A newly proposed safe harbor could cut paper costs for 2.8 million group health plans. The proposed rules are similar to the retirement plan safe harbor, and the comment window closes soon.
On July 23, 2026, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) proposed a new, additional safe harbor allowing group health plan administrators to deliver required ERISA disclosures electronically. Summary Plan Descriptions, annual notices, and other participant communications could all move to a website or portal instead of hand delivery or mail.
The numbers behind the proposal are hard to ignore. EBSA estimates group health plans currently print and mail up to a combined 11 billion sheets of paper per year, and projects the proposed safe harbor could save plans billions of dollars over a 10-year period. For an employer running a group health plan, that’s real money sitting in the mailroom.
The proposal is modeled on the notice-and-access framework that EBSA adopted for retirement plans in 2020. But “modeled on” does not mean identical to, and there are some big differences.
What Does the Safe Harbor Actually Do?
Since 2002, group health plans have been stuck with an outdated standard that requires participants to be “wired at work” or to affirmatively consent before they can receive plan-related notices and disclosures electronically. That standard leaves out anyone without work-computer access who hasn’t separately opted in, which describes a growing share of today’s workforce.
The proposed rule would fix this by creating a notice-and-access model for group health plans. Administrators could post covered disclosures to a website, notify participants that the documents are available, and let participants read them online — all without collecting affirmative consent in advance.
Two participant protections carry over from the current framework and would stay in place under the proposed rules: the right to request paper copies, and the right to opt out of electronic delivery entirely and receive everything on paper going forward.
Where the Safe Harbor Diverges from the 2020 Pension Model
This is the part worth slowing down for, because some early coverage of the proposed rules glossed over it.
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No Email Delivery Option
The 2020 pension safe harbor allows email delivery in addition to website posting, but the proposed rules for group health plans are notice-and-access only and do not include an email delivery option. The reasoning is that certain notices could contain sensitive or private health information. The covered documents live on a website and are not delivered by email.
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A Broader Definition of Covered Documents
The set of notices and disclosures eligible for the notice-and-access model is wider than what the pension rule covers.
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Free Paper Copies With No Limit
The pension safe harbor lets plans provide one free paper copy and charge for additional ones. The health plan proposal bars charging for paper copies entirely and requires free additional copies on request.
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Special Handling for Adult Dependent Children
The proposal includes specific rules for covered adult dependents (age 18 or over) who provide an email address or phone number.
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Notice of Internet Availability (NOIA) Requirements
As under the pension rule, administrators would need to furnish a NOIA telling participants what has been posted and how to access it on a defined timing schedule.
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The Wrap SPD Problem
For plan sponsors who administer more than one benefit, a big gap stands out. The new safe harbor is tied to the definition of group health plan under ERISA § 733(a)(1). A welfare benefit plan that doesn’t provide medical care, such as life or disability insurance, would not be covered. Those types of plans would remain governed by the 2002 rules: “wired at work” or advance affirmative consent.
That split matters most for employers using a wrap Summary Plan Description to cover multiple benefits in one document. Under the proposed rules as written, the plans that qualify as group health plans providing medical care could move to the new safe harbor model, while the others remain locked in 2002. Same document, two different delivery rules.
This is also a question the EBSA is actively asking for feedback on. The preamble states the agency is revisiting its earlier decision to exclude welfare benefit plans more broadly and directly requests comment on whether the safe harbor should extend to other employee welfare benefit plans.
What This Means for Plan Administrators Now
Nothing changes yet. This is a proposed rule, not a final one and plan administrators should keep relying on the existing 2002 safe harbor in the meantime. It’s also worth remembering this is a safe harbor — not a mandate. Even after any final rule takes effect, employers who prefer to keep delivering documents by hand or by mail can continue to do so. Electronic delivery is an option, not a requirement.
If the rule is finalized as proposed, the new safe harbor would become available on the first day of the first calendar year following publication of the final rule.
The Comment Window Is Open
Comments on the proposed rules are due September 21, 2026. The EBSA built a long list of open questions directly into the preamble, and several go straight to how the proposed rules would work in practice:
- Whether the safe harbor should extend to other welfare benefit plans, closing the wrap SPD gap
- Whether group health plans should get the same email delivery option currently afforded to pension plans
- Whether covered documents should include those furnished only upon request, rather than exempting them
- Whether the initial notification can be furnished electronically, rather than on paper, for individuals already receiving disclosures under the 2002 safe harbor
- Whether the applicability date should move earlier or later than the proposed timeline
- What percentage of plan participants currently receive disclosures electronically, and how that figure could change under the new default
A comment on any of these isn’t a shout into the void. It answers a question the EBSA is actively asking,which gives commenters a real shot at shaping the final rule.
Comments are public, And it may be a worth reading through some of them to see different sides of the debate before submitting your own.
Frequently Asked Questions About ERISA Electronic Disclosure Proposed Rule
As a Principal Benefits Expert, I’ve answered some of the most common questions plan administrators may have about EBSA’s proposed safe harbor. These answers reflect the proposal as written and may evolve if EBSA makes changes before issuing a final rule.
