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 Adverse subsidies ruling would harm small businesses
Should the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in King v. Burwellgo against the Obama administration, the fallout will hit small businesses especially hard.
While 7.5 million will likely lose insurance subsidies if the court rules that subsidies are illegal, premiums will jump substantially for 3.5 million individuals and families employed by small businesses,according to Linda Blumberg, senior fellow at the Urban Institute.
That's mainly because those who depend upon a subsidy for obtaining insurance through a state-run exchange will probably drop coverage if they are healthy. This effect will disrupt the insurance markets, sending premiums upward for all, including those in small businesses.
The Hill said the committee's chair, U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), agreed with Blumberg, but said there are alternatives being considered that would accomplish virtually the same outcome as the subsidy to consumers, including "an advanceable tax credit that actually flows directly from the government into the pockets of the insurance company, not into the hands of the consumer."
We are closely watching how it will play out on the Hill.
"We feel very passionate about our helping our clients reduce liability and improve their workplace through sound HR and benefits practices."
Sincerely,
Larry Lawman
Lawman Benefits Consulting, Inc.
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Breaking News...
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Real-time reporting critical to ACA administration, compliance
Effective as of 2015, the Affordable Care Act ("ACA") has placed requirements on employers and insurance providers for filing new informational forms with the IRS and health plan participants.
The new filing requirements will be an add-on to the year-end burden of issuing informational returns. The new informational forms include Forms 1095-B and 1095-C (with their respective forms for transmittal, Forms 1094-B and 1094-C). Beginning in 2016, deadlines for filing the 2015 forms with the IRS will be February 28 or, if electronically filing, March 31. A penalty of up to $200 per form will be charged for failing to provide these statements to recipients.
You can read more about the requirements on our website.
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Breaking News...
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Review of new ACA Sections 6055 and 6056
The ACA added Sections 6055 and 6056 to the Internal Revenue Code. These sections require certain employers to file information returns with the IRS and provide statements to their full-time employees about the health insurance coverage the employer offered. The purpose of these new forms is to provide the IRS with the information it needs in order to assess penalties to employers that fail to offer minimum essential coverage to full-time employees. You can read more about the 6055 and 6056 requirements here.
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Guest Columnist...
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The Do's and Dont's of Pregnancy in the Workplace
In the past decade, there has been no other area that has increased as fast as
pregnancy discrimination. The EEOC attributes that increase to the fact that more women are electing to work after their babies are born than ever before.
A pregnancy is protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
In order to reduce the risk of liability with regard to pregnancy, managers should avoid assumptions and stereotypes that could be translated into actionable behavior.
Pregnant workers need to be treated as if they are protected under ADA and allowed a reasonable accommodation. Examples of the types of assumptions and stereotypes would be; thinking that a pregnant worker would be less reliable or less focused on career and promotions. This type of thinking could cause managers to discriminate.
Some examples of what NOT to say to a pregnant women; 1. Never ask about pregnancy during an interview, nor about the candidate's plans for starting a family. 2. Never ask a women when she is due or how long will she take off. Managers should wait until the employee approaches them first. This gives them the opportunity to say 'Congratulations! Are you familiar with our pregnancy policy?'.
When dealing with pregnant workers, the goal for managers is to remain professional and fair. By doing so, the company follows the guidelines of the law and reduces their chances of being involved in a pregnancy related lawsuit.
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By the Numbers...
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Quaterly retirement snapshot
Following is the Q1 2015 retirement savings analysis from Fidelity Investments, the nation's retirement leader for small business retirement plans:
To provide insight on retirement savings trends among the country's small business retirement4 plans, following are highlights for self-employed 401(k) accounts, self-employed (SEP) IRAs, and Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) IRAs from 2007 through the end of 2014.
- For self-employed 401(k) accounts, the average balance at the end of 2014 was $144,100, a 39 percent increase since 2007. The average contribution was $22,400 at the end of 2014, a 29 percent increase since 2007.
- For SEP IRAs, the average balance at the end of 2014 was $89,800, a 48 percent increase since 2007. The average contribution for 2014 was $14,000, a 20 percent increase since 2007.
- For SIMPLE IRAs, the average balance at the end of 2014 was $37,700, a 54 percent increase since 2007. The average contribution for 2014 was $6,260, an 8 percent increase since 2007.
"How much an individual contributes to their retirement savings is one of the most critical factors in retirement readiness," said Jim MacDonald, president, Workplace Investing, Fidelity Investments. "Contributions to retirement savings accounts have increased across the board, including IRAs, small business plans and traditional 401(k) accounts. We're very encouraged by this trend and hope to see it continue, considering that any increase in savings - even by one percent a year - can have a positive impact on long-term retirement success."
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Client Spotlight...
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 This month we are proud to introduce Ad-VANCE as our Client Spot in their own words:
Who are we?
We are a talent acquisition company specializing in temp-to-hire staffing, professional search, pre-employment screening and recruitment processing. We've been in business for 20 years and last year processed over 1,600 W-2's. This growth has allowed us to open new divisions, hire outstanding people, and provide the highest level of service in our industry.
So what is it that we do?
Ad-VANCE's business expertise is in efficiently sourcing, qualifying and screening talent at all levels, and allowing our clients to focus on their core duties. Although our backyard is Sarasota & Manatee counties, we have a state-wide and national recruiting network through our TempNet affiliation.
We source and fill all types of positions from lifeguards and retail stockers, medical front office and call center, to an Executive Chef and Director of Finance.
Why choose Ad-VANCE?
Why not?? The ROI we provide our clients is substantial and simply put, we can recruit and pre-screen less costly, more thoroughly and more efficiently, all while allowing the client complete control. We are proud community sponsors and supporters of many local non-profits and civic partners and we are your logical first choice for outsourcing.
We have a long standing relationship and well-earned respect for Lawman Benefits Consulting and gladly offer all Lbci clients preferred rates for our services.
For more information call 941-739-8883 or visit our website.
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