Cafeteria plan testing 25% key employee concentration test ensures of all the pretax dollars being spent through the cafeteria plan, no more than 25% is being spent by key employees eligibility test ensures enough nonhighly compensated employees are eligible to participate in the cafeteria plan fsa. Updated march 12, 2020 for administrators and employees compliance testing also known as nondiscrimination testing ensures that a companys medical or dependent care fsa treat all employees equally, and do not favor key or highlycompensated employees hces. Note that a plan does not cease to be qualified for all participants just because it is discriminatory. Who is the employer for section 105h testing purposes. Nondiscrimination testing is required for qualified retirement plans to ensure that benefits under the plan do not discriminate in favor of officers, owners, shareholders, employees in authority of other employees or any other employee classified as a highly compensated employees hces. Zenefits fsas are automatically compliant with section 105 nondiscrimination regulations. If a discrimination problem is discovered prior to the end of the plan year or during the plan year, adjustments can be made in the prohibited groups hces and keys elections to allow the plan to pass the testing. The tests generally relate to not discriminating as to eligibility, contributions.
The following information is needed to conduct your flexible benefit nondiscrimination analysis. Enough nonhighly compensated employees must actually participate in the plan. All members of a controlled group are treated as a single employer for eligibility testing purposes. The 5% owners test also applies only to dependent care fsa. Cdh account, hsa, and benefits debit card administration. Keep reading to find out what you need to know when performing this important testing.
Introduction to nondiscrimination testing cafeteria plans are popular because they allow employees to receive health insurance coverage from their employers without having to pay taxes on it. Summary of current law rules pertaining to health savings accounts hsas. Igoe administrative services igoe was founded in 1977 as a full service employee benefit administrative company. An overview of section 125 pop plan nondiscrimination testing. That leaves time to adjust anything that might be starting to head in the wrong direction. Testing includes nontaxable benefits that are qualified benefits under a cafeteria plan, such as medical, dental and vision.
Igoe offers creative and innovative solutions to todays fast paced and complex benefit plan administrative issues. How do i identify key and highly compensated employees. We provide a bestflex plan and ebc hra nondiscrimination testing worksheet that is available online. Set up andor administer a flexible employee benefit plan in your organization now. Failing the dependent care 55% average benefit test abd. Employee contributions to the account are deducted pretax, the use it or lose it rule applies, and participants may access their.
Summary plan description for health fsa annual election process and documentation irs non. Unfortunately, it is very common for employers to fail the 55% average benefits test component of the dependent care fsa ndt. Chapter 10 coverage and nondiscrimination page 104 coverage and nondiscrimination focus of chapter focus of this chapter irc 410b provides the minimum coverage requirements for a qualified plan and irc 401a4 provides that contributions or benefits may not discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees within the meaning of. The reason a plan fails testing is that nonhighlycompensated employees are not participating. If too many nonhces are excluded from participation in the plan, then it will be. Eligibility testing data section 125 fair crosssection test. Thats why youre required to perform nondiscrimination testing for any plans you offer that are governed by code section 125, along with health reimbursement arrangements hras and selfinsured medical plans simps. The guidance allows these plans to skip the concentration and benefits test and 25% concentration test if they pass the safe harbor eligibility test. How to identify key employees and hces to conduct non. To retain the tasc audit guarantee for your flexible benefits plan, an annual non. Compliance testing also known as nondiscrimination testing ensures that a companys medical or dependent care fsa treat all employees equally, and do not favor key or highlycompensated employees hces. Employees only if they are provided and utilized on a nondiscriminatory basis when compared to other employees. Please note that the hci definition is not exactly the same as the hce definition used in qualified plans. Section 105h nondiscrimination rules the horton group.
What nondiscrimination tests apply to cafeteria plans. Publication 15b 2020, employers tax guide to fringe. You have access to reports showing your results which you can also print for your records. The plan design is by far the best way to get to a point where more employers are passing their nondiscrimination testing, says geno cufone. To automatically pass the test, your plan must be offered to all of your employees except union employees and nonresident aliens.
Annual nondiscrimination testing is included in all your testing software at no additional cost. Nondiscrimination testing choice strategies offers nondiscrimination testing to clients as a complimentary and recommended service, however, voluntary to the client. I understand that cafeteria plans, health fsas, and dcaps are subject to nondiscrimination tests. The irs requires that any organization that offers a cafeteria plan or in other words, a pretax benefit plan must perform various tests on the plan annually at the end of each plan year to determine if the plan is nondiscriminatory. These services may, however, be eligible for a qualified. Summary of current law rules pertaining to health savings. Our testing is very comprehensive in order to ensure compliance with federal regulations. Compliance our compliance page contains useful educational information on some of the irs regulations surrounding the premium only plan pop, flexible spending account fsa, and transportation plans. The 2007 proposed cafeteria plan regulations address when discrimination testing must be performed. Certain employee benefit arrangements maintained by private employers are subject to nondiscrimination testing to ensure that the benefits offered under the arrangement do not disproportionately favor highly compensated and key employees.
