BASE^® Blog

The DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) recovered over $1.4 billion for retirement, health, and welfare benefit plans, participants, and beneficiaries in fiscal year 2022 through its enforcement of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).   66% of ERISA monetary recoveries were from enforcement actions for employee benefit plans or other corrective actions.  As an employer, you may be thinking, “How can I reduce my risk and avoid ERISA violations?

ERISA was designed to protect employees enrolled in employer-sponsored health benefits and mandates that health plans must be in writing.  The Summary Plan Description and Plan Documents are required and fill in the gaps of other documentation to help comply with federal regulations. 

BASE® knows that keeping up with ERISA requirements to stay in compliance can be confusing, time-consuming, and overwhelming, so here is a quick overview of a few common violations and why having an ERISA Wrap can benefit employers. 

• Not providing required documentation to participants. If an employer fails to meet the documentation requirements, the business could face fines and the risk of getting audited by the DOL or IRS.  Having an ERISA Wrap ensures that employers can easily access and distribute documentation per federal guidelines to employees.
• Simplifying Form 5500 filing. Having an ERISA Wrap document in place simplifies the Form 5500 filing process by eliminating the need to file a separate Form 5500 for each health and welfare plan and allowing for a single Form 5500 for all benefits covered under the Wrap document.

Because ERISA can be one of the most challenging of all employment laws and regulations with violations that could be costly, having a third-party administrator to help develop the proper plan documents, while providing them on time, will help minimize compliance risks.  In comes the BASE® ERISA Wrap, which wraps around existing certificates of insurance and benefit plan booklets to provide the required provisions and information and protect the plan and the employer from steep penalties and fines. 

Call BASE® at 1.888.386.9680 or visit www.BASEonline.com for more information.

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The Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA) is one of the most flexible fringe benefits an employer can provide their employees.  It has a positive impact on both employer and employees, helping to reduce stress, increase morale and productivity, and encourage healthy behaviors.  And with only 33% of employees feeling that their well-being was thriving, according to Gallup, the LSA looks to be a benefit that can help fill the gap.

The BASE® LSA is a customized post-tax spending account available to employers who want to promote healthy habits and the overall well-being of their employees.  Rather than invest in another well-being initiative that employees may or may not use, employers can help subsidize a variety of services, products, or experiences to fit employees’ very different lifestyles. As employers are in the process of reviewing benefits for the 2024 plan year, the LSA can be a great addition and even address employees’ desire for higher compensation without permanently increasing base pay.

The LSA is completely customizable by the employer.  The employer can decide how much they want to provide their employees on a post-tax basis, how they want to reimburse their employees, and what eligible expenses will be reimbursed to provide employees with the flexibility to pay for expenses that meet their lifestyle and interests.

Some things for an employer to consider as they look at adding a Lifestyle Spending Account to their 2024 benefit options:

• What benefits do they currently offer that could be considered part of an overall lifestyle program (ex. adoption assistance) and what could add to this?
• What do their employees and potential employees care about?
• What types of behavior do they want to influence in their employees?

With so many generations in the workforce in 2024, there are a lot of employees with varying needs, especially when it comes to health and wellness.  Employers can utilize the LSA to meet the needs of everyone, no matter their stage of life, age, or circumstances, and is designed to improve the overall well-being or lifestyle.

Explore the option of adding the Lifestyle Spending Account for the 2024 plan year by contacting BASE® at 1.888.386.9680 or visiting www.BASEonline.com.

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