cafeteria plan

Posted December 4th, 2018 in Employers, Producers

Many employers offer a cash payment to employees who waive health insurance coverage. These cash payments are always taxable to employees who waive health insurance coverage, but did you know employees who elect the health insurance coverage may be subject to paying taxes on the cash payment that they didn’t receive?

Wait! What?

Posted May 31st, 2018 in Employers, Producers
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.
 
Posted October 3rd, 2016 in Producers, Employers
Group health plans typically make coverage available to current or former employees and their spouses and children. However, some employers extend coverage to certain groups of non-employees. The most common example would be letting a business owner participate in the plan. Most types of business owners aren’t classified as employees for tax purposes, but rather they are said to be self-employed. 
 
Posted February 19th, 2016 in Producers, Employers

Premium Only Plans (POP) can generally be defined as a type of Cafeteria Plan where the only pre-tax benefit available to employees are for those of insurance premiums. Now, whenever non-taxable benefits are involved, the IRS will usually have some strict rules in place that must be followed. For Cafeteria Plans, these are referred to as non-discrimination rules, and these rules are in place to ensure the plan doesn’t discriminate in favor of highly compensated and/or key employees.

Posted June 19th, 2015 in Producers, Employers, Individuals

What happens to Health and Dependent Care FSAs when a merger or acquisition occurs?  

 
Of course the Cafeteria Plan regulations do not specify how this should be treated, but the IRS has provided some guidance in the form of Revenue Ruling 2002-32. Fortunately, for employees, the IRS has taken a position that employees should not be punished as a result of a merger or acquisition, and the guidance suggests two possible options that would be acceptable in their eyes. Both options maintain the salary reduction of the employee and preserve the annual election.
Posted January 17th, 2014 in Employers

After nearly thirty years of lobbying the “Use-It-or-Lose-It” rule has been changed. Now the option is left to you, the plan sponsor, whether or not it is the right thing to implement for your company. Let’s take a look at some of the scenarios and helpful tips for the healthcare flexible spending account (FSA) rollover option in terms of an adoption lifecycle (a model that shows the trend of acceptance to a new concept over time).

Posted April 2nd, 2013 in Employers

As tax season comes to a close, you might be wondering how to save more next year. Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) are a great tool that allows you and your employees to save on healthcare and dependent care expenses. Celebrating 25 years as a trusted benefits administrator, we have done the math to help you visualize your potential savings with our FlexFSA® product:

Posted November 6th, 2012 in Individuals, Employers, Producers

In their own words, politicians on either side of the fence agree that the middle-class is hurting.

“Middle-income families are being crushed.” – Mitt Romney

“The Middle Class has been buried.” – Joe Biden

A hot topic during the 2012 presidential election has been health care reform and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). American workers are paying more out of their pocket for health care expenses than ever before. No matter which party line you side on – everyone seems to agree that the financial burden carried by the middle class is disproportionate in one way or another.

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