Tips for Increasing Revenue and Decreasing Expenses in your Benefit Plan

Shelby Hammond

Part of a trustee’s fiduciary responsibility is to manage the income and expenses of their plan. Below are some of the ways in which a trustee can increase revenue coming into the plan while managing the costs associated with the plan.

The primary sources of income of a multi-employer benefit plan are employer contributions and investment income.

Increase collections: To increase the income of a plan, trustees should carefully consider their processes for collecting employer contributions. Potentially increasing the […]

January 28, 2015 Accounting, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

VIRGINIA ADOPTS A FIRST TIME HOME BUYER’S SAVINGS PROGRAM

Glenn Bailey, CPA

Beginning in 2014, Virginia has adopted a program (FHSP) that allows a taxpayer to designate an account as a first time homebuyer savings account and subtract the income from that account from their VA taxable income. (Section 58.1-322) The account can only be used to pay the down payment or closing costs for a single family home (includes condos and co-ops, but not a multi-family building or land) in VA for someone who has never owned a […]

January 27, 2015 Accounting, Tax Read more...

IRS RELEASES NEW APPLICABLE FEDERAL RATES

Jobe Dupre’, CPA

Each month, the IRS provides various prescribed rates for federal income tax purposes. These rates, known as Applicable Federal Rates (AFRs), are regularly published as revenue rulings.

The AFRs for February 2015 are as follows:

Annual
Semi-Annual
Quarterly
Monthly

Short-Term: 1-3 years
0.48%
0.48%
0.48%
0.48%

Mid-Term: >3 & up to 9 years
1.70%
1.69%
1.69%
1.68%

Long-Term: >9 years
2.41%
2.40%
2.39%
2.39%

January 23, 2015 Accounting, Tax Read more...

Accounting for ACA Transitional Reinsurance Fee

Sue Weaver

As Plan Administrators and Controllers consider closing the accounting records for 2014, keep in mind the Transitional Reinsurance Program that went into effect January 1, 2014. This is an annual fee for virtually all health plans calculated on a per participant basis that is due to the government to stabilize premiums under the Affordable Care Act. So, all Plans will need to account for the fee in 2014.

Per generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this is a calendar year […]

January 15, 2015 Accounting, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

QUALIFIED EXCLUDABLE TRANSPORTATION BENEFITS

Thomas Parisi, CPA
Retroactive Guidance for 2014
The IRS has issued Notice 2015-2, which provides employers guidance on how to deal with the retroactive (Section 103 of the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 enacted 12/19/14) increase in the maximum monthly exclusion afforded employees from $130 to $250 for 2014. The increased exclusion is applicable to employer-provided transit passes and commuter highway vehicle (vanpooling) transportation benefits and puts them on par with the exclusion for qualified parking for tax year 2014. […]

January 12, 2015 Accounting, Tax Read more...

Are Unpaid Contributions to a Multiemployer Plan Assets of the Plan?

Larry Beebe, CPA

If unpaid contributions are plan assets, the argument is that the company officials responsible for paying those contributions are plan fiduciaries. If they are plan fiduciaries can they be held personally liable for those contributions?

Recent court decisions have been split as to whether unpaid employer contributions are plan assets. A U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan recently ruled that unpaid employer contributions were not plan assets unless the agreement between the Fund and the […]

January 9, 2015 Accounting Read more...

ACHIEVING A BETTER LIFE EXPERIENCE (ABLE) ACT OF 2014

Sean Urbany, CPA

Earlier this week, when the Senate passed the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014, they not only approved a number of tax extenders, but they also passed the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) ACT as well. The ABLE Act, which applies to tax years beginning after December 31, 2014, allows each state to establish a new type of tax-advantaged savings program for disabled individuals and families with disabled children. These new accounts will operate in a […]

December 22, 2014 Accounting, Tax Read more...

ONE YEAR TAX EXTENDERS PACKAGE PASSED IN THE SENATE

Sean Urbany, CPA

Just in time for year-end tax planning, the Senate passed the tax extenders bill by vote of 76 to 16 on Tuesday, December 16. As discussed in our previous post, this bill includes many previously expired tax provisions that will be extended through December 31, 2014. The bill will be sent to the President for his signature and is expected to be signed into law quickly.

December 18, 2014 Accounting, Tax Read more...

2014 Form 5500 Released to the Public

Mark Buckberg, CPA, CFE, CFF

The 2014 Form 5500 has been released to the public. There are only a few revisions from the prior year to the form itself. Here are the changes to note:

The attachment concerning M-1 filing compliance that welfare plans were required to submit last year is no longer necessary. Instead, a new third page has been added to the 5500 that asks three questions that cover the information that was previously included on the attachment.
[…]

December 17, 2014 Accounting, Audit, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

Benefit Plan Policies: Shared Expense Policy

Larry Beebe, CPA

In this series, we are reviewing the written plan policies needed to help your benefit plan stay compliant and operate most effectively. For a full list of the necessary policies and why your plan should implement them, click here.

An employee benefit plan often shares office space and/or other goods and services with other employee benefit plans or with related sponsoring organizations. If this sharing arrangement exists, then having a shared expense is a necessity.

The shared expense policy […]

December 15, 2014 Accounting, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...