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Regulatory Compliance for Employee Benefit Plans

Are the processes that you have in place “prudent”?  Is your current structure following best practices?  In today’s world there is a renewed interest in how employee benefit plans are operated and managed. At J.P. Morgan Compensation and Benefit Strategies, we assist our clients on an entire range of benefit regulatory compliance plan issues, including:

• Government reporting and disclosure - Our compliance professionals have decades of experience making sense of complex issues and assisting plan sponsors in their goal of making sure their plans are in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations.  We can assist with a host of services including determination letter filings, government forms, and the preparation of financial statements. 
• Plan governance and fiduciary responsibilities - The overall responsibility of a plan fiduciary is to ensure that the plan is administered for the sole benefit of its participants and beneficiaries.  Our professionals can review a plan and the roles of those individuals responsible for administering it to determine who qualifies as a plan fiduciary and assist in the assessment of whether they are fulfilling their duties.
• ERISA compliance audits - We provide process review and improvement-related services designed to help plan sponsors create and implement improved processes.  During such a review our professionals document the current processes and then utilize our extensive knowledge of industry best practices and compliance expertise to make recommendations that are intended to be both practical and comprehensive.  Our professionals also make themselves available to assist with the implementation of any recommendations with which the client wishes to move forward.
• Plan document and summary plan description assistance - Not only do documents need to be accurately written for easy interpretation, they must also be disclosed and/or distributed to plan participants in a timely manner.  In addition, changes to laws and regulations command that documents must be modified constantly.  Our professionals can provide relief to plan sponsors by assisting them with the preparation and/or review of all documents and communications related to the plan.
• HIPAA, COBRA and other relevant laws regulating health plans – From HIPAA to COBRA to other relevant rules and regulations, it seems that the health plan landscape is continually changing due to new rules and regulations that govern how such plans must operate.  Our trained professionals have proficiency with HIPAA procedure reviews, implementations and employee training.  We also assist clients with COBRA-related communications and adapting to changes in other regulations.

We create truly custom service offerings aimed to meet your specific goals. We do not force our clients into a set of standard practices. Rather, we analyze corporate objectives, budget, plan demographics, and your specific employee population to deliver solutions suited to your individual needs.  Beyond the wide range of expertise and skill sets our consultants possess, we have the depth and breadth of resources of a global firm at our fingertips.  This allows us to work with our colleagues across J.P. Morgan to provide service delivery to you in a seamless manner.

Next Steps to Verify Compliance

If we have captured your attention, then please ask yourself this – “Is your retirement plan up to code?”  If you are not sure how to answer that question, then it is time to review the available checklist that has been published by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).  We advise that these questions be used as a general guide to ERISA compliance for your retirement plan(s).  Please note, this checklist is focused only on retirement plans and is not intended to be comprehensive.  It should only be used as a resource tool, which outlines some areas of major compliance concerns to the DOL.  Checklists related to other areas of compliance have also been made available by the DOL.

If you need help answering the checklist or would like additional information about the rules that govern employee benefit plans, please contact your J.P. Morgan Compensation and Benefit Strategies consultant.  We believe you will appreciate our approach and benefit from our deep expertise.