NueSynergy Insights: March 2018

NueSynergy Insights: March 2018

by | Mar 13, 2018

IRS announces changes to 2018 HSA family contribution limits

The IRS has published Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB) 2018-10 that contains Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2018-19.

Effective for calendar year 2018, the family contribution limit for HSAs has been lowered to $6,850 from the previously set amount of $6,900.

To cover the high deductibles, health care spending accounts, such as Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), have become increasingly popular during this time. They help individuals and families pay for medical expenses and provide for more control over those expenses, which encourages them to become more informed consumers of health care services and products.

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Stop spending and start investing your HSA funds

An often-overlooked benefit of the HSA is its function as an investment tool. HSAs provide more benefits than the traditional Investment Retirement Account (IRA) and can be invested into bank accounts, stocks, bonds, money market funds and mutual funds. Rather than using the HSA solely to pay for medical expenses, participants have the flexibility to choose when and when not to use their HSA dollars. By paying for qualified medical expenses with after-tax dollars, the HSA balance grows tax-free. Many HSA participants elect to pay smaller expenses with after-tax dollars, allowing their balances to grow for the future.

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House lawmakers introduce bill to expand HSA services

On Thursday, March 2, House lawmakers introduced legislation designed to expand the types of services covered under health savings accounts without being subject to a deductible.

House Resolution 5138 seeks to give employers and plans the ability to cover chronic disease prevention before a patient has met his or her deductible.

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Your cybersecurity to-do list

According to Juniper Research, cybercrime will cost businesses $2 trillion by 2019, a threefold increase from 2015. That’s a staggering number. So what are you doing to protect your business from a cyber attack? Do you have the ability to mount a cyber defense? Or are you just hoping for the best?

Please take a moment to read this article from Eric Cole, CEO of Secure Anchor, to see what you can do to protect your company from the inevitable.

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Train your brain for sales success

Have so much to do you don’t know where to start? We’ve all been there. Please take a moment to read this discussion with professor and critically acclaimed author, Daniel Goleman, on how ‘mindfulness training’ can heighten your attention and focus in the workplace, allowing you to focus on what’s most important – such as increasing sales and closing more business.

Have any interesting news you’d like to share?

Send it our way! We won’t be your personal billboard, but we’ll consider posting any article or editorial related to the health care or financial services industries.

NueSynergy Insights: March 2018

IRS announces changes to 2018 HSA family contribution limits

by | Mar 6, 2018

The IRS has published Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB) 2018-10 that contains Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2018-19.

Effective for calendar year 2018, the family contribution limit for HSAs has been lowered to $6,850 from the previously set amount of $6,900.

This new limit comes as a result of the tax reform law that changed the annual inflation adjustment factor from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to the ‘chained CPI’. This adjustment has been anticipated to slow the rate of changes in all programs under the tax code, including HSAs.

Questions? Contact us today: 855.890.7239 | customerservice@nuesynergy.com

NueSynergy Insights: March 2018

NueSynergy Insights: February 2018

by | Feb 7, 2018

Introducing NueSynergy’s Consolidated Billing Service

As you may be aware, we recently integrated with Employee Navigator, which allowed us to launch our new Consolidated Billing Service.

This solution consolidates all carrier premiums into one easy-to-review statement and allows employers to pay all carriers with one statement. No longer will employers need to worry about monitoring and reconciling carrier bills.

By partnering with NueSynergy to manage their Consolidated Billing services, employers can allow their staff to concentrate their resources and energy on more business-critical objectives. This is a win-win for everyone involved and we are very excited to expand this service in 2018.

Contact us to learn more

Maximize tax savings with an HSA-compatible HRA

It is no secret that escalating health care costs have drastically altered the employee benefits landscape over the years. Balancing these costs is now a constant struggle for employers across the country. Many have responded by adopting high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and shifting how they allocate benefit dollars.

To cover the high deductibles, health care spending accounts, such as Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), have become increasingly popular during this time. They help individuals and families pay for medical expenses and provide for more control over those expenses, which encourages them to become more informed consumers of health care services and products.

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64% of Americans are making this dangerous financial mistake

How much do you spend on health care per month, or per year? How much do you have saved for a medical emergency? It’s important to know the answers to these questions to ensure you and/or your family are financially secure now and in the future.

The 2017 Alegeus Healthcare Consumerism index shows that most Americans are not adequately saving for unforeseen health care expenses. In fact, only 36% of Americans are saving for health care on a monthly basis.

What can you do? For starters, give this article a read to learn more. Originally published on the Motley Fool, author Christy Bieber succinctly breaks down how you can save for health care and avoid the financial mistake 64% of Americans are making today.

Continue Reading on The Motley Fool

NueSynergy Insights: March 2018

Maximize tax savings with an HSA-compatible HRA

by | Feb 5, 2018

It is no secret that escalating health care costs have drastically altered the employee benefits landscape over the years. Balancing these costs is now a constant struggle for employers across the country. Many have responded by adopting high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and shifting how they allocate benefit dollars.

