ERISA Plan Doc & 5500 Questions

[oriecat]

I am trying to figure some stuff out regarding our welfare plans.

1. Without a ‘wrap-around’ plan document to bundle any/all of the plans into one “Plan”, are separate 5500 filings required? (We have previously filed one 5500 for the medical, dental, life plan and one for the Section 125 plan. We do not seem to have a wrap-around document bundling the plans. We only have a very old SPD that lists the benefits as one plan, but it is no longer current with ERISA SPD requirements.)

2. Are there any possible consequences if a single 5500 has been filed, but there is no wrap-around document, or if it is lost or out of date?

3. If plans are not bundled, can enrollment in one plan be contingent upon enrollment in a separate plan? For example, we require employees to elect both medical and dental coverage. If they are not bundled together, can that be required?

Thank you!!

[Guest LFrankel]

I'm not an ERISA attorney nor an employee of EBSA, so my answer is just based on our experience.

1. I think you want to look at how the plan is administered. I say "plan" because if all the benefits are coordinated or adjudicated comprehensively, you may be able to establish sufficient grounds for filing one 5500. However, these benefits strike me as more independent than inter-related and thus would require a separate filing for each.

Could you update the old SPD to be compliant? That is another means by which you could possibly consolidate your filing.

2. For a helpful reference guide as to filing requirements, etc. go to www.segalco.com/publications/r&dcalendar/2003.html

3. This may answer your own posting inquiry. You've already indicated that medical and dental are "separate" plans. Again, ask yourself how they're administered. Same carrier? Same policy number?

Hope this helps.

[E as in ERISA]

I think that your 5500 filings are the least of your worries. I'd get to work on the SPDs and the wrap plan document. And file the 5500s in accordance with whatever those documents are ultimately going to say.

Many (most?) welfare plans do not have the "plan document" that is required by ERISA. When determining how many plans you have, the SPD is a good starting point for at least a couple of reasons. First, it is what has been communicated to employees. Second, it has the plan numbers.