On July 23, 2026, the Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule that would make it easier for the plan sponsors and administrators of group health plans to furnish required notices electronically. The proposal creates a new electronic disclosure safe harbor for group health plans and is intended to reduce administrative burden and mailing costs while expanding digital access to plan information.
The proposal adds to the current “wired at work” safe harbor issued in 2002 and does not replace existing disclosure rules. Plan administrators could continue using current delivery methods or elect to use the new safe harbor if finalized.
Key Takeaways
- The proposal applies only to group health plans and does not extend to other welfare benefit plans, such as life or disability benefits.
- It closely tracks the DOL’s 2020 electronic disclosure safe harbor for retirement plans, with some modifications tailored to group health plans.
- Unlike the retirement plan safe harbor, DOL explicitly clarified that the proposal would apply to documents that must be furnished only upon request.
- The proposal would not permit required group health plan documents to be furnished directly by email; instead, documents would generally be posted online with a separate notification sent to participants.
- Comments on the proposal are due by September 21, 2026.
Background
When furnishing ERISA-required documents (e.g., SPDs, SMMs, etc.), plan administrators are required to use delivery methods that reasonably ensure that participants and beneficiaries receive the documents. While this typically might involve mail or work-site delivery, to deliver plan materials electronically and “ensure actual receipt,” administrators of group health plans currently rely on a DOL safe harbor that was established in 1997 and expanded in 2002.
GROOM INSIGHT: If you’re trying to do the math, the current electronic delivery safe harbor is 24 years old. Safe to say, it was time for an update!
The 2002 safe harbor – referred to as the “wired at work” safe harbor – has significant restraints, such as only applying to individuals who have access to a computer at work and for whom electronic access to information is an integral part of their job duties (excluding retirees and retail workers, for example), and to individuals who affirmatively consent to electronic delivery. Additionally, plan sponsors and administrators have long complained that the 2002 framework is inefficient because it requires plans to make case-by-case determinations about who qualifies.
GROOM INSIGHT: This proposed rule could be particularly helpful in delivering plan materials to retirees. Because retirees are not “wired at work,” the current electronic safe harbor requirements are difficult to meet and often result in providing plan materials to retired participants and beneficiaries via the mail. Unlike in 2002, today’s retired and retiring workforce likely use email and their smartphones as their primary methods of communicating.
The DOL estimates annual cost savings of approximately $402 million (nearly a 70% reduction) from reduced printing and mailing, against first-year implementation costs of approximately $30 million (rule familiarization, notice preparation, and paper mailing of the initial opt-out notice). The exact savings for each plan will vary, depending on plan size, how many participants opt out, etc. The DOL also anticipates reduced risks associated with paper mail, such as misdelivery or interception, which could help prevent fraud.
Who and What Would Be Covered?
Covered Plans
The proposed safe harbor would be available only to group health plans as defined under ERISA § 733(a)(1), and not to other welfare plans such as disability, life insurance, unemployment, apprenticeship, day care, scholarship, or prepaid legal plans. The DOL requests comment on whether the safe harbor should later be extended to other welfare plans.
GROOM INSIGHT: Limiting the new safe harbor to group health plan disclosures could create unnecessary duplication. For example, many group health plan SPDs are drafted as “wrap SPDs” and include information about other welfare benefits, such as life insurance and disability coverage.
We do not interpret the proposal as preventing a group health plan administrator from relying on the new safe harbor to distribute a wrap SPD for purposes of the group health plan disclosures it contains. However, if the DOL does not extend the safe harbor to all welfare plan disclosures, it would be helpful for the DOL to clarify whether it expects plan administrators to separately distribute the same wrap SPD under the existing safe harbor to satisfy the disclosure requirements for the other welfare benefits included in the document.
Covered Individuals
The safe harbor would be available to group health plan administrators to provide disclosures to participants, beneficiaries, and other individuals entitled to receive plan documents who provide:
- An email address; or
- A smartphone number capable of receiving electronic notices.
Adult dependent children (age 18 or older) who provide their own electronic address would be treated as covered individuals independently, to ensure they have access to their healthcare information as well.
Individuals may opt out of electronic delivery and continue to be entitled to paper copies, free of charge, on request.
If a health insurance issuer and a group health plan sponsor enter into a written agreement under which the issuer agrees to provide the information required under ERISA, the issuer may also use the safe harbor under this proposal.
GROOM INSIGHT: Plans and service providers should consider carefully how they will manage the opt-out process. While the ability to use electronic disclosure will be a relief for many, the current print disclosure process cannot be abandoned entirely. Consider whether it will largely be manual, how and whether an opt-out could be automated, and how the plan or service provider will document opt-out requests.
Covered Documents
To maximize plan sponsors’ ability to use the safe harbor, the proposal generally covers all documents that ERISA requires a group health plan administrator to furnish, including:
- Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs);
- Summaries of Material Modifications (SMMs); and
- Other required ERISA disclosures.
