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Employment Law StrategistLJN NewslettersNewsSections

Employee Benefits Administration Goes High Tech ' Almost

By Neal S. Schelberg and Ted Tywang
October 24, 2011

Employee benefit plans have many reporting, disclosure, filing, record retention and participant interaction obligations under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code, the scope and breadth of which have only increased in recent years. By most accounts, utilizing new technology for paperless plan administration dramatically reduces the costs and burdens of complying with these requirements and is more environmentally friendly than traditional hard copy administration. It is hardly surprising, then, that employee benefit plans' use of, and interest in, electronic media has exploded over the past decade. According to a 2009 survey conducted by the Profit Sharing/401k Council of America, over 90% of all plans surveyed offered balance inquiries and investment changes online. Further, more than three-quarters of the plans allowed for plan inquiries via the Internet, more than two-thirds gave participants the opportunity to make contribution changes online, and well over half offered online enrollments. And these numbers have likely increased since this survey.

There are numerous methods by which employee benefit plans can furnish information electronically to participants and beneficiaries. The most common method is through a continuous access website, often requiring secure login, to which plans post documents and information. For content generally available to the public, plans may use a public continuous access website or a variety of other methods, including plain text emails or attachments. Some plans utilize a private computer network known as an intranet to communicate with participants and beneficiaries. Despite the numerous advantages of these methods, plans are only able to utilize them to the extent permitted by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL )and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations.

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