When an employee becomes eligible for the retirement plan, you should provide the below items to them. The ideal timing is 30 days before their entry date into the plan.
Summary Plan Description (SPD) - and any Summaries of Material Modification (SMM) if applicable. These are the plan provisions in layman terms.
Current Year Participant Fee Disclosures - There are two to provide, one from ARS that you receive annually before the start of each plan year, and one from your investment company. Contact your investment company to determine how to obtain their participant fee disclosure.
Enrollment Kit - this comes from the investment company, it includes fund options, enrollment and beneficiary forms. It's important to request these ongoing as you need them. The information in them may change frequently.
Also provide the below if applicable to your retirement plan. ARS will provide these to you before the start of each Plan year, if applicable, in enough time for you to provide them to participants at least 30 days before the start of the year.
Current Year Safe Harbor Notice - This summarizes the safe harbor provisions within the Plan. It's a good idea to have employees sign an Acknowledgment Form confirming they received the notice, but it is not required. If you do, you should maintain the returned Acknowledgment Forms for three years.
Current Year Automatic Salary Reduction Notice - This summarizes the automatic contribution arrangement provisions within the Plan.