On June 8, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2020-44 announcing the PCORI fee for plan years ending on or after October 1, 2019 and before October 1, 2020 will be $2.54 per covered life and is due July 31, 2020. The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 included a 10 year extension of the PCORI fees originally … Read More
Foster & Foster
IRS Issues COVID-19 Guidance for Cafeteria Plans
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the IRS has issued Notice 2020-29 to announce the opportunity for employers to allow mid-year changes to employer-sponsored health coverage and dependent care assistance program elections (listed below). The notice also allows employers the option to extend health and dependent care FSA grace periods that would have ended earlier in 2020, in order to make … Read More
2021 HSA Limits and ACA Out-Of-Pocket Maximums
The IRS has issued Revenue Procedure 2020-32 to announce the 2021 contribution limits and high deductible health plan (HDHP) design requirements. The new Health Savings Account (HSA) contribution limits will become effective January 1, 2021, and the new HDHP design requirements will go into effect on the first day of plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2021. … Read More
Year-end Congressional Spending Bill Repeals ACA Taxes and Extends PCORI Fee
As part of a year-end spending bill that was signed in law last Friday, Congress passed a repeal of several ACA taxes, an extension of the PCORI fee, and a number of revisions to retirement savings plans. Foster & Foster outlined changes to employer-sponsored and individual retirement accounts here. Below, we highlight several changes relevant to health plans: Permanent repeal … Read More
Overview of Selected HSA Banking Alternatives
We’re frequently asked which is “the best” HSA bank for our clients’ employees, but it’s not an easy answer. Lately, employers are moving away from using traditional banks and toward online or investment banks to take advantage of longer term investment options and online fund access. Increasingly, employers are even pairing their HSA with their retirement savings vendor to help … Read More
Changes to the ACA Affordability Standard for 2020
Recently, the IRS issued Revenue Procedure Bulletin 2019-29, which decreases the affordability percentage under the Employer Mandate. The “affordability standard” is a component of ACA that is frequently overlooked. Employers should be reassessing their employee contribution structure annually to ensure compliance and avoid costly penalties (see below for updated penalty amounts). In order to determine affordability, the IRS sets an … Read More
2020 HSA Limits and ACA Out-Of-Pocket Maximums
The IRS has issued Revenue Procedure 2019-25 to announce the 2020 contribution limits and high deductible health plan (HDHP) design requirements. The new HSA contribution limits will become effective January 1, 2020 and the new HDHP design requirements will go into effect on the first day of plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2020. Last month, the US … Read More