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Compliance Alert: SBC Finalized Guidance

February 13, 2012

As explained in our August 2011 article, the health care reforms enacted in March of 2010 will require employer health...

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February 3, 2012

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New Year Brings Extra W-2 Duty for Many

January 25, 2012

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Employer Compliance Alert

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More IRS Guidance on W-2 Reporting of Health Coverage Among the provisions contained in the 2010 Patient Protection and...

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Insurance, Employment, & Financial Services

Flexible Spending Accounts Contributions

Stuart Lambert | December 15, 2011

An important reminder for those of you who utilize Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs):

Beginning on January 1, 2013, the maximum contribution allowed to a FSA will be $2,500 per year (note that this limitation only applies to MEDICAL FSAs; dependent care and other limited-purpose FSAs are NOT subject to this limitation). This cap is per individual; a husband and wife each working at two different companies may both take part in their company’s FSA Plan at the $2,500 cap, potentially providing them with a total of $5,000 in medical FSA contributions.

However, we wanted to draw your attention to the fact that this cap will affect ANY FSA that has a plan year ending after 1/1/2013. In other words, if your FSA plan year does not run on a true calendar-year (for example, February 1 through January 31), you will likely need to amend your plan on the first day of the pre-1/1/2013 plan year in order to avoid contributing more than $2,500 over the course of that plan year.

Should your FSA be subject to the above (or, you have general questions regarding this matter), please feel free to contact our Compliance Consultant, Michael Cramer, at (714) 236-8270.