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Summary Plan Description (SPD)
Practical Law Glossary Item 6-502-5337 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
Summary Plan Description (SPD)
A written summary of an employee benefit plan subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) that informs participants and beneficiaries of their rights and obligations under the plan.
ERISA and its implementing regulations specify the information that must be set out in a summary plan description (SPD), including:
- The name of the employee benefit plan.
- Eligibility requirements for participation in the plan.
- Benefits available under the plan and how benefits are paid.
- How to file a claim for benefits.
- A statement of the participants' rights under ERISA.
Among other requirements, an SPD must be:
- Written in plain language so that it can be understood by the average plan participant.
- Provided to plan participants by the plan administrator free of charge.
If the terms of a plan change, participants must be informed, either through a revised summary plan description or a summary of material modification (SMM).
For a collection of resources to assist with the rules governing SPDs, see Summary Plan Description (SPD) Toolkit. For a chart with guidelines to ensure that a plan's SPD complies with ERISA and sample standard language that may be used in an SPD, see SPD Compliance Chart for ERISA Plans.