The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) was passed in 2021, and although it brought significant changes that will continue to impact employers offering group health insurance and their employees, many organizations still haven’t made changes to meet the mandates. What are the key requirements of CAA legislation that employers need to act on? Gag Clause One...
Keep your employees safe and financially secure when disaster strikes Under IRS Code Section 139, a Qualified Disaster Relief (QDR) account gives employers the ability to reimburse their employees for disaster-related expenses resulting from COVID-19 on a pre-tax basis. Employers may make payments to cover the increased per-employee costs such as: Personal, family, living or funeral expenses…
If you have a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA), it’s likely you’ve received an email requesting a receipt for a purchase you made – even for an expense that was perfectly eligible. You may be asking yourself, “Why was my card approved but now you want me to prove my…
You’ve seen this movie a thousand times. There’s only a handful of weeks left in the plan year, and unless your employer offers an FSA rollover, you’re rushing to use any money you still have in your Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or it will be forfeited. If you’re like the 44% of people surveyed who…
If you are in the business of selling, providing, or administering tax-advantaged health plans, you likely already understand the benefits of a flexible spending account (FSA). But for the millions of people who don’t, the benefits can seem rather unsubstantial. That’s why it is your job to articulate these benefits in a way that people…
Nationwide, many employers are choosing to offer HSAs and HSA-qualified high-deductible health plans. However, employers and employees often have several questions regarding adding an HSA into the mix. Read on to learn the top things you need to know before introducing a successful HSA offering. Q1. What’s the best way to communicate an HSA offering?…
At an orientation session for my first real job out of college, many (many) years ago, an HR manager explained to our new hire class the benefit of investing in the company 401(k) plan. For a 20-something living paycheck to paycheck, seeing any dollar amount, no matter how small, disappear into an investment vehicle instead…
Comparing three of the most common tax-advantaged benefits: Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Health Savings Account (HSA) Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) Choosing the account that best fits your needs is essential for getting the most out of your benefits during the plan year, but it can also impact the future. Let’s take a closer look. What…
Flexible spending accounts (FSA) and health savings accounts (HSA) are creatures of the federal tax code, which is notoriously complicated. To try to make things easier, we in the benefits industry sometimes use shorthand, but sometimes these only complicate things further, especially to those unfamiliar with benefits suchs as FSAs and HSAs. Especially confusing are…