Our Benefits Blog

So what is a large employer?

Unfortunately the health care reform law doesn't have a consistent answer, it changes based on what part of the legislation we are talking about.

Here are some examples:

• W2 reporting it's 250 or more employees during the course of the year.
• Automatic Enrollment 200 employees is our number.
• SBC's, 60 Day Notice, $2,500 FSA Limit, Excessive Waiting Periods all groups.
• Pay or Play Penalties it's 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalents (FTE's)

Today Our Focus Is On Determining Employer Size Related To Pay Or Play Penalties.

To qualify as a large employer for "Pay or Play", an employer must employ on average at least 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalents (FTEs) on business days during the preceding calendar year. Full-time means 30 or more hours of service each week. Hours worked by employees with fewer than 30 hours per week must be counted—and then divided by 120 per month—to determine the number of FTEs. The number of FTEs is then added to the actual full-time employee count.

Employers will determine each year, based on their current number of employees, whether they will be considered a large employer for the next year. For example, if an employer has at least 50 full-time employees, including FTEs, for 2013, it will be considered a large employer for 2014.

All employers that employ at least 50 full-time employees, including FTEs, are subject to ACA’s pay or play rules, including for-profit, nonprofit and government employers. Seasonal employees and employees working abroad can be excluded under certain circumstances.  Also there are rules for common ownership that can take a company that might otherwise be a small employer and move them to large employer status.

The employee size calculation will be used later in the series when we discuss affordability and penalties.  In fact we have a calculator/spreadsheet that looks at all of the variables in the "Pay or Play" equation and will tell you what if any fines your company might have.  My main goal today is to make sure you understand the concept so we can dig deeper later.

Action Items:

• Calculate your total employees taking into account FTE's.
• Understand the Transition Rule for 2014 and determine what periods you will use.
• Review the common ownership rules if applicable.

Recommended Legislative Briefs:

• Large Employers Subject to "Pay or Play" Penalties
• "Pay or Play" Penalty - Identifying Full-time Employees
• "Pay or Play" Penalty - Common Ownership Aggregation Rules

In light of the Supreme Court’s June 28, 2012, decision to uphold the health care reform law, or Affordable Care Act (ACA), employers must continue to comply with ACA mandates that are currently in effect. Employers must also prepare to comply with ACA changes that will go into effect in the future. To prepare for upcoming changes, employers need to be aware of the ACA mandates that will go into effect in 2013.  

This Talon Benefits Legislative Brief provides a compliance checklist for employers for 2013. Please contact your Talon Benefits representative for assistance or if you have questions about changes that were required in previous years.

What is the Fiscal Cliff and how does it affect me?

On Jan. 1, 2013 when the terms of the Budget Control Act of 2011 take effect, the United States will face what has been referred to as the “fiscal cliff.” In general, this refers to widespread tax increases and spending cuts that will occur if the tax cuts put in place by former President George W. Bush expire as scheduled.

Congress is working to negotiate a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff but faces significant challenges in reach a compromise. If a deal cannot be reached, the economy could be significantly impacted:  the U.S. could face another recession, unemployment rates could skyrocket and many individuals and businesses could suffer the effects. However, reaching the fiscal cliff would cut the federal deficit and some sources say negative effects would be gradual and could be addressed after Jan. 1.  

This Talon Benefits Legislative Brief provides an overview of the fiscal cliff and how it could affect you and your organization.

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was upheld by the Supreme Court.  What does that mean...

BenefitMall one of the vendors I work with has created a great report that goes over what the individual mandates look like.

The some of the questions they answer are:

To whom does the Individual Mandate provision apply?

Who is exempted from the Individual Mandate?

What is "Minimum Essential Coverage"?

How much is the flat tax for individuals?

How will income impact the tax rate?

They give us plenty of informtation without overdoing it and there are links to dive deeper into the law.

To download the report click here: Individual Mandates Explained

Today was the second day of oral arguments for Healthcare Reform.  There will be a lot of opinions expressed about the arguments but I wanted to provide the actual testimony. 

For a transcript Tuesday 3-27 Oral Arguments PDF.

To play the audio hit play below.

Today was the first day of oral arguments for Healthcare Reform.  Today's arguments are in relation to Department of Health and Human Services. v. Florida.  There will be a lot of opinions expressed about the arguments but I wanted to provide the actual testimony. 

For a transcript Monday 3-26 Oral Arguments PDF.

To play the audio hit play below.

I know this post has nothing to do with insurance or benefits....

Welcome to Denver Peyton it's great to have you on the team!!!!

I grew up in Indianapolis and my family still lives there so the Colts are my second favorite team.  Now Peyton has finally move from a Colt to a Bronco.  Superbowl here we come!!!

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires employers to report the aggregate cost of employer-sponsored group health coverage on employees’ Forms W-2. The purpose of the reporting requirement is to inform employees about the cost of their health coverage. The reporting does not cause employees’ health coverage to become taxable to them.

Most employers are more than willing to let their employees know how much their benefits cost but they aren't sure what needs to be reported.  So attached is a "Health Care Reform Legislative Brief" that we provide to our customers so they know the answer to that question.

Click Here for an easy to read and understand chart of what need to be reported.

IRS Issues Additional Guidence on W-2 Reporting.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires employers to report the aggregate cost of employer-sponsored group health coverage on employees’ Forms W-2. The purpose of the reporting requirement is to inform employees about the cost of their health coverage. The reporting does not cause employees’ health coverage to become taxable to them.

This reporting requirement was initially set to take effect beginning with the 2011 tax year. However, in October 2010, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) delayed the compliance date by making health coverage cost reporting optional for the 2011 tax year. In April 2011, the IRS issued Notice 2011-28, which further delayed compliance with this requirement for small employers (those filing fewer than 250 Forms W-2) and provided interim technical guidance on the reporting requirement.

On Jan. 3, 2012, the IRS issued Notice 2012-9, which replaced Notice 2011-28, and updated the interim technical guidance on the Form W-2 reporting requirement.

This Talon Benefits Legislative Brief summarizes the IRS’s interim guidance on the Form W-2 reporting requirement.

Click here to Download the rest of the Brief.

Recently I recieved an email with a link to a news story on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer about a builder who built a home entirely with products made in America!  That's right everything was made here in the USA. 

In an age where we as a people are turning more and more to our Government to fix our problems I think this guy has it right.  Buy products made in the USA and put people to work.  The overall cost of the house was about 1% higher than it would have been if he had just bought products with the lowest price. 

Think about the ramifications on jobs...it's staggering!!!  If someone came to you and said they had had a way to put your mother, father, brother, sister or friend back to work and it would only mean spending an additional 1% over what you are currently spending would you do it?  My guess is you wouldn't hesitate.

So take a look at the video and then click on the link to the ABC News website. As you will see on ABC's website this is starting to take off...let's see if we can keep the momentum going.

Click on the link to see the vidoe about the builder who Buys American.

Here is the link to the Buy American page on Diane Sawyer's ABC World News.  It's really great to see people making purchases that create jobs right here in America.