FSA, HRA, HSA Management

Employee benefits are one of the largest employer expenses. Finding ways to mitigate that expense while continuing to provide robust benefits options to your employees can seem daunting. Many employers have turned to alternate funding options such as Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA), and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) to help control costs for both the employer and employee. Unicorn HRO can help you to establish new plan documents to support offering FSA/HRA/HSA, or take over the administration of existing plans.

Flexible Spending Accounts can be offered to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for qualified medical expenses and dependent care benefits. Employee elections lower taxable wages which result in lower FICA expense for employers and lower tax withholding for employees.

To learn more about FSAs, click here.

Health Reimbursement Arrangements are typically employer funded and can be set up in a variety of ways with traditional medical plans or high deductible health plans (HDHPs). Many employers find themselves faced with increasing deductibles, higher prescription costs, and increased office visit copays due to rising healthcare costs. HRAs allow employers to fund medical expenses that employees incur according to the established plan documentation.

Health Savings Accounts are bank accounts owned by the employee. Funding of an HSA can only take place if the employee is enrolled in a high-deductible health plan. HSA bank accounts can be funded by the employee or employer. Funds contributed by the employee through payroll deductions are pre-taxed and can be withdrawn for qualified expenses without tax consequences. Withdrawals for non-qualified expenses are subject to a 20% penalty. Additionally, once a threshold is met, funds in the bank account can be invested. At age 65 and older, distributions for non-qualified expenses will be taxable but exempt from the 20% penalty.

To learn more about HSAs, click here.

Unicorn HRO simplifies the administration of FSA/HRA/HSA accounts for the employer and employees. Unicorn HRO’s iCON solution ensures helps you save time, money, and reduce the chance of human error.