CONTACT US

Sue Swanson
President

(720) 858-6288

Mike Edwards

Dir. of Financial Services (720) 858-6289

Andrea Levine

Senior Account Executive

(720) 858-6287

Mitch Laycock

Account Executive

(720) 858-6297

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Everyone wants financial independence backed by stability and security, and FSG's Financial Planning Team can help you achieve this. Whether it's investment/retirement planning, estate planning, or disability/life insurance, our team provides trusted advice with the goal of protecting and growing your assets. Contact Mike Edwards at (720) 858-6289 to learn how we can help.

Financial Focus Archive!

Did you miss a previous edition of the Financial Focus? Fear not! Our website includes a full archive of past newsletters. Articles include helpful information about topics such as social security retirement regulations and information about employer sponsored health plans. Get caught-up today!

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Save $$$ with CO-POWER

GroupSource Group Purchasing is a leader in cost containment strategies for medical and dental practices. COPIC clients are able to take advantage of these GroupSource discounts through an innovative program called CO-POWER.

Click HERE to learn more about how your practice can save money today!

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Please let us quote your workers' comp and benefits while considering our PEO option, Bene-Fit Solutions. For information on Bene-Fit solutions, please contact Mitch Laycock at
(720) 858-6297.

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FSG is excited about our association with one of the most respected personal insurance carriers----Safeco Insurance. This affiliation complements the wide range of services we already offer, to include auto, home, disability, employee health, cyber liability and long-term care insurance coverages.

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In This Issue - November 2016

ACA 2016 Tax Forms and Deadlines

Understanding the Alternative Minimum Tax

Health Savings Account (HSA) Contribution Limits and Deadlines

Essential End-of-Year Policy Reviews

2017 Health Insurance Premium Outlook

ACA 2016 Tax Forms and Deadlines

January 31, 2017---- Forms 1095-B and 1095-C due to employees (to be postmarked if mailed, or sent by email if applicable).
February 28, 2017---- Forms 1094-B and 1095-B, and 1094-C and 1095-C due to IRS (if filing on paper).
March 31, 2017---- Forms 1094-B and 1095-B, 1094-C and 1095-C due to IRS (if filing electronically).*

*Any employer filing 250 or more information returns during the calendar year must file these returns electronically; for employers with fewer than 250 returns, electronic filing is voluntary.

Employers of any size that sponsored a self-insured health plan providing minimum essential coverage must distribute to enrolled employees and file with the IRS Form 1095-B, showing health plan enrollment.

Applicable large employers with 50 or more full-time employees or equivalents (when combining part-time hours) must distribute to enrolled employees and file with the IRS Form 1095-C, showing compliance with employer shared responsibility/minimum essential coverage requirements. If these employers self-insured their health plans, they may use Form 1095-C in lieu of Form 1095-B.

For IRS filings, Forms 1095-B and 1095-C are accompanied by transmittal forms 1094-B and 1094-C.

Contact Andrea Levine at (720) 858-6287 with questions you may have.

Understanding the Alternative Minimum Tax

When it comes to federal income tax, there are few subjects capable of causing as much confusion as the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). The AMT is essentially a separate federal income tax system with its own tax rates, and its own set of rules governing the recognition and timing of income and expenses.

Part of the problem with the AMT is that, without doing some calculations, there's no easy way to determine whether or not you're subject to the tax. Key AMT "triggers" include the number of personal exemptions you claim, your miscellaneous itemized deductions, and your state and local tax deductions.

Read the Woodbury Financial article on AMT to learn about the following:

How do you know if you're subject to the AMT?
Common AMT adjustments
AMT exemption amounts and rates

Financial planning questions? Contact Mike Edwards at (720) 858-6289 with questions or for more information.

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Securities and Investment Advisory Services offered through Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC and Registered Investment Adviser. COPIC Financial Service Group and Woodbury Financial Services, Inc. are not affiliated entities.

