ERISA Enforcement: Do Not Leave Your Business Facing Penalties

Protect Your Business By Staying In Compliance

Offering an employee benefit plan is a great way to draw the best employees to your business and keep them there. It creates a healthy company culture and shows that you invest in your team even as they invest in your business.

Offering an employee benefit plan also brings your business under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Under the ERISA, you are required to provide certain forms to your employees. One prime example is a summary plan description (SPD), which gives your benefit plan participants information about the plan itself. There are also a number of other forms your business needs to provide to your employees, including those laid out by COBRA.

You may not be concerned about providing these documents as your group size is relatively small and the odds of an audit by the Department of Labor are consequently low. Do not assume you can fly under the radar, though. The Department of Labor is conducting random ERISA audits for benefit plans of every size. Their intention is review every employer by 2018. 

Knowing that you will likely face an audit, it is important for you to know the penalties that could be assessed. Failure to comply with ERISA regulations could end up costing your business a maximum of $500,000. For example, failing to file your Form 5500 results in a penalty of $1,100 per day, while failing to respond to a participant’s request for information within 30 days will cost your $110 per day. 

Let the experts audit your business before the Department of Labor does to discover any areas that could result in potential penalties. Contact Sackett & Associates Insurance Services to have your Sonoma County business assessed to ensure that it is in compliance will all ERISA regulations.