The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) requires most employers, who offer health and welfare benefits, to provide a written plan document to participants. The plan documents that are issued by insurance companies and other benefits providers are typically standardized and don’t include all of the customized, employer-specific language that the ERISA law requires.
To make things easier, Flexible Benefit Service Corporation (Flex) can prepare a written plan document with all of the required disclosures that “wraps around” all ERISA health and welfare benefits that an employer offers.
The Wrap Document can provide all of the required language for many different types of plans, such as:
- Health Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Disability Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Life Insurance
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
- Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs)
- Accident-Only Plans
- Long-Term Care
- Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D)
- Prescription Drug Plans
- Retiree Medical Plans
- Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), if counseling is provided
Government and church plans are exempt from ERISA, but all other employers who offer health and welfare benefits are required to have a plan document in place that meets the disclosure requirements included in the ERISA law. Fortunately, employers can view Wrap Documents as the low-hanging fruit of compliance with ERISA.
