Outsource Your Cafeteria Plan So You Can Get Back to Business

A cafeteria plan is an outstanding employee benefit arrangement allowed by the IRS under which employees are allowed to pay for certain employee benefits on a pre-tax rather than an after-tax basis. For most employers, however, cafeteria plan administration is a big headache, and they choose to outsource it. You can set up a cafeteria plan with Associated Financial Group that's legally compliant, cost effective and a good fit for both your organization and your employees.

There are many advantages to implementing a cafeteria plan to fund your organization's employee benefits. One of the most obvious is the tax savings for the employer and the employees.

How can the tax savings improve your organization's bottom line?

  • As employees reduce their taxable income, employers commonly save over $150 per employee each year.
  • As employees increase their take home pay (typically by over $600 annually), you improve employee loyalty, morale, productivity and employee retention.

Why do you need assistance from Associated Financial Group with customizing a cafeteria plan?

  • Cafeteria plans are "built" in many different ways—for example, you might want to allow only premium payments to take place under the plan, or you might choose to handle the medical and dependent care reimbursement benefits as well.
  • You need to ensure legal compliance; we'll help keep your plan in check with all of the pertinent laws.
  • Your plan should reflect the needs of your workforce; we can work with you to design a plan - from the most basic to all-inclusive—that achieves just that.
  • HIPAA privacy laws have made administration increasingly restrictive for employers. When your employees submit claims directly to us it will reduce any appearance of using medical information inappropriately; therefore, aiding in your company's compliance with HIPAA laws.
  • Associated Financial Group's on-site team will coordinate all aspects of your benefits administration, eliminating any need for you to relay information to additional vendors.
  • We offer a special web site for your employees, called MyBenefitsDirector.com, where they easily can access all of the information they need at any time of the day.
  • We provide timely and flexible claims payments on a weekly basis.
  • Our enhanced service allows online claims filing and e-mail notifications to participants.

How can Associated Financial Group help solve issues typically experienced with cafeteria plan administration?

  • Preparing your annual 5500 when required based on the questionnaire completed by you. All you need to do is sign and mail the documents.
  • Drafting sample plan documents and summary plan descriptions, which can be distributed to your employees.
  • Not administering your plan before the effective date.
  • Answering any eligibility questions.
  • Enforcing the use-it-or-lose-it rule for your employees.
  • Paying only those claims incurred during your plan year.
  • Paying only those claims with proper substantiation.

Working with Associated Financial Group for your employee benefit plan needs will enable you to focus on the strategic efforts of the day-to-day needs of your company. Our service will answer all of your employees' questions, administer timely claims payments, and provide 24/7 online claims status reporting.

Call 800.258.3190 or send an e-mail to info@associatedfinancialgroup.com, and one of our representatives will contact you.