Qualified Plan to Provide Supplemental Medicare Coverage

[Guest RS Vatalaro]

I have a 401k client that has told me he has heard of an employer-contributory plan that provides supplemental medicare benefits. He would like to know the feasibility of doing this and the costs.

I assume what he is meaning is that the employer contributes tax deductible amounts to the plan, the earnings on those deposits grow tax deferred, and then eligible participants are able to use the plan funds to pay medical costs that are not covered by medicare.

I'm not familiar w/ such an arrangement (I don't practice in this area). I'd like to help him, but I don't know where to begin.

Can anyone tell me if 1) such a plan exists and 2) is there an article I could read or a reference material that anyone is familiar w/ that would allow me to educate myself about these plans? I'm not likely to attempt the work on my own, but the least I can do is provide w/ him the necessary information to move forward and then recommend another service provider if necessary.

This question is being posed by a two-person law firm (one owner, one add'l ee) if that makes any difference. Thanks for any help.