In my last blog I introduced you to the newest addition to services we offer Clients designed to work seamlessly with the Universal Benefit Account®, Plan Advisor. The reality is that while other TPAs claim they offer consultative services to their clients the reality is because TASC offers Universal Benefit Account, our clients really do need access to experts they can rely on to help them maximize their benefits and compete in the ever-changing employment landscape. Plan Advisors are just that…expert’s that clients can trust.
No sooner then we told clients that Plan Advisors were available to them, we began hearing about how some TASC clients worked with a Plan Advisor to get the most out of Universal Benefit Account and TASC. I am excited to share a few of the stories from our Plan Advisors with you.
Client #1
This client is a hydraulic cylinder manufacturer with roughly 75 employees. They had already converted their health insurance coverage to a high deductible health plan with a Health Savings Account (HSA) to help control the costs of healthcare for their employees.
After speaking with a Plan Advisor discussing their current benefits, the plan advisor discussed the different accounts they could add to their HSA to cover some of their other expenses like vision and dental expenses and not use their HSA dollars. The account that best fit their needs was a Limited Purpose Flexible Spending Account (LPFSA). A LPFSA allows the client to offer a tax-advantaged account for dental and vision expenses while preserving the employee’s money in the HSA for current or future medical expenses.
The Client was happy they could offer their employees an enhanced benefit package that will serve their needs for years to come.
Client #2
Client 2 is a non-profit organization with 20 employees that works to connect students with education resources in their communities. One day they made a call to TASC to cancel their Healthcare FSA because they were told that they could not have it since they did not offer group health insurance. The client explained that they really didn’t want to give up offering their employees the Healthcare FSA because it reduced their employees’ taxable income when they set aside pretax dollars to pay for medical expenses.
Our Plan Advisor talked to the client and learned why they valued their Healthcare FSA so much. They told the client they could keep the Healthcare FSA by adding an Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA). In simplest terms, the Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA) allows businesses of all sizes to offer employees a monthly allowance of tax-free money, to use to buy health care services. The company would reimburse the employees for a portion of their individual insurance coverage and allow the employees to set aside pretax dollars for their out-of-pocket medical expenses with the Healthcare FSA.
Not only was the client happy that they could keep their Healthcare FSA, they knew adding the ICHRA would increase employee morale because they are reimbursing the employees for a portion of their individual health insurance. Plus, the client will continue to save on payroll taxes for each dollar of employee participation in the Healthcare FSA.
Client #3
This client isa private university with over 500 employees in a major metropolitan area where employees coming into the office had been limited and it was expensive for them to park when they did come in. The company was looking for a way to help their employees manage the cost of parking and potentially save the company money as well.
After chatting with the Plan Advisor, the advisor recommended adding a Parking Account that would allow the employee to contribute pre-tax dollars for parking-related expenses. The client decided they would not fund the account with their money but allow employees to set aside money though their payroll for parking expenses. With the parking account the client realized savings as the pre-tax contributions the employee set aside gave them both a tax savings. These are stories are real examples of how by combining Universal Benefit Account and our Plan Advisors we make a real difference with employers and their employees. I am proud of what we offer the market and how we help our customers improve their health, wealth and wellbeing!
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