Benefits Compliance Solutions

Call Website Contact the business

Benefits Compliance Solutions We help benefits consultants use compliance as a powerful tool to grow their business. benefitscompliancesolutions.com

bcspro.com

10/08/2026

Self-insured medical plans are subject to Section 105(h) nondiscrimination rules, and a lot of employers assume they’re compliant without ever checking.

These rules prohibit favoring highly compensated individuals, and they require periodic testing to confirm. If the plan fails, corrective action may be required, and the excess benefits can become taxable to the highly compensated individuals themselves.

Testing is what turns an assumption into verified compliance. Make sure your self-insured clients are actually doing it.

BrokerLife

10/06/2026

Offering pre-tax benefits without a written plan document? Those deductions are technically non-compliant.

Any employer offering pre-tax benefits needs a written Section 125 plan document, whether that’s a cafeteria plan, a premium-only plan, or a premium conversion plan. It has to be adopted before the plan year begins and describe the eligible benefits, qualifying life events, and election procedures.

The most common version of this problem is an employer running pre-tax deductions for years with no document at all. Confirm your clients have one.

PlanDocument

09/29/2026

Hiring a COBRA administrator outsources the work. It doesn’t outsource the responsibility.

A good TPA handles notices, billing, tracking, and documentation. But the employer stays legally accountable for accurate and timely COBRA administration. That doesn’t get delegated with the tasks.

Using a third party is best practice. But oversight, documentation, and consistent vendor communication are still required. It’s a handoff, not a transfer.

ERISACompliance

09/22/2026

A wrap document can create a Form 5500 filing obligation that didn’t exist before, and most employers don’t realize it.

Wrapping benefits into a single ERISA plan combines their participant counts. That combined total can cross the 100 participant threshold that triggers a Form 5500 filing, even when no individual benefit would have on its own.

Several small welfare plans, none individually at 100 participants, can suddenly trigger a filing once they’re wrapped. If you’ve placed clients in a wrap, confirm their filing status reflects it.

BrokerLife

09/17/2026

A Section 125 plan document has specific IRS content requirements, and a generic template usually doesn’t meet them.

At minimum it has to describe each pre-tax benefit, define eligibility, and identify the plan year. Beyond that it needs to cover election change rules, qualifying events, contribution limits, FSA carryover or grace periods, administration, amendments, termination, rehire rules, and nondiscrimination testing.

A document that doesn’t match what the employer is actually doing isn’t protecting anyone. Get your clients’ plans reviewed against current requirements.

PlanDocument

09/15/2026

Self-employed owners generally can’t run dependent care through the cafeteria plan pre-tax.

Sole proprietors, partners, and more-than-2 percent S corp shareholders are treated as self-employed, not employees, for Section 125 purposes. That means no pre-tax salary reduction contributions to a dependent care FSA through the cafeteria plan. Nondiscrimination testing adds another layer of owner-related problems on top of that.

There’s a narrow exception for DCAPs funded entirely by the employer outside a cafeteria plan. But in the standard setup, keep dependent care focused on common-law employees.

BrokerLife

09/08/2026

HRAs come with a HIPAA obligation most employers don’t expect.

Because HRAs are self-insured group health plans, the claims data running through them is protected health information under HIPAA. Employers accessing or storing that data have to follow HIPAA’s privacy and security rules.

That means limiting access, appointing HIPAA officials, and maintaining written policies. HRAs often get treated casually because they feel simple. That informality is exactly where the compliance risk lives.

PHI

09/01/2026

You can delegate the tasks. You can’t delegate the liability.

Hiring a COBRA administrator is smart. They handle notices, billing, and tracking. But outsourcing the function doesn’t outsource the responsibility. The employer stays legally accountable for proper and timely COBRA administration.

That means oversight, documentation, and vendor communication still matter. When something goes wrong, the employer answers for it, not the vendor.

ERISACompliance

08/27/2026

An S corp owner’s spouse who works full time for the business still can’t run benefits through the cafeteria plan pre-tax. Neither can their kids, parents, or grandparents.

Under IRS family attribution rules, family members of a more-than-2 percent S corp shareholder are treated as owners for Section 125 purposes, even when they’re legitimate common-law employees.

That means no pre-tax participation. They can still enroll in coverage, but contributions have to be post-tax. Get this wrong and it can jeopardize the plan’s tax-favored status for everyone.

BrokerLife

08/20/2026

Open enrollment isn’t the only enrollment opportunity employees are entitled to. Multiple regulations create windows outside of open enrollment and HIPAA is one of the most important.

HIPAA mandates special enrollment rights following loss of other coverage, marriage, birth, and adoption. Employers must notify employees these rights exist and allow enrollment when a qualifying event occurs.

Denying a valid special enrollment request isn’t a policy call. It’s a compliance violation.

ERISACompliance

Address

Plano, TX

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+15125712464

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Benefits Compliance Solutions posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Benefits Compliance Solutions:

Shortcuts

Sponsored

Share

Category