Current regulations require section 125 plans premium only and fsa plans to pass nondiscrimination testing ndt. We monitor all of our clients accounts to notify them when theyre at risk of failing, and help set up plans that keep them from failing in the first place all included. These plans are for employers who do not want to offer a full flexible spending account fsa plan, but still want to offer a tax benefit for their eligible employees. The article below is a great place to start when figuring out the basics of cafeteria plan section 125 nondiscrimination testing. Compliancebugs nondiscrimination testing and analysis services allows you to upload your plan data to test for compliance with irc section 125. I believe that datapath datapath and hr consulting group make such modules available in connection with their 125 plan administration software. Discrimination test when section 125 was designed, the government wanted to ensure that. Further, section 125 nondiscrimination rules apply to all cafeteria plans regardless of their status as fully insured, selffunded, church plan, or governmental plan. We provide a bestflex plan and ebc hra nondiscrimination testing worksheet that is available online. They might even be able to pass this test with a ratio that is less than 50%. Note that a plan does not cease to be qualified for all participants just because it is discriminatory. Employees only if they are provided and utilized on a nondiscriminatory basis when compared to other employees. Section 125 premium only plan nondiscrimination testing. These rules determine whether salary reductions under the plan are taxable.
Section 105h nondiscrimination testing applies in both cases. Nondiscrimination testing to ensure there is not discrimination in favor of highly compensated individuals, section 125 requires cafeteria plans to pass three tests an eligibility test, a contributions and benefits test, and a key employee concentration test. 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. The plans eligibility requirements must include a sufficient number of nonhighly compensated employees. Your core125 plan document package includes forms to assist you in. As noted above, some tests are related to eligibility and availability of benefits, and other tests are based on actual benefits elected utilization.
Nondiscrimination summary premium only plan eligibility test 1. By christine roberts, september 2, 2010 in health plans including aca, cobra, hipaa. While each includes numerous tips, examples, and procedural recommendations, the way each is used is different. Tasc has years of employee benefits experience supported by. Regardless of grandfathered status, if the selfinsured plan is offered under a cafeteria plan and allows employees to pay premiums on a pretax basis, then the plan is still subject to the section 125 nondiscrimination rules. By answering a few, easytounderstand questions, the program will perform the tests and provide documentation that your cafeteria plan passed with flying colors. Nondiscrimination tests for cafeteria plans a section 125 plan, or a cafeteria plan, allows employers to provide their employees with a choice between cash and certain qualified benefits without adverse tax consequences. If you sponsor a cafeteriasection 125 plan, there are three tests to complete.
A cafeteria plan also sometimes called a section 125 plan is subject to certain nondiscrimination rules under internal revenue code irc section 125. Fully insured health plans are exempt from section 125 nondiscrimination testing. A resource guide for health and welfare nondiscrimination testing. With acronyms like adp, acp, nhces, and hces, the technicality of 401 k plan nondiscrimination testing may seem overwhelming. The testing is not as extensive when only premiums are involved. For some employers, premium only plans pops are a great solution. Irs section 125 premium only plan for nonprofits no,you. 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. When to perform testing under the 2007 proposed regulations, code section 125 nondiscrimination tests are to be performed as of the last day of the plan year, taking into account all nonexcludable employees who were employed on any day during the plan year. Premium only plan pop safe harbor test for eligibility. The goal of this testing is to ensure that those key andor highly compensated employees identified by the employer, are not participating in the section 125 plan at a disproportionate rate. This page is intended to assist you in determining if you are eligible to implement these benefits based on your employers demographic. Nondiscrimination testing section 125 employer help center. 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.
Cafeteria plan section 125 nondiscrimination testing. The plans must not discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees hces andor. Although nonprofits dont have owners they may have highly compensated employees and are also required to perform nondiscrimination testing. Under the 2007 proposed regulations, code section 125 nondiscrimination tests are to be performed as of the last day of the plan year, taking into account all nonexcludable employees who were employed on any day during the plan year. There are nine different tests that can be applicable to benefits provided under a section 125 plan. If you have a flexible spending account fsa or a premium only plan pop, the irs requires you to submit to nondiscrimination testing once a year. Keep reading to find out what you need to know when performing this important testing. Section 125 nondiscrimination testing sentinel benefits. Section 125 plan nondiscrimination requirements testing. Do i need a section 125 premium only plan document. Section 125 of the irs code states that all tax advantaged employee benefits plans need to be nondiscriminatory. Section 125 nondiscrimination testing not to be confused with the delayed aca nondiscrimination rules applies even if the plan is insured.
Meanwhile, employers who fail to test annually risk the possibility of a host of fines and penalties. Nondiscrimination testing 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. Because the group of employees included in the testing can change during the year, the final results cannot be known until the end of the year. However, we still advise employers to run discrimination testing as soon as the enrollment is complete.
Nondiscrimination testing in order to retain taxfavored status, the irs code requires that section 125, 105h and 129 plans pass a series of nondiscrimination test each year. Your plan allows employees to pay for their health care and dependent care expenses on a pre. A pop plan is used when health insurance, dental insurance andor vision insurance are the only benefits that the employees will be paying for on a pretax basis. Section 105h nondiscrimination rules the horton group. Our nondiscrimination testing website includes the irs required tests, along with detailed instructions and definitions of many terms to assist you. How to identify key employees and hces to conduct non. Cafeteria plan nondiscrimination testing cafeteria plan testing. Under the 2007 proposed regulations, code section 125 nondiscrimination tests are to be performed as of the last day of the plan year, taking into account all non. For nondiscrimination testing purposes, all employees, including any. Selfinsured medical reimbursement plans that are offered under a cafeteria plan which is generally the case must also pass section 105h nondiscrimination testing, which determines whether reimbursements made under the plan are taxable. In order to qualify for taxfavored status, cafeteria, flexible spending and health reimbursement.
