November 2016
Stay Current Newsletter
A1Final Instructions Released for 6055 & 6056 Reporting
 
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released the 2016 Forms and Instructions for 6055 and 6056 reporting. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), individuals are required to have health insurance, while applicable large employers are required to offer health benefits to their full-time employees. In order for the IRS to verify that individuals and employers have met their requirements under the ACA, employers with 50 or more full-time or full-time equivalent employees and insurers are required to report on the health coverage they offer. 

Click here to read about the final instructions for using Forms 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C, and 1095-C.

DOL Changes - December 1 Deadline is Here, Are You Ready?  A2

Is your Company prepared for the DOL Federal Overtime Rule change?

In less than 30 days the new rule updating the regulations governing which executive, administrative, and professional employees are entitled to the minimum wage and overtime pay protections of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) will be in effect.

Click here to learn about the key changes of the ruling. 
Congratulations to Lorena Cisneros  A3

Congratulations to Lorena Cisneros. Lorena is one of our Client Services Specialists and she just obtained her Accident & Health Insurance license. Lorena joined the BDR Team one year ago; she assists with processing enrollments, maintains our online enrollment portal and responds to our clients questions about enrollment. 

Now every member of our Account Management team is licensed!

A4December & January Renewal Reminders 

Approximately 85% of employee benefit plans now renew on December 1. The BDR team is working in advance to ensure we are able to complete all processing in a timely fashion, and have provided several reminders for you and your employees. 
 
Open Enrollment Processing  - The insurance carriers experience longer than normal processing times October through December. It can take three weeks from the time we submit your open enrollment for the carriers to process your changes. 
 
Billing Updates  - It may take several billing statements for your plan changes to be updated. Please audit your bills and notify us of any discrepancies immediately. 
 
ID Cards  - You may get duplicate ID cards. Insurance carriers will often automatically produce and send out member ID cards 90 days prior to a renewal. This causes confusion because these "new" cards will have the members previous year plan election. The correct ID cards will be sent out as soon as the carriers process plan changes.  
 
Prescription Refills  - We recommend you refill any maintenance medication prior to December 1. This will help avoid any surprises with cost or availability. 
 
Appointments  - If you are changing carriers avoid scheduling any elective or non-urgent medical appointments the first week of December.
 
As always, the BDR team is standing by to help you and your employees through this process. We are grateful for your business and will continue to keep you current.  


A5 2017 IRS Inflation Adjustments 

The IRS announced an increase to the annual contribution limit in 2017 for Healthcare FSA: $2,600 per year (formerly $2,550). The annual limits for Dependent Care FSA will remain unchanged at $5,000. Transit/Parking Benefits are also unchanged at $255 maximum contribution per month for each account. 

For complete details on the 2017 IRS Inflation Adjustments, please review Revenue Procedure 2016-55  

A6Office Closure: Thanksgiving Holiday 

Our office will be closed Thursday, November 24, 2016 and Friday, November 25, 2016 for Thanksgiving. 

We will process and respond to all email, faxes and voicemails promptly when normal business hours resume at 7:30am on Monday, November 28, 2016.

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