends. See the DOL’s website for details on this reporting requirement. Small health plans are exempt if they have fewer than 100 participants and benefits are insured or unfunded.

Compliance Bulletins

Compliance Bulletins are news alerts on important compliance developments. They provide Broker information for employers, to help you keep on top of the latest legal updates.

ACA Interactive Tools

Under the ACA, employers face the risk of incurring new penalties related to the coverage they offer. Our interactive tools can help you assess your exposure to these penalties and determine strategies to minimize your risk.

Newsletters

Want to know about benefit changes at a glance? Grab a monthly or quarterly newsletter filled with concise summaries of rule changes and you’ll be caught up in no time.

Handbook

When is the last time you reviewed your employee handbook? We can provide a customized, comprehensive employee handbook that includes dozens of Broker workplace policies.

Plan Design Assistance

Are you interested in exploring plan design changes or additions? We provide an encyclopedic collection of reference materials for you to explore with ease, including:

• Plan Designs Section 125 Plans: Do You Need One?
• Health Plan Design Benchmark Report
• Plan Designs: Voluntary Benefits

HR Education and Rules

Compliance doesn’t stop at benefits plan rules, and neither do we. We have several tools in place to help your HR department, including:

• HR Insights Series
• HR Brief Newsletter
• HR Q&As
• HR Hotline