How to Take the Pain Out of Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) Benefits Administration
Benefits Administration Business Owners, Account Managers And Employees Will Love
Benefits administration isn’t for the faint of heart or the uneducated. Mess up your job and you mess up the resources available to every employee in your company. This is especially true with complicated programs, like Flexible Spend Accounts or FSAs. Regardless of the stage of development your business is in – or who is on vacation – ensure you always have an expert in place to ensure these employee plans are well protected.
The New Face of FSA Investing
New rules, new guidelines, new obligations and opportunities make FSA benefit plans trickier now than ever before. If your HR department isn’t well-versed in these products, it makes a lot of sense to bring in specialists to weather out the storm. While the new rules are being widely touted, there’s still a chance someone working in your office hasn’t stayed up-to-date. The answer isn’t automatically a replacement; in the meantime though, you’ll need someone knowledgeable in place while your staff completes proper training.
Given the odd nature of FSA plans, the need for new training and the affordable, available help you can get through PEOs, it makes sense to some businesses to stick with leasing employees for the plans administration. Those who go this route can rest assured the professionals they’re dealing with have experience, professional tools and accurate information with which to reinforce your HR department.
How Big Are These Changes Really?
Every time the IRS sneezes, some businesses buckle-down for major overhauls. Most the time it’s unnecessary, but the recent changes to FSA benefits are comprehensive. Caps were placed on yearly expenditures, carryovers were put in place and enrollees have an addition 2 ½ months to use up their balance. Of course, there are stipulations, including:
- Two distinct FSA accounts with different withdrawal policies
- An “either/or” approach to carryovers or extended use
- Varying contribution caps depending on account purpose, marital status and other factors
- And other frustrating discrepancies capable of tripping up an admin novice
Free Up Your Time for Making Money While an HR Expert Tackles These Tasks
Unless you provide benefits administration to other businesses, chances are you’re a bit out of your depth when it comes to government-backed investment programs. FSAs help people pay for health care or dependent care. The contribution limits for each are different, how benefits are dispersed is different as well. Without a qualified HR pro already handling these issues, you may decide to leave these plans out of your benefits package.
Don’t rob your employees of the savings they’d get each year. The average worker investing and using the maximum contribution limits will save nearly $1000 a year. Make it easy for your employees to take part and you can easily use flexible spending accounts to boost employee satisfaction and your employer brand. It’s worth the investment to get a little help from PEO benefit administration representatives.
Call 770-962-1700 to speak with a benefits administration specialist about the latest Flexible Spending Account opportunities.
