Benefits managers are busy people. Sometimes it’s tempting to deal with more pressing tasks rather than answering routine employee requests for benefits information.

But when the request is for info about a company-sponsored plan affected by ERISA - including your retirement and health plans - it pays to answer as soon as possible. By law, you’re on the clock to issue a reply. Courts can hold your firm liable if management drags its feet responding to questions about eligibility, account balance discrepancies or instructions for filing claim-related complaints.

Phoned-in or written requests

A landmark case (Minadeo v. ICI Paints) spells out how not to handle such requests. When downsizing forced an employee’s termination after 15 years with a company, the firm sent her a letter saying that she’d receive a separate mailing with her pension benefit eligibility info.

The mailing never came. Over the next 11 months, the ex-employee repeatedly called the company to request the info.

When the firm still didn’t provide the information, she had her attorney file a written request, threatening legal action if the firm didn’t comply. Finally, 15 months after she was terminated, the employee received the info - and was told she didn’t qualify for the benefits. She sued.

The company’s defense: The only “formal” info request came from the woman’s lawyer. The other requests came via telephone and were “unofficial.” The court rejected this argument, saying the company was legally bound to respond to the phoned-in requests.

What ERISA requires

Under ERISA, employers have 30 days to respond to information requests by - or on behalf of - a participant. Two ways to comply:

• provide the info, in writing, directly to the plan participant, or

• inform his or her attorney (or other non-beneficiary filing the request) that the info will be released to him or her upon receipt of a consent form signed by the participant.

So what do you do if there’s a third party administrator (TPA) for the plan, but the eligibility info request comes to you instead?

As plan sponsor, it’s the company’s responsibility to direct the request to the TPA, and follow up yourself if you learn there’s been no response. The one thing you should never do is simply assume someone else will answer the request.