(a) In general.
(1) Under section 104(a)(6) of the Act, the administrator of an employee benefit plan subject to the provisions of part 1 of title I of the Act is required to furnish to the Secretary, upon request, any documents relating to the employee benefit plan. For purposes of section 104(a)(6) of the Act, the administrator of an employee benefit plan shall furnish to the Secretary, upon service of a written request, a copy of:
(i) The latest updated summary plan description (including any summaries of material modifications to the plan or changes in the information required to be included in the summary plan description); and
(ii) Any other document described in section 104(b)(4) of the Act with respect to which a participant or beneficiary has requested, in writing, a copy from the plan administrator and which the administrator has failed or refused to furnish to the participant or beneficiary.
(2) Multiple requests for document(s). Multiple requests under this section for the same or similar document or documents shall be considered separate requests for purposes of § 2560.502c-6(a).
(b) For purposes of this section, a participant or beneficiary will include any individual who is:
(1) A participant or beneficiary within the meaning of ERISA sections 3(7) and 3(8), respectively;
(2) An alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order (see ERISA section 206(d)(3)(K)) or prospective alternate payee (spouses, former spouses, children or other dependents);
(3) A qualified beneficiary under COBRA (see ERISA section 607(3)) or prospective qualified beneficiary (spouse or dependent child);
(4) An alternate recipient under a qualified medical child support order (see ERISA section 609(a)(2)(C)) or a prospective alternate recipient; or
(5) A representative of any of the foregoing.
(c) Service of request. Requests under this section shall be served in accordance with § 2560.502c-6(i).
(d) Furnishing documents. A document shall be deemed to be furnished to the Secretary on the date the document is received by the Department of Labor at the address specified in the request; or, if a document is delivered by certified mail, the date on which the document is mailed to the Department of Labor at the address specified in the request.
[67 FR 784, Jan. 7, 2002]