Compliance And Efficiency For Benefits Services For Smaller Companies Grows As The On Demand Benefits Program Takes Flight

ERISA compliance has become more efficient in benefits services for smaller companies with the use of on line and demand benefits programs.

Chino, CA – September 15, 2017 /MM-LC/ —

ERISA or The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 sets the standard for compliance when it comes to pension and health plan protection in the workplace. The law itself has changed over the years as amended and is one of the laws that govern health benefits and pension plans in the private industry.

Craig Prince, owner of CAP Insurance Services, assists his clients to ensure they are well versed on ERISA and other governing laws. Thus, preparing them for possible compliance audits.

Craig mentions that in addition to ERISA, a company must also “provide their employees with additional information in order to be compliant.” He adds, “There are approximately 20 required documents (depending on employer group size) that employers are required to provide; some include: Summary Plan Description, Summary of Material Modifications, special enrollment rights notice, Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act, Notice of Creditable and Non-Creditable Prescription Drug Coverage, Exchange Notices, COBRA Notices and the Children’s Health Insurance Program Notice (aka-CHIP).

Having a full list of these documents and when to provide them to employees is the other part to being compliant. Not providing this information creates an environment of non-compliance from various entities, like the United States Department of Labor. In the May 2017 issue of Benefits Magazine, Sharon Goodman’s article: Reviewing and Negotiating Alternative Investments for ERISA Plans: An Update, states, “Pension plan trustees evaluating alternative investments should pay close attention to their obligations under ERISA as well as the obligations of investment managers.”

Although, the Affordable Care Act only requires employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees to offer health insurance, it is still required that large and small businesses comply with ACA and ERISA guidelines. Prince states, a truly committed benefits broker should “help people to understand what the law is and how this will affect the company at a business level and the employee at a personal level.” Efficiency is the name of the game.

The other aspect of efficiency is the new wave of services that smaller companies are incorporating into their human resource functions, such as HR on demand and online benefit enrollment. Although you would find online HR benefit services within larger private companies, smaller companies in general have struggled with this aspect, because typically do not have a dedicated HR department. For smaller entities, an online HR service can become a valuable tool to help manage their employees.

Prince adds, “There has been a movement over the last few years regarding online benefit services; however, smaller companies have been slower to engage due to the cost involved.” Prince says there is “an advantage with providing an online benefit portal…by doing so, it allows the employer to be more efficient with compliance.”

In a September 5, 2016 article by the Society of Human Resources Management, “Open Enrollment Tips for the Coming Season”, results from a survey taken in early 2016, by the nonprofit International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans “revealed that employers believe:
 Benefit plan participants do not open or read communications materials (80 percent of organizations reported this).
 Participants don’t understand the materials (49 percent).
 Participants don’t perceive value in their benefits (31 percent).

However, those companies and organizations that are successful in getting their employees to be more responsive, tend to have a “multimedia approach” the article noted, “whether this involves an e-mail campaign, a benefits booklet mailed to the home, an interactive platform on an intranet site, or posters in the hallways. These companies use multiple channels to make sure that employees are capturing the important messages. Prince says that 90 days prior to the “renewal period”, is when companies look to see how their benefit packages are being used. In smaller companies, it is also a time to evaluate savings vs. quality of benefits. He states, “brokers should use this period as a time to make a more personal touch and approach to re-earning the business of that company. In doing so, reminding the company the importance of having not only the HR on demand and benefit online program, but also having face to face meetings with benefit professionals to assist as needed.”

Prince notes, “I think it all goes back to employers want to know you are listening and addressing their personal and business needs. They feel valued when a broker provides them with a benefit program that accomplishes the corporate goal. It is not a one-size fits all approach.” Choosing the right agency means more than just being a provider of group benefits, it is about helping an employer show the value they have for their employees by offering benefits.

Contact Info:
Name: Craig Prince
Organization: CAP Insurance Services
Phone: 909-590-4405- Ext 101; 800-570-3330

For more information, please visit http://CAPInsurance.net

Source: MM-LC

Release ID: 239813