December 31, 2014 Deadline Looms for Many Section 125 Plan Amendments

Nancy K. Campbell • September 24, 2014

On September 18, 2014, the IRS released IRS Notice 2014-55 , which now allows employees to make certain mid-year health coverage changes when they reduce below 30 hours of service or enroll in a qualified health plan through a Marketplace.  Employers who want to permit either of these two new changes (which are explained in detail in the Notice, so I will not repeat them here) must amend their Section 125 plans by the end of the plan year in which the changes are allowed. However, a special rule applies to plans that permit changes during the 2014 plan year.   Such plans must be amended by the last day of the 2015 plan year (i.e., December 31, 2015 for calendar year plans).

In addition to these two new changes, there are numerous other changes, many of which need to be reflected in Section 125 plan documents on or before December 31, 2014 .

Check out my newsletter, When Did You Last Amend Your Section 125 Cafeteria or Flexible Benefit Plan? Now May Be A Good Time to Dust It Off and Update It , for a list of recent Section 125 plan amendments that employers may need to make to their Section 125 plans before the end of the year.

Employee burnout: what it is and how to prevent it

By Mardy Gould • May 24, 2024
Employee burnout has become an epidemic in today’s modern workplace. So much so that the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognizes it as an “occupational phenomenon.”1 While many used to consider mounting workplace stress an individual employee problem, these days, it’s become an employer’s responsibility to prevent burnout before it hurts productivity and business performance—not to mention your employees’ physical and mental health. Luckily, you can prevent burnout from affecting your workforce in several ways. This article will explore the causes and signs of employee burnout and the steps you can take to create a positive work environment where employees feel safe from toxic stress levels.

Form 720 and PCORI fee FAQs

By Mardy Gould • May 23, 2024
If you're a small business owner, you may have heard of the acronym PCORI and the fees that come with it. But what is PCORI, and how does it apply to your organization? Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), sponsors of self-insured health plans must pay a fee to fund the federal Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). PCORI is an independent organization the ACA created to conduct research to help healthcare consumers make better decisions for their specific needs and outcomes. It also performs research related to clinical effectiveness. Employers offering a self-insured medical reimbursement health plan, such as a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA), must pay this fee by July 31 each year via Form 7201. This fee was initially set to expire in 2019, but Congress extended it through September 30, 20292, due to the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 20203.
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