WRAP

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) requires certain language to be included in plan documents to describe welfare benefits such as medical, dental, vision, Health FSA, HRA, life, disability, etc.  The language includes:

• mandated benefits

• required timelines for claims processing

• claims appeal language

• Federal rights under HIPAA and COBRA and FMLA

Each welfare benefit plan must include a Summary Plan Description (SPD) that includes the ERISA language.

Since some carriers and plans do not automatically include the ERISA required language, Employers can create a Wrap plan that consolidates the ERISA requirements under one document.   

Another benefits of a Wrap plan for plans with 100 or participating employees is that one Form 5500 can be filed under that plan instead of filing multiple Form 5500s.