A word of warning, how to apply the nondiscrimination requirements is not always clear. The premium only plan is a cafeteria plan subject to annual nondiscrimination testing. In order to qualify for taxfavored status, a benefit plan must not discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees hces and key employees with respect to eligibility, contributions, or benefits. Our software automatically does the nondiscrimination testing so you avoid. One of the major perks associated with flexible spending accounts fsa, dependent care accounts dca, and health reimbursement accounts hra is the substantial tax savings employers and their employees experience. Flexible spending account fsa or dependent care fsa benefits, there are additional tests to. Thus, in testing selfinsured health benefits offered by one employer, employees from all related employers are counted, which increases the possibility of failing the test.
The section 105h nondiscrimination rules do not apply to fully insured group health plans. Our company will soon be adopting a cafeteria plan so that our employees can pay their share of the premiums for health insurance coverage with pretax salary reductions. How can benefit strategies assist with nondiscrimination testing. A limited purpose medical fsa plan allows hsa participants to be reimbursed for outofpocket dental, vision and preventive care expenses. In addition, summit allows you to adjust participants compensation limits, and to print and share test results including recommended plan changes. As with the adoption assistance fsa, you could simply have. Nondiscrimination testing for flexible spending account plans. Nondiscrimination testing employee benefits corporation. According to a survey from judy diamond associates, nearly 60,000 401k plans failed internal revenue service irs nondiscrimination testing, with more than one in 10 issuing corrective distributions to highly compensated employees hces in 2012. This page is intended to assist you in determining if you are eligible to implement these benefits based on your employers demographic. Nondiscrimination testing of selfinsured health benefits.
Reviewing requirements during the year allows the plan to make adjustments to deferrals before the end of the year if corrections are needed to pass nondiscrimination testing. These rules prohibit discrimination in favor of highly compensated employees with regard to eligibility and participation in the plan. When is nondiscrimination testing on a cafeteria plan. Weve also created a nondiscrimination testing workbook to help employers complete the worksheet and to answer some frequently asked questions. However, under the affordable care act aca, nondiscrimination rules that are similar to the section 105h rules are expected to apply to nongrandfathered fully insured plans in the future. Health care flexible spending account plans and dependent day care flexible spending account plans must not discriminate in favor of highly compensated individuals. When you hear the words nondiscrimination tests your first thoughts might be your 401k plan, but there are nondiscrimination rules that apply to health and welfare plans. Our nondiscrimination testing website includes the irs required tests, along with detailed instructions and definitions of many terms to assist you. To meet the qualifications for taxfavored status, an fsa plan cannot discriminate in favor of key or highly compensated employees. Section 125 nondiscrimination testing sentinel benefits. For sponsors of section 125 premium only plans andor health reimbursement arrangements, to conduct nondiscrimination testing is not required until the end of the plan year but it is usually a good idea for employers to conduct a sample test midyear.
What types of section 125 nondiscrimination testing are available. Services that arent eligible for treatment as noadditionalcost services are nonexcess capacity services, such as the facilitation by a stock brokerage firm of the purchase of stock by employees. Fsa discrimination testing terrillconnect compliance. The plan will also include a health fsa and a dcap. Nondiscrimination rules are enforced by the irs to prevent highlycompensated andor key employees from using reimbursement plans as taxshelters. The testing is not as extensive when only premiums are involved. Discrimination assessment instructions cafeteria plan regulations impose taxes and penalties for non. Datapath datapath and hr consulting group make such modules available in connection with their 125 plan administration software.
Each year, employers are obliged to ensure that their flexible spending accounts fsas, health reimbursement arrangements hras, group term life insurance, and selfinsured medical plans do not discriminate in favor of highly compensated individuals hci. Discrimination testing of an fsa plan is required on an annual basis to assure the plan has been implemented to the benefit of all employees and not just a select few. Fsas are subject to nondiscrimination testing to determine whether the plan is compliant with irs guidelines and that all your employees receive the same level of benefit from their fsas. Nondiscrimination testing in summit is simple, whether the data being tested is already in the system or imported specifically for this purpose. Nondiscrimination testing hra, fsa and hsa administration. Testing is performed instantaneously after data submission. What happens when highly compensated employees have already contributed more than the reduced contributions limit from the dependent care fsa nondiscrimination testing. Intending cafeteria plans to benefit the rankandfile employee, congress created rules to ensure that. The basic premise of any nondiscrimination testing is to demonstrate that the plan does not discriminate in favor of highly compensated individuals hci. If you have nonkeys and they have benefits, then keys as a group may have that amount.
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