Tasc I believe does compliance, ie wrap documents, ERISA reviews, and fringe benefit administration,
Ike COBRA, FSA admin. Also, Employee Benefit Corp. and compliance dashboard is a good one for groups. They can purchase it, I believe 1000 annually and it does a review and sets a calendar for important updates.
I can only comment on health, I do not do retirement. If you have insured plans, the carrier is the plan administrator, and as such is responsible for the majority of compliance issues, i.e., reporting, disclosure, and paying claims. The employer is responsible for distribution of plan information to employees. If your plans are self-funded, it is the responsibility of the plan administrator. One of the issues when self-funding is identifying the administrator and verifying they have the systems/procedures in place to do the job.
Either way, I would strongly suggest you learn more about the specifics because it will help to differentiate yourself from competitors.
Small employers who have less than 100 participants will generally not hire an outside health and welfare benefits administrator, which means as an insurance agent it is very important to educate your clients on ERISA compliance. Smaller employers still are required by ERISA Law to prepare and provide an ERISA Wrap Document to their employees. Unfortunately, most insurance carrier certificates or benefit booklets do not satisfy ERISA’s content requirements. Failing to comply can be costly for employers - $110 per day fines, benefit lawsuits, and DOL Audits. An ERISA Wrap Document supplements existing documentation and provides required ERISA information by incorporating (or “wrapping” itself around) insurance policies, third-party contracts, or other governing documents. When an ERISA Wrap Document is utilized, all governing documents remain part of the plan document. That is, the ERISA Wrap Document and other governing documents collectively comprise the complete plan document.
Spectrum Consultants, a multidisciplinary B2B consulting firm that offers employee benefit, business consulting, and retirement plan services, just launched www.erisawrap.com! Spectrum's compliance solution will allow you (or your client) to quickly and easily prepare their ERISA Wrap Document. All you would need to do is fill out a simple online application that does not take more than 15 minutes, and the Wrap Document will be issued immediately, and at a low cost. For more information, contact Jaime Boccia at [email protected]
