COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Updates: CobraHelp will continue to deliver service excellence and compliance support to our Clients and their Employees during these challenging times. We are working to provide Employers and Agents with the latest legislative updates on a national level. We encourage Employers, Benefits Administration partners and Insurance Agents to learn more about the most recent COVID-19 DISASTER RELIEF updates (the American Rescue Plan Act) here. 
  • Home
  • About
    • Testimonials
  • Services
    • COBRA Administration
    • State Continuation Administration
    • Retiree (Direct) Billing
    • Leave Management (FMLA & LOA)
  • Resources
    • How COBRA Works
    • How Brokers Benefit with CobraHelp
    • Employer FAQ
    • Broker FAQ/Help
    • Blog
    • ARPA COBRA Premium Subsidy
    • COVID-19 & COBRA
    • HR Tools
  • Contact
800.398.2946​
LOGIN Request a Proposal​
  • Home
  • About
    • Testimonials
  • Services
    • COBRA Administration
    • State Continuation Administration
    • Retiree (Direct) Billing
    • Leave Management (FMLA & LOA)
  • Resources
    • How COBRA Works
    • How Brokers Benefit with CobraHelp
    • Employer FAQ
    • Broker FAQ/Help
    • Blog
    • ARPA COBRA Premium Subsidy
    • COVID-19 & COBRA
    • HR Tools
  • Contact

THE HR, BENEFITS, & COMPLIANCE BLOG

READ: How Brokers Can Cultivate Lasting Client Relationships

Subscribe to The COBRA Advisor newsletter for fresh HR insights, law updates, and more.

Subscribe

What you may not know about HSA's

10/2/2018

0 Comments

 
What to Know About Health Savings Accounts

Employer responsibilities regarding HSAs

Employers offering HSAs do have certain responsibilities for both active employees and post-employment plan participants. This could encompass eligible actives, retirees, leave of absence personnel and COBRA or state continuation participants. 
​Here's a simplified list of what you'll need to do to meet the employer obligations of Health Savings Accounts:
  • Make comparable contributions. If you're not utilizing the payroll deferral approach, then you'll need to make a pretax employer contribution and do so on a comparable basis. 
  • Offer a Section 125 plan (if offering payroll deferral). If your company offers the pretax payroll deferral, be sure you maintain a Section 125 plan to include collecting employee deferral elections and send the deferred funds to the HSA vendor (administrator). This allows for tax reporting requirements to be carried out.
  • Avoid mistakes by communicating eligibility rules and limits. Mistakes on the part of employee or employer can typically be avoided by communicating up front regarding the maximum contribution (limit) and rules regarding eligibility for the HSA plan. The employer needs to ensure that they do not exceed the Federal limits. 
  • Get in the details. There are some more in-depth rules regarding employer responsibility for HSAs which are too lengthy to list here, and those should not be overlooked so be sure to understand all of the rules for offering HSAs to your employees. Detailed information regarding HSA employer reporting requirements can be found by visiting the IRS HSA web page. 
  • Reporting Requirements for Tax Purposes. Employers need to properly complete form W-2 for employees as well as on the employer's tax forms. The HSA employer contributions are typically listed as a benefit under IRC Section 106.

Benefits of Offering HSA paired with HDHP

There are some advantages for employers offering High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) combined with HSA (Health Savings Account). An HSA program often offers flexibility as employers can be generous and fully fund the HSA and/or pay for the HDHP coverage. Employers may also choose to reduce their involvement in benefits by placing more responsibility on the employee. 

Consumer driven health care. The school of thought here (or at least that's how it once was) is that the employee (consumer) will be more careful and involved with his or her healthcare purchases if the employee is made to be responsible over the benefit (such as an HSA). The HSA combined with the health plan often increases the employees' desire to utilize the benefits (dollars) because it is their own money and they can keep unused money. 

Reduced premiums. High deductible health plans (keyword HIGH DEDUCTIBLE) are almost always less expensive than regular insurance plans. 

Less administrative responsibility. HSA's being savings accounts in the individual employees' control releases the employer from a great deal of administrative burden and benefits management. The employee in turn has more control over how and when the money is spent. A win, win. 

Employees like HSAs. While not all employees will understand the more complex details of their benefits, savvy employees who are informed of the benefits of having an HSA/HDHP will value this dynamic duo. You can learn more about helpful employee benefits information from our COBRA experts.
2018 HSA Limits: 
2018 HAS Limitations
For 2018, taxpayers with family coverage under an HDHP may treat $6,900 as the maximum deductible HSA contribution, up from $6,750 in 2017.

Get Social With Us!
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    2016 Cobra Reporting Deadlines
    ACA Benefits
    ACA Compliance
    Affordable Care Act
    Benefit Admin Solutions
    Cobra Administration
    Cobra Administration Companies
    Cobra Benefits
    Cobra Compliance
    Cobra Compliance 2016
    Cobra Compliance Audit
    Cobra Customer Service
    Cobra Eligibility
    Cobra Employer Requirements
    Cobra For Retirees
    Cobra Guidelines For Employers
    Cobra Non Compliance Penalties
    Cobra Retiree Coverage
    Cobra Rights
    Cobra Services
    Compliance Outsourcing
    Federal COBRA Regulations
    Health Savings Account
    Medicare Compliance Regulations
    Medicare Modernization Act
    Open Enrollment 2017

    HR Outsourcing Services Blog RSS Feed

    Archives

    September 2022
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    September 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014

CONTACT

COBRA Help
1620 N High St 
Denver, CO 80218

Toll Free: (800) 398-2946 
Local: (303) 322-2043
Email: ​cs@mycobrahelp.com ​
​© Copyright 1986-2022 CobraHelp.  All Rights Reserved
HTML Sitemap | XML Sitemap 
Terms & Conditions | Privacy

RESOURCES

​US Department of Labor
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
Quick Checklist
​For Insurance Agents
​
Career Opportunities
​Participant Login
Email: ​marketing@mycobrahelp.com

​RESOURCES

HR Compliance Tools
FAQ/HELP Brokers
FAQ/HELP Employers
Request Demo
Request Media Kit
​How COBRA Works
​COVID19 Support

​RESOURCES

Connect with us!