Compliance Regulations

There are several laws a business must adhere to when offering an employee benefit plan. Many of these laws have compliance regulations which are overseen by the Department of Labor. If your business is found out of compliance, it could result in costly fines and penalties. Cornerstone can help you navigate through and administer these regulations, saving you time and money. Here you will find general information about the regulations and the steps you can take to stay in compliance.

ERISA

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a federal law that sets minimum standards for most voluntarily established pension and health plans in private industry to provide protection for individuals in these plans. ERISA requires plans to provide participants with plan information including important information about plan features and funding; provides fiduciary responsibilities for those who manage and control plan assets; requires plans to establish a grievance and appeals process for participants to get benefits from their plans; and gives participants the right to sue for benefits and breaches of fiduciary duty.

COBRA

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) gives workers and their families who lose their health benefits the right to choose to continue group health benefits provided by their group health plan for limited periods of time under certain circumstances such as voluntary or involuntary job loss, reduction in the hours worked, transition between jobs, death, divorce, and other life events. Qualified individuals may be required to pay the entire premium for coverage up to 102 percent of the cost to the plan. The Department of Labor provides Employer’s Guide to COBRA to help you make sure you are compliant.