diff --git a/namd/src/colvarproxy_namd.C b/namd/src/colvarproxy_namd.C
index f8a8afe8a..3a215501f 100644
--- a/namd/src/colvarproxy_namd.C
+++ b/namd/src/colvarproxy_namd.C
@@ -1466,12 +1466,9 @@ int colvarproxy_namd::compute_volmap(int flags,
 
 #if CMK_SMP && USE_CKLOOP // SMP only
 
-int colvarproxy_namd::check_smp_enabled()
+bool colvarproxy_namd::smp_enabled()
 {
-  if (b_smp_active) {
-    return COLVARS_OK;
-  }
-  return COLVARS_ERROR;
+  return b_smp_active;
 }