PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 40
PS COACH
Good Read
Summary plan descriptions become creative and easier to understand
T
he Employee Retirement Income
Security Act (ERISA) requires plan
administrators to issue summary
plan descriptions (SPDs) to all workers
within 90 days of becoming eligible to join
their employer's retirement plan. As plan
sponsors must create this document-
often in partnership with the recordkeeper-experts
recommend they follow a
number of best practices.
The main purpose of an SPD is to
let participants know " what DC plans
are and what their [own] plan is meant to
do, " says Shannon Nutter, head of institutional
participant education at Vanguard
in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. " There's no
hard and fast rule for how long the document
should be. In the past, sponsors have
provided participants with all the information
available on a given topic, with the
intention that the more information they
give them, the more educated they'll be.
But usually, less is more. In fact, we've
been looking at all of the documents we
send to participants, including SPDs, and
have been shortening them and adding a
call to action. "
Tim Chisholm, vice president
in Fidelity Investment's Workplace
Consulting Group in Cincinnati, says,
" The SPD should be in plain English. Take
all of the legalese that appears in a traditional
plan document, and put it into plain
language so participants can understand
the basic operations of their plan. "
Because participants typically
fail to read the document from beginning
to end, it should be made easy to
navigate, using subheads, says Kathy
Washelesky, director and compliance
communication leader in the Consumer
Experience Practice at Alight Solutions in
Lincolnshire, Illinois. " Bulleted lists and/
or tables can help condense key information
into easy, quick to read snippets, "
40 PLANSPONSOR.COM February - March 2020
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PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020
The Case for a Process
2020 PLANSPONSOR Best in Class 401(k) Plans
A Changed Perspective
Seize the Opportunity
Ready As It Goes
Income Insight
Good Read
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - Cover1
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - Cover2
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 1
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 2
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 3
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 4
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 5
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 6
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 7
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 8
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 9
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 10
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 11
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 12
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 13
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - The Case for a Process
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 15
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 16
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 17
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 18
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 19
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 2020 PLANSPONSOR Best in Class 401(k) Plans
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 21
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 22
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 23
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 24
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 25
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 26
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 27
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 28
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 29
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - A Changed Perspective
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 31
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 32
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 33
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - Seize the Opportunity
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 35
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - Ready As It Goes
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 37
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - Income Insight
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 39
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - Good Read
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 41
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 42
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 43
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 44
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 45
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 46
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 47
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - 48
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - Cover3
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2020 - Cover4
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