Amending SPD

[Guest Donaldson]

Does anyone know if an SPD for a DB plan must be (or should have been) amended for GUST (and EGTRRA and now RMD) and distributed to participants? (Come to think of it, I think a new SPD may be required to comply with the new claims procedures and ERISA rights statement?) Assuming that an amended SPD (or SMM) was required, is there a penalty for noncompliance and, if so, what is the amount of any penalty (any cite?)? Are penalties imposed only if caught on audit so that if an SPD is amended and distributed before an audit everything should be ok?

Thank you for any assistance.

[Guest JBeck]

From a practical standpoint, amend the SPD and get it to the participants, beneficiares, etc. as soon as you can. Yes there are penalties but rarely applied by DOL if the SPD has been updated and distributed before audit. Penalties are generally only applied if a participant asks for the SPD and then doesn't get one.