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COBRA Administrator

Acumen is hiring! Are you a self-starter with outstanding customer service eager to join a dynamic team? Acumen is seeking a COBRA Administrator in our Cedar Rapids office location. The COBRA Administrator, partnering with the Director of Compliance Services, will perform the administrative functions to administer COBRA for acumen clients, in accordance…

The American Rescue Plan Act & Impact on Employers

The American Rescue Plan Act & Impact on Employers On March 10, 2021, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) and the President signed it into law on March 11, 2021. The ARPA includes over $1.9 trillion in COVID-19 relief and contains updates to certain benefits laws to…

Temporary Special Rules for FSAs

IRS Guidance on Temporary Special Rules for FSAs On February 28, 2021, the IRS released clarification to special rules for Section 125 plans and health and dependent care FSAs. Notice 2021-15 is intended to clarify the application of special rules that were outlined in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (signed into…

Reconciling Your Insurance Invoices

You’ve successfully completed your annual open enrollment and you receive a carrier invoice. Now what? It’s time to reconcile your invoice to your payroll deductions. This is a critical step and one you should do monthly to ensure employees are enrolled in the correct insurance plans and you are paying…

2021 Plan Limits

Many employee benefit plans are subject to annual contribution limits and these may change each year due to inflation. Below are the plans that have updated contribution limits for 2021: HSA (Health Savings Account): Individual: $3,600 ($50 increase from 2020) Family: $7,200 ($100 increase from 2020) HDHP Out-of-Pocket Maximum (High Deductible Health…

Webinar: Workplace Wellness

Do workplace wellness programs work? Do they lower healthcare costs? Which strategies motivate employees to participate? We brought in our resident expert on workplace wellness, Maria Drees, to answer these questions during our November webinar: Workplace Wellness: Strategies to promote health and wellness at the workplace. Our presentation was centered…

Review Your Insurance Invoices

Any time your organization has new hires, terminations, or employee life event changes, get in the habit of reviewing your invoices from your insurance carriers. You’ll want to compare your insurance carrier invoices against the recent changes to make sure you are being invoiced the correct amount. Better yet, you…

Webinar: Open Enrollment Communication

It’s important for employers to effectively communicate with employees at benefits open enrollment time. Proper communication ensures that employees understand their benefits, why they should take advantage of benefits, and how those benefits will work once they begin. Communication is especially important right now as many employees are working odd…

Webinar: All Things COBRA

During our September 2020 webinar, we talked about All Things COBRA. COBRA (The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) requires employers to offer a continuation of group health benefits when a qualified event occurs (such as job loss) for qualified beneficiaries (such as workers and their families). While it can be…

2020 Benefits Trend Report

NFP’s 2020 US Benefits Trend Report is now available. This comprehensive, annual report of employee benefits trends provides you with data and analysis that will help you chart a course toward better outcomes for your organization and employees. Acumen is a proud member of Benefits Partners/NFP, the publisher of the report. Benefits Partners…