GBurns

The original post spoke of requiring mandatory contributions as a condition of employment. subsequent posts talk about condition of employment contributions. these dont seem to be the same thing. Is this what you meant..Hoard1??

I cant see why you are taking on the job of the insurer's claims dept. I have seen cases where people who persist with what you seem to be doing have been sued successfully. Be careful.

It is not a stupid question, in fact, it should be THE question. Why would an employer want to put himself/herself in this position?

kclark, please dont make the mistake of confusing what a sales rep from BC/BS says with what BC/BS does. The rep is usually giving his opinion and is not binding on the company. HIPAA or a State version is applicable to individual policies, period. BC/BS will provide a written document on request stating their coverage. Many states have required that providers list with them their HIPAA guaranteed issue individual policies. Call your Dept of Ins and ask for a copy of GI HIPAA providers.

I thought you said that an employee could cash out under your Cafeteria plan. I have never seen or heard that this would cause EVERYONE to have taxable income as a result. A cash out option is an integral part of a cafeteria plan and the cash is taxable income only to the employee who takes the cash.

Rendering advice and identifying specific investments requires licensing etc. and carries liability for correctness, appropriateness and suitability. Education without specific products and procedures does not.

IRC401 the risk of DOL/IRS audit being miniscule should always be an issue. If, as you point out, any litigation is ever started the DOL and IRS will most certainly become involved and massive penalties should ensue.I suggest that no one should ignore the DOL/IRS.

Back to the original question. Is it the Employer who is giving the advice or is the employer only providing a THIRD party who gives the advice?? BIG difference. An employer who gives advice is in great legal and regulatory jeopardy. It would be foolish to put oneself in this position when such advice is readily and freely available from reputable sources.

Warning. What your TPA says or puts in a SPD is not law nor even necessarily correct. There are many things that TPAs say and do that will not stand up.

Please..definitely dont do this internally. The legal liability is more than you could ever imagine. If you look back into the archives of this Board you will find a previous discussion on this same subject.

Kip is so right. Save yourself from a horrible experience, make a deal.

If the provider is licensed, then the SS# is available from the licensing authority. IF not licensed, then as a parent I would be worrying about the quality of care. If the quality of care is good, then your employee has to decide if it is good enough to cause the giving up of the tax reduction.There is no way I have seen to force a private individual to give up their SS#, without compromising the child. Tell your employee to look on the back of the returned check to see if the provided cashed the payment check using a Driver License, if so, the Div of Driver License or Dept of Motor Vehicle may provide the info.

The rules for deductibility do say for purpose of work or finding work. However, since sick days are absences from the job site and not absences from work, these days are eligible. Vacation days are technically not eligible, since these are expected to be "family time" and therefore the children would not be in care, however, there usually are no claim submission for this time, since there is usually no receipt from the care provider. Any exceptions to the above should be small enough to fall under the "de minimis" rules etc. That is why you probably dont see the question being raised by most TPAs.

Good points, Becky. IRC401...If 403(B) audits are rare, I guess the IRS isn't doing much and all this action, audit guidelines, examiner training and extensive Voluntary Compliance and Correction activity is all "hype". There is a lot of IRS audit activity out there, and a lot of it is apparently caused by this under reading of the 5500 instructions and deficient filing.

I am even more confused. What did the employees sign up for? What is their reduction amounts purchasing? The employees could not have signed up and the employer could not have been contributing money to have it sit in the General Assets of the employer. An investment vehicle must have been selected, which still exists and has nothing to do with the the plan sponsor (employer). See CV Calhoun 12/30/99.While there might be reasons to transfer money, the demise (termination, dissolution, merger etc) of the employer/sponsos is not a reason .

Why would there be a distribution problem if the employer terminates the plan? The assets are still in a qualified vehicle and there is no reason to move them that is caused by the termination. the only effect of termination is that there can be no more elective salary reduction contributions. I do not understand the CV Calhoun answer.

What do you mean "is considered the "administrator""? Who adjudicates your claims? If not the TPA, then why have a TPA?Who are you to serve the subpoena on?? How do you do this without filing a lawsuit first? What gives you any authority to look at anyone's records?? You have a lot of unanswered questions about your method of operation.

You make no mention of the insurance carrier cancelling coverage. If the provider has not cancelled how can the administrator cancel ?

After 14 years, I finally have found an org that tries to do its own MEA calc. But, you are not alone benmark has a similar post this same day. Please see the answer I gave him.

After 14 years you are the first org that I have heard of that does calcs for its own employees. Why take this risk??? I have alwaya seen this responsibility passed on to the product providers. They have the software, the expertise AND the E & O. Also the IRS will most likely abate interest and charge no penalties as per Treas Regs 1.6662 etc if the error is attributable to "expert" or professional advice. Most of the orgs that I see or hear of includes this MEA calc as a condition of holding the payroll slot. The responsibility for proper calc is also usually part of the Hold Harmless.

Lisa. Can you cite this IRS informational letter please.I am also wondering how they would get chiropractor to write a prescription. Also FL, CA and HCFA among others allow alternative medicine doctors to write prescriptions under their Health Insurance laws, curious that the IRS would not, yet would accepts from those who are restricted by Federal Law.

Why is disclosure needed on an individual SP annuity ?

The Health Plans message board would probably be a better site for this question. But, I dont think I understand the question. Why a mark up. Any increase in salary is going to be taxable income. Why not implement a 105 or a 125 plan for medical and health, and a 401(k) or PS for retirement?

I am curious. Where can I find this article?

First you should look into your definition of a section 125 plan, you seem to have some confusion as to what is "a regular " plan. A plan in which the employer contributes an amount of money which the employees use to pay for benefits is a regular plan to many people. You are probably thinking of a premium conversion plan, which is also regular to many people.