Employers
Posted June 13th, 2018 in Employers
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is holding their annual conference and exposition in Chicago from June 17-20.
Posted June 6th, 2018 in Employers, Producers, Individuals
As a part of Flex’s ongoing 30th anniversary celebration, we’d like to introduce you to some of our staff whose hard work and dedication has helped us to reach this important milestone.
Meet Larry
Larry Cassman is the Sales Manager for Individual and Medicare Sales. He has worked in the insurance industry for 18 years and at Flex for 11. Prior to that, Larry was a Stock Options Floor Trader at the Chicago Board of Exchange.
This month’s Ask the Expert question comes from Jan in Alabama. Jan asks:
Is it mandatory that each employee meet with the insurance agent to elect or waive benefits offered through a Cafeteria Plan?
It is definitely not mandatory that each employee meet with the insurance agent in order to elect or waive coverage in the plan. There are, however, some best practices that employers can put in place when it comes to enrollment in the plan.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released Revenue Procedure 2018-34 which includes details about the affordability percentage related to the Employer Mandate for the upcoming year. In 2019, coverage will be considered affordable if the employee’s share of the premium for self-only coverage is no more than 9.86% of their household income. As most employers don’t know the household income of their employees, three alternative safe harbor methods may be used:
Posted May 24th, 2018 in Employers, Producers, Individuals
Why employees should max out their HSA contributions
Most people don’t think about an HSA as a savings account. Instead, they think of it as an account used to set aside money, tax-free, to pay for healthcare expenses. While this is true, the reality is an HSA is much more than a bank account. It’s a long-term savings vehicle.
Posted May 22nd, 2018 in Employers, Producers, Individuals
On May 10th, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published Revenue Procedure 2018-30 which includes inflation adjustments to qualified high deductible health plans (HDHPs) and Health Savings Account (HSA) contribution limits.
Identity theft, security breaches and traffic tickets are all things that employees worry about today. When issues like these arise, many people look to an attorney for advice and assistance. Unfortunately, finding an attorney can be stressful and time-consuming—not to mention expensive.
Two things happened in 1986. Run-D.M.C released their hit song, “It’s Tricky,” and COBRA became effective. Thirty-two years later, Run-D.M.C.’s music is still popular, and COBRA administration is still tricky—especially when it comes to Flexible Spending Account (FSAs). Add FSA carryover to the mix, and it gets even trickier.
Posted May 10th, 2018 in Employers
MetLife recently released their 16th Annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study, which sheds some light on changing employee attitudes and the need for a shift toward a more human work experience. The study provides interesting insights into what employees are looking for in a workplace and how their needs don’t always match up to their reality.
The Empowered Employee
Posted May 8th, 2018 in Employers, Producers, Individuals
There seems to be a lot of confusion about the status of the Individual Mandate, so we thought it would be appropriate to provide some clarification on its status.
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