Unlike the 2020 retirement plan safe harbor, DOL expressly clarified that the proposal would also apply to documents that must be furnished only upon request.
Website Posting Requirements
To rely on the safe harbor, a plan administrator would need to maintain a reasonably accessible website or electronic repository (such as a mobile application) where plan documents are available, similar to the 2020 retirement plan safe harbor.
Key requirements include:
- Participants must be able to access the site outside the workplace to ensure compliance with the reasonable access standard.
- Documents must be posted by the date they are otherwise required to be furnished.
- Documents must remain available for at least:
- One year after posting; or
- Until superseded by a newer version, if later.
- Documents must be presented in a widely available and searchable format suitable for online viewing and printing (for example, PDF).
- The administrator must take reasonable measures to protect the confidentiality of participant information.
- Other recordkeeping and document retention rules continue to apply.
GROOM INSIGHT: Many employers currently use a plan website for posting certain ERISA-required disclosures, such as SPDs, SMMs, and annual plan notices. This is permitted under the 2002 safe harbor, but it is also subject to the constraints of that safe harbor, including the “wired at work” and “affirmative consent” requirements. This proposed rule clarifies and expands employers’ ability to use a plan website for posting plan materials, but it comes with enhanced requirements related to maintaining and using a website and providing notice that plan materials have been posted.
Notice of Internet Availability (NOIA)
Participants would receive a Notice of Internet Availability (NOIA) informing them that a plan document has been posted online and is available for review, download, or printing.
A plan may use either:
- A separate NOIA for each covered document; or
- An annual combined NOIA that identifies multiple documents.
To use the proposed safe harbor, a group health plan administrator would need to receive from the employee an email address or smartphone number that can receive a written NOIA. Employers may use employer-assigned email addresses, although personal email addresses and personal smartphone numbers are also permitted.
Plan administrators must furnish an initial paper notification explaining default electronic delivery of covered documents and the right to opt out before using the safe harbor.
Timing Rules
- A NOIA generally must be provided to covered individuals when a covered document is made available electronically.
- A combined annual NOIA would be timely if it is furnished each plan year (and generally no later than 14 months after the prior year’s combined notice).
- Using a combined NOIA does not delay the underlying deadline for posting required documents.
- Documents furnished upon request would require a NOIA when the requested document is made available electronically.
Required Content of a NOIA
The NOIA must contain:
- A title or subject line that reads: “Disclosure About Your Health Plan.”
- A statement that reads: “Important information about your health plan is now available. Please review this information.”
- Identification of the covered document by name (for example, a statement that reads: “your HIPAA Notice of Special Enrollment Rights is now available”) and a brief description of the covered document if the document name does not convey the document’s nature.
- The internet website address, or a hyperlink to such address.
- A plan may require a log-in, but the login page must provide a prominent link to the covered document.
- A statement of the right to request and obtain paper versions of covered documents, free of charge, and an explanation of how to exercise this right.
- A statement of the right to opt out of electronic delivery and receive only paper versions of covered documents, free of charge, and an explanation of how to use this right.
- A cautionary statement that the covered document is not required to be available online for more than one year or until a superseded by a newer version, if later.
- Contact information for the plan administrator or designated representative.
The NOIA may include a statement as to whether action by the covered individual is invited or required in response to the covered document and how to take such action, or that no action is required, provided that such statement is not inaccurate or misleading. Notably, the NOIA may contain only the information permitted by the rule, although the administrator may include logos, branding, and other non-misleading design elements.
Delivery Standards
The NOIA must:
- Be sent electronically to the covered individuals’ provided email address or smartphone number;
- Be provided separately from any other documents or disclosures provided to covered individuals (subject to the limited consolidation rules described above); and
- Be written in a manner understandable by the average plan participant.
Unlike the 2020 retirement plan safe harbor, covered documents may not be sent by email since many required disclosures contain sensitive information (e.g., protected health information) and email is generally less secure. The DOL seeks comment on whether group health plans should be allowed to use email as an alternate disclosure method, and on the security risks of electronic disclosure versus mail.
GROOM INSIGHT: Plans and service providers should be mindful of the differences between the 2020 retirement plan safe harbor and this proposed safe harbor. The DOL noted a heightened sensitivity to HIPAA-protected information in proposing not to allow email delivery as an option. As all group health plan sponsors know, mistakes with HIPAA-covered information can lead to reporting and other serious consequences for the plan as well as any participant or beneficiary whose information was mishandled.
Looking Ahead
If finalized, the proposed safe harbor could provide plan sponsors and administrators with a more streamlined electronic disclosure option while preserving participants’ ability to request paper copies for free. However, as noted above, the proposal is limited to group health plans, so employers will likely have to rely on different rules for different welfare benefit plans and, potentially, different disclosures. Employers and plan administrators may wish to evaluate whether their existing communication systems, participant data, and service provider contracts would support use of the new framework.
We will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates as the rulemaking process progresses.
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