Principal Associate, Plan Management and Governance Compliance

Principal Associate, Plan Management and Governance Compliance

Capital One is looking for a

Principal Associate

to manage the compliance and governance of our US Health and Welfare plans. In this role, you’ll ensure our benefits follow all applicable laws and plan documents while keeping a "forward-looking" eye on new legislation.

You’ll work across teams to keep our plans well-managed, protecting the company while ensuring a seamless, high-quality experience for our associates.

What You’ll Do:

• Regulatory and Compliance Filings

  • Government Filings: Preparation and timely submission of all state and federal filings related to H&W plans, including but not limited to: Form 5500, Summary Annual Reports (SAR), mental health parity, etc.
  • Nondiscrimination Testing: Oversee annual Section 125 and 105(h) testing to ensure plans do not favor highly compensated employees. Manage process for reviewing results, obtaining approval for limit changes and execute communications as needed based on test results.
  • Obtain and review SOC-1 documentation from vendors and ensure compliance with internal processes
  • Maintain a compliance calendar and ensure that all filings are tracked and stored in the appropriate Capital One locations.

• Governance & Oversight

  • Serve as primary liaison between Benefits and HR Risk teams on any ongoing and newly scoped projects.
  • Audit Management: Partner with HR Risk as the primary H&W point of contact for internal audits. Assist with external audits, as needed.
  • Vendor Compliance: Audit Third-Party Administrators (TPAs) and carriers to ensure they are adhering to plan terms, SLAs and Performance Guarantees (PGs).
  • Plan Documentation and notices: Partner with vendors and/or internal partners to structure and write all required plan documentation and notices, including, Summary of Material Modifications (SMMs), SBCs, benefit booklets, maintaining Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs), etc.
  • Participate as a voting member in the Eligibility Claims Committee to review claims for benefits.
  • Serve as the designated lead for HIPAA compliance, managing Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) and leading breach response protocols per the Capital One process; ensure appropriate actions are reported, gaps are closed and communicated as appropriate.
  • Serve as H&W benefits SME for Gen AI reviews. Understand Capital One review process, take vendors through the review process, coordinate evaluations as needed. Offer an independent voice and challenge as needed.
  • Partner with control owners and internal compliance partners on control testing. Ensure documentation is kept up to date and provide documentation upon request.

• Legislative Maintenance & Monitoring

• Serve as the subject matter expert for all laws, rules and regulations that impact US H&W and voluntary benefits including, but not limited to: ERISA, CAA, HIPAA, MHPAEA, state individual mandate reporting and San Francisco HCSO

• Regulatory Tracking: Partner with Legal and HR Risk to monitor emerging legislation and assess impacts to US H&W plans. Propose recommendations and highlight gaps that need to be addressed.

• Partner with HR technology, Benefits Operations, internal HR call center and/or vendors to identify and implement changes needed to systems, training material, and call center tools to maintain compliance.

• Issue & Incident Management

  • Own Capital One issue and incident risk management processes for US H&W and voluntary benefits related to policy, plan management and compliance. Offer an independent voice and challenge as needed. Bring stakeholders along on the journey while maintaining a positive, collaborative attitude.
  • Enter incidents into Salesforce within 24 hours and act as liaison through incident resolution, guiding team members through the process.
  • Own issues (eg HIPAA privacy violations) through resolution. Suggest process/experience/product improvements based on qualitative and quantitative feedback.
  • Manage complex associate benefit issues by partnering with internal teams and vendors to find solutions. You’ll resolve the root cause of problems with a focus on empathy, ensuring a smoother and more positive experience for our associates.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or military experience
• 3+ years of experience working with H&W employee benefit plan governance

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA or Master’s Degree
• Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) or Certified Benefits Professional (CBP) designation
• 4 years of experience in H&W employee benefits for organizations with 10,000+ employees
• 5 years of experience with benefits governance practices
• Solid business acumen, strategic thinker, and problem solver
• Strong analytical skills and knowledge of statistical analysis

At this time, Capital One will not sponsor a new applicant for employment authorization for this position.

The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount Capital One is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.

McLean, VA: $120,800 - $137,900 for Prin Assoc, Benefits

Richmond, VA: $109,900 - $125,400 for Prin Assoc, Benefits

Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.

This role is also eligible to earn performance based incentive compensation, which may include cash bonus(es) and/or long term incentives (LTI). Incentives could be discretionary or non discretionary depending on the plan.

Capital One offers a comprehensive, competitive, and inclusive set of health, financial and other benefits that support your total well-being. Learn more at the

Capital One Careers website

. Eligibility varies based on full or part-time status, exempt or non-exempt status, and management level.

This role is expected to accept applications for a minimum of 5 business days.

No agencies please. Capital One is an equal opportunity employer (EOE, including disability/vet) committed to non-discrimination in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Capital One promotes a drug-free workplace. Capital One will consider for employment qualified applicants with a criminal history in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable laws regarding criminal background inquiries, including, to the extent applicable, Article 23-A of the New York Correction Law; San Francisco, California Police Code Article 49, Sections 4901-4920; New York City’s Fair Chance Act; Philadelphia’s Fair Criminal Records Screening Act; and other applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding criminal background inquiries.

If you have visited our website in search of information on employment opportunities or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation, please contact Capital One Recruiting at 1-800-304-9102 or via email at RecruitingAccommodation@capitalone.com. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.

For technical support or questions about Capital One's recruiting process, please send an email to Careers@capitalone.com

Capital One does not provide, endorse nor guarantee and is not liable for third-party products, services, educational tools or other information available through this site.

Capital One Financial is made up of several different entities. Please note that any position posted in Canada is for Capital One Canada, any position posted in the United Kingdom is for Capital One Europe and any position posted in the Philippines is for Capital One Philippines Service Corp. (COPSSC).