GBurns

Lance You should know, by now, that sometimes it is better to let people think that you might be a fool, than to disclose that you really are. He/She probably learned from your example.

You have neither answered the questions nor posted anything relevant. Par for the course, as expected.

Don't forget that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. Hey, didn't Al Gore invent the internet??

Lance Is there any chance that you can explain or prove these claims? " We used to do a lot of VEBA stuff for large corps like general motors etc ........" " We were involved with inventing consumer directed health, ron snyder, aka veba geru, one of your members and one of my attackers,...." "..he is still my friend."

I have never seen any court cases and doubt that there are any. Such audits and penalties etc would probablly be settled out of court. A good source to ask would be ant of the large document providers. It would be good sales material. Try MHM.

I do not think that this should have been titled as any sort of Deferred Compensation agreement. It is a simple residual commission agreement and is popular in many industries. It is a standard part of the commission agreement used by the insurance industry.

It is just a name and could mean many different things. Shouldn't your client be able to give you the details of what is being proposed? Then we would be in a position to effectively comment.

I think that this issue relates to PLR 200704005 and the related investigations done by the FSLG Division of the IRS. It was reported in their Newsletter July 2006 and followed up in 2008. They seemed to have entered into a closing agreement with the provider resolving the tax issues of more than 500 governmental entities. I recall but cannot find, the Notiice that was put out. The plan design that I recall as being in question involved an HRA related to a VEBA. They did not say who this provider was but there are not many who fit the size parameter. You might get more or better info if you post your question onn other Forums such as VEBAs or Health Plans.

What do you mean by "leased"? I find the term frequently misunderstood or misused. Employees under usual PEO arrangement are not the same as employees from places like Spherion and Kelly.

Are you sure that there is a change of employer? It seems more like just a change of desk location.

An answer worth anything would need much more information. Type of assets and titling. Marital status. Will. Beneficiaries info ssuch as relationship. Intent. Etc

Bypass trusts are used in estate planning to reduce the impact of taxes. Estate planning is dependent on the particular facts and circumstances. Wouldn't questions tend to both specific and tax advice? In any case, Why not just start the topic or post a specific question?

The burden of proving, supporting or explaining a position taken lies with that person. Let the custodian explain etc first, then you can accept or refute.

I have noticed no new material in years, but I noticed that the old marketers and the old "insurance" providers have changed. My take is that the earlier promoters came to the conclusion that the product was questionable and not worth the risk in light of the tax shelter issues/penalties which did not exist when the concept was originally introduced. When there was little liability and enforcement, the commissions were attractive. If the writers of the Opinion Letters have questions and enough concern to repeat the caveat, I would stay away. Then there is the issue raised by lvena.

Why do you integrate with Social Security allocation? How common or popular is this feature?

Initially, I could not quite understand your original post. Medical coverage is not the same as medical plan. For the Treas Regs visit: www.changeofstatus.com and look under "Resources".

SOLOHR I suggest that you do a Google search using "medical FSA HIPAA". You will get many explanations, some with cites, of when medical FSAs are subject to HIPAA etc. This should clarify the issue for you. Pay attention to the under 50 participants requirement, the definition and how and when they are counted. Note that it is eligible participants not employees.

You should be able to explain and show that they have more than one item called a "plan" by having them provide and then look at the plan documents. They should have at least 2. One for the employee benefit plan which states the benefits the employer is providing and how. The other for the section 125 cafeteria plan allowiing for pre taxing of employee premiums. The fact that there are 2 different plan documents should explain that there are 2 different plans. The fact that they can change insurance coverage provider without changing plan document should show that the health insurance coverage is not the plan but just an ittem under the plan. Then you can refer to the actual language in section 125 which explains the underlying coverage choices. I do not know of any provider who prepares, much less file, 5500s.

In general employer provided health benefits whether on site or outside are tax free benefits under 105. Here is a basic overview: http://www.mbausa.org/assets/pdf/employee-...nicsrequire.pdf

What do you mean by "premium reimbursement account" ? How is such an account funded ?

Your COBRA premium should be a reflection of the costs of providing the health coverage and therefore should include all costs including claims, administrative fees etc etc.

In my days of old, happy hour was each hour, rather than a specific timed hour. Even if there had been a specfied hour, we would have demanded "do overs" and recounts for as many reasons as there were participants and unpaid tabs. The customer is usually right.

How is the employer going to know whih employee is high cost or risk? Since being a high cost employee is relative, How is an employee going to be able to make a decision that requires making comparisons, without knowing the costs incurred by others?

I have never seen, and I do not recall even hearing of, a plan being able to do this. Age banding would not work simply because there is not a sufficient relationship between age and high cost diseases in the employer provided market. The article does not say how an employer would get this personally identifiable private health information and then be able to use it against the individual without running into discrimination issues and ADA etc.

A surcharge, in this context and as described by both mli and MARYMM, is simply a higher employee premium share.