Proposed Rules Would Update Long-Standing Electronic Disclosure Safe Harbors for Health and Welfare Plans

The Department of Labor recently issued proposed regulations that would implement sweeping revisions to long-standing electronic disclosure safe harbors for health and welfare plans.

The proposed rules mirror guidance issued in 2020 that relaxed electronic disclosure rules for retirement plans. If finalized, the safe harbor would offer plans a simplified and more streamlined way to avoid the hassle and expense of paper distributions.

From Wired at Work…

The existing electronic disclosure safe harbor dates back to 2002. It offers two preapproved paths for electronic disclosure: one for employees who regularly use a computer as part of their job, and another for employees who do not regularly use a computer at work but who opt into receiving documents electronically.

These so-called “wired at work” rules seem outdated by today’s standards, but they illustrate the reality of internet availability when the 2002 safe harbors were drafted. For example, in 2000, the U.S. Census reported that only 40% of households used the internet at home; this percentage dropped to 20% in low-income households.¹

Given these limitations, many employers have chosen to skip the protections of the safe harbors and instead craft electronic disclosure procedures based on a strict reading of ERISA’s default rule that plans must use “measures reasonably calculated to ensure actual receipt of the material by plan participants.” While these ad hoc methods provide a more practical solution, they carry some risk because they do not exactly align with the safe harbor’s requirements.

…to Wired Everywhere

The proposed regulations, issued on July 22, 2026, offer plans the opportunity to disclose documents through a “website,” regardless of the participant’s access to electronic documents at their job. The regulations explain that the term “website” includes an “internet website, or other internet or electronic-based information repository, such as a mobile application, to which covered individuals have been provided reasonable access.” The regulations include certain content and security standards for website-based disclosure, including the requirement to present the disclosures in a manner that can be either read online or printed clearly.

Importantly, the guidance would apply to all documents and disclosures that health plans are required to furnish pursuant to Title I of ERISA.

As a prerequisite for using website-based disclosures, the safe harbor requires plans to send a notice at least annually in hard copy format that includes certain specific content, including a reminder that the participant is entitled to receive a paper copy of any documents upon request. There are also specific rules for communicating with employees after they lose access to their company email addresses following a termination of employment.

Next Steps

These regulations are in proposed format, which means that it may be several months before the Department issues final regulations. In the interim, this may be a good time for plan sponsors to review their current disclosure strategies and work with their third-party vendors to explore the possibility of switching to the type of website disclosures described in the proposed safe harbors.

For employers that already use a website or intranet for document disclosures, these proposals provide some clues as to what the Department may require going forward to meet the new safe harbor for electronic disclosure. However, no concrete steps should be taken until final guidance is received.

1: https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2001/demo/p23-207.pdf

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