Q&A Employer Compliance Guide: Key Answers on ERISA Language Requirements, Continuation Coverage, and HSA Contributions
- March 24, 2026
- Posted by: Gus Altuzarra
- Category: Compliance Q&A
3.4.26 | EMPLOYEE HSA CONTRIBUTIONS WITH SPOUSE ON MEDICARE
Q. An employee is under age 65 and has employee plus spouse coverage but the spouse is over age 65 and enrolled in Medicare. Is the employee limited to the individual maximum for HSA contributions?
A. The family HSA limit is available to this employee regardless of whether the spouse has other coverage, like Medicare. As long as the employee has employee + 1 or family HDHP coverage, the employee can contribute the family limit to their HSA.
3.12.26 | STATE CONTINUATION COVERAGE
Q. An employer group in Connecticut has a level-funded plan and fewer than 20 employees. Is the state continuation coverage applicable to this group?
A. Level-funded plans are treated the same as self-funded plans for insurance purposes. This means that Connecticut’s state continuation rules do NOT apply to a level-funded plan.
3.19.26 | PROVIDING PLAN DOCUMENTS IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Q. In an employer group, 8% of the employees are literate only in Chinese and 10% only in French Creole. Do the annual legal notices and Summary Plan Descriptions need to be translated into those languages?
A. ERISA does not require that the Summary Plan Description and other ERISA documents be provided in a language other than English, but ERISA does require that an employer provide assistance in a non-English language in certain circumstances. Due to this “assistance” requirement, most employers will provide ERISA governed documents in another language in certain circumstances.
If the employer has 100 or more participants in the plan, assistance in a foreign language should be provided if the lesser of 500 or 10% of the participants are literate only in the same non-English language. If the employer has fewer than 100 participants, assistance is only required if 25% or more of the participants are literate only in the same non-English language.
Even if these rules do not apply, many employers interpret ERISA’s fiduciary duties as requiring documents be translated when a significant population of the plan is only literate in a non-English language. “Significant” is generally viewed as being approximately 10% of the plan’s participants.
Answers to the Question of the Week are provided by Kutak Rock LLP. Kutak Rock provides general compliance guidance through the UBA Compliance Help Desk, which does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Please consult your legal advisor for specific legal advice.
