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… 4980H(b) monthly penalty for a full-time employee receiving a subsidy. The employer contribution for employees who enroll in the employer’s plan may be more than the employer would be required to pay as a penalty under §4980H(b). IRS Private Letter Ruling Allows Employee Allocation of Funds Outside the Cafeteria Plan In private letter ruling (PLR) PLR 202434006, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) concluded that an employer may allow employees to allocate non-elective, discretionary employer contributions among a 401(k) plan, retiree health reimbursement arrangement (HRA), health savings account (HSA) or educational assistance program (EA Program)

… constituent requesting to retrieve unused funds because the pandemic prevented her from commuting, and changed her routine so she no longer had reimbursable commuting expenses. The letter reminds readers that qualified transportation fringe benefits are not qualified benefits under a cafeteria plan and are not part of a flexible spending arrangement, and further explains that unused salary reduction amounts under an employer’s qualified transportation plan can be carried over to subsequent periods and used for future qualified transportation fringe benefits offered under the plan, so long as the employee does not receive benefits that exceed the maximum excludable amount …

… Washington, D.C. invalidated portions of the final rule, removing the expanded AHP option. Recently, agencies released clarifying regulations, along with a Department of Labor announcement, that formally rescind the 2018 AHP rules and confirmed that in most cases, when unrelated entities offer shared benefits via a multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA), the coverage available for a participating member will be based on that particular member’s size, and each participating member will be seen as sponsoring their own separate group benefit plan(s). For the vast majority of employers, these rules will not have any impact, and employers participating …

Let our team help you navigate the ever-changing benefits compliance landscape each month. Check out this month’s latest alerts, additional updates, and resources hot off the press: Employee Benefits Compliance Alerts This month’s Compliance Matters newsletter provides a comprehensive review of the following topics. To obtain your copy, please use the form below to download. DOL Releases Final Rules for STLDI & Fixed Indemnity Plans IRS Revisits Tax Treatment for Certain “Wellness” Arrangements New IRS Guidance for Work-Life Programs CMS Final Rule Limits Medicare Advantage Compensation for Brokers & Agents Change Healthcare Cyber Attack: Update & Next Steps 2024 …

… 65, a news alert to remind taxpayers and health plan spending account administrators that personal expenses for “health and wellness” are not medical expenses as defined by the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). This means that these types of expenses are not reimbursable under health flexible spending accounts (FSAs), health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) or health savings accounts (HSAs). In the alert, IRS commissioner Danny Werfel states, “Legitimate medical expenses have an important place in the tax law that allows for reimbursements…But taxpayers should be careful to follow the rules amid some aggressive marketing that suggests personal expenditures on things like …