Initial Communications
An essential part to your auditing process will be to provide an initial notification to your plan participants about the inspection you are conducting. Notifying your plan participants of the Dependent Audit will result in a higher response rate and reduce the anxiety of plan participants complying. We have found that the response rate is proportional to the number (we recommend a minimum of three) of internal communications that are sent to plan participants.
HMS suggests notifying your population five to seven days prior to the initial mailing, typically the amnesty mailing. Executives, department managers, and human resource personnel should already be familiar with the Dependent Audit and can often help ease employee concerns with the process. Also, the use of the word “program” instead of “audit” in the initial notification can help quell anxiety about the process from a plan participant standpoint. Some communications methods might include:
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Additional communication, and consideration, efforts may be necessary in reaching retirees and COBRA recipients. As these individuals are not part of your active plan participant population, additional and varied communications will likely be necessary.
