You may need to provide 401(k) plan support in a language other than English. The requirement depends on the size of your plan and the languages your participants speak. Here is when it applies and what support to offer.
Two factors determine whether you need to provide foreign language support. The first is the size of your plan. The second is how many of your participants are literate only in the same non-English language.
Participants include current employees eligible to join the plan and former employees who still have an account balance.
If your plan has 100 or more participants on the first day of the plan year, you need to provide foreign language assistance when a certain number of participants are literate only in the same non-English language. That number is the lower of:
10% of all participants
500 participants
If your plan has fewer than 100 participants on the first day of the plan year, you need to provide foreign language assistance when 25% or more of your participants are literate only in the same non-English language.
If the foreign language support requirement applies to your plan, you need to give participants a reasonable opportunity to learn about their rights and obligations under the plan.
To meet this requirement, share contact information for a representative who speaks the non-English language fluently. The representative needs to give accurate information about the plan.
You generally do not need to provide written information in any foreign language. This includes the Summary Plan Description (SPD) and required participant notices.
There is one exception. If the foreign language support requirement applies to your plan, you need to add a statement to your SPD. The statement tells participants that foreign language assistance is available. You also need to translate the statement into the required foreign language.
The Department of Labor provides sample text that meets the requirements. You can customize the text to include important information, like an email address or a phone number for an interpretation service.
This booklet contains a summary, in English, of your plan rights and benefits under [Plan Name]. If you have difficulty understanding any part of this booklet, contact [Contact Person], [Title of Contact Person], at [Address or Location of Contact Person]. Office hours are from _____ to _____ Monday through Friday. You may also call the plan administrator's office at [Telephone Number] for assistance.
We have team members who provide live support in Spanish. We also offer a translated 401(k) welcome guide that explains how to get started with a Gusto 401(k). Participants can find the welcome guide in the Documents section of their dashboard.