Health Savings Account (HSA) Contribution Limits and Deadlines

Year	Contribution Limit-Single	Contribution Limit-Family	Additional Contribution
2016	$3,350	$6,750	$1,000
2017	$3,400	$6,750	$1,000

Open Deadline: Apr. 15 of next year, no extension.
Fund Deadline: Apr. 15 of next year, no extension.
High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) must be in place at some point in the contribution year.
Medical expenses: Dec. 31 of current year.
You cannot use HSA funds to pay for expenses incurred prior to opening the account.

Any eligible individual can contribute to an HSA.
For an employee's HSA, the employee, the employee's employer, or both may contribute to the employee's HSA in the same year as long as the aggregate contributions are under the contribution limit.
Family members (or any other person) may also make contributions on behalf of an eligible individual.
Contributions must be made in cash. Contributions of stock or other property are not allowed.
HSAs can be funded with rollovers or transfers from an Archer Medical Savings Account.
A one-time qualified HSA funding distribution may be made from your Traditional or Roth IRA to your HSA. The maximum amount depends on your type of coverage (single or family). The distribution is not included in your income, is not tax deductible, and reduces the amount you can contribute to your HSA.

For more information, feel free to call Andrea Levine at (720) 858-6287.

Essential End-of-Year Policy Reviews

Auditing your policies before year-end is an important process to ensure any changes that occurred are adequately reflected in your coverage. FSG is available to review policies and provide expert guidance.

Key items to consider with your Business Owners Package (BOP):

Did you have in 2016, or are you planning in 2017, any tenant or building improvements?
Did you acquire (or remove) any business personal property (BPP) at any of your locations? Check your current policy declaration page to see if you have an adequate replacement cost limit of BPP.
Check the listed premises page on the BOP declaration page. Are all locations accurately listed with correct suite numbers? Do we have all of your locations listed, including storage units?
Is your current General Liability limit $1M/$2M? This can be bumped up to $2M/$4M at very little cost.
Do you have Employee Benefits Liability or Non-Owned Auto?

When was the last time you looked at your Workers' Comp (WC) Policy? Here are a few things to consider:

Did you add or have fewer employees than last year? Contact us to ensure you have adequate payroll coverage levels for your employees.
Did you get an audit paperwork request? We recommend starting this process at least 45 days prior to your renewal. It takes this long for the insurance company to have any changes processed and applied to your renewal. Have your last four quarters of ERM-14s handy for this process.
Do you have needlestick coverage?
Is your Employers Liability limit at the State minimum of $100K/$500K? Low cost options are available to increase to $500K/$500K or even $1M/$1M.

Now is the time to call and schedule an insurance summary visit and review---- what one practice manager called "the most valuable 30-minute visit a practice can make." Use these forms for initial assistance in determining equipment values as part of this process: Dental Equipment Valuation Guide or Medical Equipment Valuation Guide.

Contact Mitch Laycock at (720) 858-6297 with your questions or to schedule a review.

2017 Health Insurance Premium Outlook

The Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI) announced that on average, health insurance premiums will increase 2.1 percent for small employers and 20.4 percent for individual plans in 2017. A factor contributing to increases in individual rates is the departure of carriers in this market.

UnitedHealthcare and Humana Insurance will not offer individual plans in 2017. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield will not offer its PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) individual plans, and Rocky Mountain Health Plans (RMHP) determined that it will reduce individual plan offerings for 2017, offering individual plans only in Mesa County, only via its Monument Health affiliate. All of these companies will continue to offer their small and large group plans for employers.

Open enrollment for people buying individual plans (not through an employer) this year will be Nov. 1, 2016 through January 31, 2017. If consumers want coverage in place by January 1, they must enroll by December 15.

Questions about premium rates? Call Andrea Levine at (720) 858-6287.

Even if you are not currently in the market for insurance
products, we are always available to help make sure you are
getting the best coverages at the best prices. Call us at
(720) 858-6280!

Sincerely,

Sue Swanson
President, COPIC Financial Service Group

Please add us to your "safe-senders" list! Add sswanson@copic.com to your address book to ensure that our messages to you don't get stuck in your spam filter!

COPIC Financial Service Group, Ltd. is an insurance brokerage firm representing a variety of insurance carriers. Products offered by COPIC Financial are not issued by COPIC Insurance Company.