Human Capital Management Blog

While we were not expecting it, we certainly are not complaining. On November 18, 2016, the IRS issued Notice 2016-70, granting Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) an additional month to furnish individual employee 1095-C and 1095-B Returns. The IRS cited the reason for the extension being that the Treasury Department had determined a significant number of ALEs and insurance providers would need the additional time to analyze 2016 reporting data and complete their reports on time. Here are a couple of key points to keep in mind regarding Notice 2016-70:

Good news! The IRS received and applied some of the feedback they received on simplifying the 1095-C.

In the employer market, deductibles have increased 67% since 2010. As more employers steer plan participants toward High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs), Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) can often sweeten the transition. HSAs are a benefit available only to members participating in a HDHP. Both employers and employees can make pre-tax contributions into the account, and store up pre-tax cash to pay down deductibles when they incur claims. To boot, employees can take their HSA with them once they leave the employer. Employee's contribute pre-tax, the accounts grow tax-free, and withdrawals for qualifying expenses are made tax-free. It has some great benefits. That being said, employers already offering a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) to employees ought to keep a few potential pitfalls in mind as they transition.

All properly integrated Human Resource Management System have five main parts that make up a greater and more powerful system, just like how it takes five robot lions to form Voltron Defender of the Universe. These pieces are Payroll, Time and Labor Management, Affordable Care Act Reporting, FMLA Administration, and Benefit Enrollment.

It’d be nice to have another 2 month extension this year for ACA filing. It'd also be nice If I could see the Chicago Bears win the Superbowl again before I die. I’m not holding my breath. To comply with in-house resources, or outsource ACA compliance—that is the question! As we approach our second year of mandatory IRS filing (wow that was fast) Applicable Large Employers subject to the Employer Shared-Responsibility Mandate of the Affordable Care Act are faced yet again with the decision on how they will complete their annual filing requirements. For those conducting the cost-benefit analysis of in-house filing, here are ten costs to consider when looking to comply with in-house resources. Brace yourself, this might sting a little.

Who doesn’t want to reduce stress on their employees? Apparently, open enrollments aren't helping. A recent study conducted by Harris Pole of over 2100 employees revealed that roughly 50% of employees find the open enrollment process to be “Always Stressful” and over 40% described selecting health benefits as “Very Confusing.” Makes sense—you’ve got HMOs, PPOs, EPOs, HSAs, FSA, HRAs, HDHPs…and suddenly I’m thinking about Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam. When employees are looking at selecting a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) for the first time, here are a few things worth sharing.

Assuming the market conditions are right, the internal requirements for business growth are unchanging—scalability of resources, profitability for capital reinvestment, and the right team makeup and vision to propel you to the next level. That being said, while the recipe for growth hasn’t changed, the ingredients are becoming scarcer. In today’s workplace, mid-market employers encounter ever-increasing regulatory burdens, high talent-acquisition costs, and bolting healthcare prices. It’s difficult to recruit top-talent and be scalable when health coverage is more expensive to offer and regulatory burdens tie up HR and executive staff with transactional work. In other words, rising healthcare costs and regulatory requirements are eroding effective staff utilization, killing scalability and recruitment, and depleting profitability for capital reinvestment. When growth happens, at best, it’s at a slow pace. What’s the solution?

Choosing between a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and a Health Savings Account (HSA) can be confusing and lead to frustration. Here is a quick list of differences to help you in your mission to pick which plan is best.