To cover the high deductibles, health care spending accounts, such as Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), have become increasingly popular during this time. They help individuals and families pay for medical expenses and provide for more control over those expenses, which encourages them to become more informed consumers of health care services and products.

An HSA is an individually owned, tax-favored account that allows employees to pay for qualified health care expenses. In order to set up or contribute to an HSA, employees must be covered by an HDHP. Although not required to contribute to employee HSAs, many employers have reduced health care spending even after paying some, or most, of their employees’ deductibles by contributing to their HSAs. Further, unspent HSA funds rollover each year and can be used to supplement retirement income.

An HRA is similar to an HSA; however, there are several significant differences. First, the employer owns and funds the HRA. Each plan year, the employer will determine how much money to contribute to the HRA, set the threshold for when funds are available, as well as what expenses will be considered eligible for reimbursement. Funds may be eligible for rollover, but cannot be invested.

HRAs must be integrated with a group health plan to stay in compliance with health care reform and cannot be offered as a stand-alone plan. HRAs are often paired with an HDHP, although this is not a requirement.

Giving employees the option to choose between a standard HRA or HSA is great for reducing health care costs for the employer, but it’s unlikely one plan will meet all employee needs. One simple – but underutilized – method for expanding the employee benefits offering is to adjust a standard HRA to make it HSA qualified.

There are four HRA plans that are compatible with an HSA:

Limited Purpose
Post-deductible
Retirement
Suspended
There are several advantages to using both an HRA and HSA, such as lower health insurance premiums, greater control over employer contributions, flexibility on plan designs, as well as additional tax savings.

Moving into 2018, all trends indicate consumer-directed plans will continue to grow in popularity. As more employers offer HDHPs alongside HRAs and HSAs, it is important to stay ahead of the competition by taking the necessary steps to maximize all available tax advantages.

Further, competitive employee benefits packages can be a prime tool for recruiting and retaining top talent.

While combining an HRA and HSA is only one method for reducing health care costs and improving the employee benefits offering, it is nevertheless an important step for achieving sound financial wellness and recruiting/retaining top talent in 2018.

https://www.benefitnews.com/advisers/opinion/maximize-tax-savings-with-an-hsa-compatible-hra?feed=00000151-59db-d9eb-add9-5bdf6fd40000

NueSynergy Insights: March 2018

Top 10 Reasons to Open a NueSynergy HSA

by | Dec 5, 2017

Did you know the NueSynergy Health Savings Account (HSA) delivers an immediate income tax deduction?

Contributing funds lowers taxable income while helping build a nest egg for future health care expenses. Contributions to the HSA may be made by the employee, employer or anyone; however, the preferred tax treatment will only be realized by the employee.

Whether you’re an employee or employer, there are several benefits to opening a NueSynergy HSA.

Below are the top 10 reasons to open a NueSynergy HSA:

Triple Tax-Advantaged:
Contributions are tax-free, potential interest gains accumulate tax-free and distributions are tax-free when used to pay for qualified medical expenses.

Flexible:
In case of emergency, funds can be used for non-medical expenses (money withdrawn may incur a 20% penalty and income tax charge). At age 65, any remaining HSA funds can be withdrawn for non-medical reasons without a penalty.

Portable:
The employee owns all HSA account funds. The accumulated balance in the account rolls over from year to year. Accounts move with employees even if they change employment or retire.

Convenient:
The NueSynergy prepaid MasterCard provides employees with an easy and convenient way to access HSA contributions. Paper checks are provided as well.

Independence:
Employers prefer the long-term viability of an independent administrator. The relationship the employer has with their HSA administrator or HSA custodian remains consistent, along with all plan processes and resources, even if the employer switches to a different insurance plan.

Savings solution for future health needs:
Unused contributions accumulate and can be saved and used for future medical expenses or to supplement retirement income. For example, unused funds can be used to pay COBRA or other medical insurance premiums during periods of unemployment or temporary layoff.

FDIC Insured Account:
NueSynergy has partenered with Avidia Bank, to provide our FDIC insured HSAs. This partnership enables us to proved a fully integrated experience through both our employee and employer portals.

Investment options:
Employees can select from a spectrum of investment options to match their preferred investment style. *Investments are offered through Devenir.

Record keeping:
Process HSA deposits and withdrawals, post transactions, prepare and distribute bank statements and perform year end reporting on required IRS forms.

Monthly Statements:
Sent when the account has any activity. (Quarterly statements are sent to all account holders regardless of activity.

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For over 20 years, NueSynergy has partnered with agents and their employer clients to administer HSA, FSA and HRA programs that focus on bringing true value to the benefits plan.

See how NueSynergy can help your participants develop a benefit account offering that best fits their unique culture, workforce, brand and benefits program.

Contact us today for a consultation: 855.890.7239 | sales@nuesynergy.com