You will find this and other nondiscrimination testing information in your section 125 or health reimbursement arrangement plan document package. Weve also created a nondiscrimination testing workbook to help employers complete the worksheet and to answer some frequently asked questions. Are all employees eligible to participate in the plan. At human interest, we work on nondiscrimination testing for small businesses every day. Software for nondiscrimination testing cafeteria plans. Compliance testing section 125 pop and fsa nondiscrimination testing. Easytouse software the cafeteria plan manager is a windows based program allowing the user to perform tasks with the click of a mouse. Testing is performed instantaneously after data submission.
Discrimination testing can be a timeconsuming difficult task but not for the cafeteria plan manager. If the ratio is less than 50%, the employer doesnt necessarily fail the nondiscrimination testing. Is anyone aware of any type of software available to perform nondiscrimination testing in a cafeteria plan. Section 125 flexible benefit plan discrimination testing. Even though nondiscrimination testing is likely performed by a plans recordkeeper or thirdparty administrator tpa, plan sponsors need to understand the basics of the tests, including the types of contributions. A premium only plan pop is the simplest type of section 125 plan. Also, if the benefits are offered through a section 125 cafeteria plan, the cafeteria plan nondiscrimination rules will impact whether contributions made by highly compensated employees are taxable.
This article provides an overview of section 125 cafeteria plans and. Nondiscrimination testing is required as of the last day of the plan year. Section 125 sentinel benefits employee benefits administration. This saves both the employer and the employee money on income taxes and social security taxes. Section 105h testing under section 105h, if an employers self. 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. Regardless of grandfathered status, if the selfinsured plan is offered under a cafeteria plan and allows employees to pay premiums on a pretax basis, then the plan is still subject to the section 125. Nondiscrimination testing for flexible spending account plans. No outside administrator or software is needed to implement a section 125 plan. In order to qualify for taxfavored status, a section 125 plan must not discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees hces and key employees with respect to eligibility, contributions, and benefits. In order to qualify for taxfavored status, an internal revenue code irc section 125 premium only plan must be nondiscriminatory.
It appears that these programs must satisfy the nondiscrimination tests as a condition of. Code section 125, along with health reimbursement arrangements hras and. Eligibility testing data section 125 fair crosssection test a. New updated nondiscrimination testing software, that is now included with your section 125 premium only plan document, takes a complicated compliance requirement and turns it into a dataentry and oneclick process in less than 35 minutes. The plan must be available to enough nonhighly compensated employees.
The section 125 plan is required to be in writing and notice is required to be given to your employees in the form of an summary plan description. Please let us know if you have any questions or if we can help you connect with someone who specializes in nondiscrimination testing for cafeteria plans. Loss of coverage under a state childrens health insurance program chip or medicaid. Testing is required by section 105h of the internal. Thats why youre required to perform nondiscrimination testing for any plans. The guidance allows these plans to skip the concentration and benefits test and 25% concentration test if they pass the safe harbor eligibility test. 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. The section 105h nondiscrimination rules do not apply to fully insured group health plans. What types of section 125 nondiscrimination testing are available. A onepage summary of all plan sponsor responsibilities is included in your package. Section 125 flexible benefit plan discrimination testing data. Section 125 sets forth the nondiscrimination rules that apply to cafeteria plans. Generally, those rules prohibit a cafeteria plan from discriminating in favor of highly compensated individuals hcis as to plan eligibility and benefits.
Nondiscrimination testing employee benefits corporation. Employers that satisfy the 50% ratio are considered to have met the pop plan safe harbor test for eligibility. 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. Section 125 plans premium only and fsa plans to pass nondiscrimination. If a plan fails any of these nondiscrimination tests, the highly. Section 125 nondiscrimination testing what is section 125 nondiscrimination testing. When is nondiscrimination testing on a cafeteria plan. A pop is a section 125 cafeteria plan that allows employersponsored premium payments to be paid by the. It is the easiest type of section 125 plan to maintain and it involves little or no annual discrimination testing.
To receive this tax advantage, the cafeteria plan must generally pass the following three nondiscrimination tests. No one wants to spend hours learning a new software program so the program walks you through every step. You have access to reports showing your results which you can also print for your records. An overview of section 125 pop plan nondiscrimination testing august 28th, 2010 0 comments posted by admin both employers and employees stand to gain a lot if a section 125 pop plan is established and administered within an organization. However, corrections for section 125 plans cannot be. An overview of section 125 pop plan nondiscrimination testing. Chapter 10 coverage and nondiscrimination page 106 coverage and nondiscrimination the ratio percentage test introduction the ratio percentage test is satisfied if the plans ratio percentage is greater than or equal to 70%. Our testing is very comprehensive in order to ensure compliance with federal regulations. Be aware that section 125 nondiscrimination rules are separate from and unrelated to section 105h nondiscrimination rules.
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