Frost Benefits Compliance Resources
Compliance regulations are changing fast. Keeping up with the changes can pose a major challenge for employers today — especially since many organizations don’t have time or resources to spare. However, your business needs an effective benefits compliance program to meet its legal duties, improve its operations and send mandatory notices and communications to plan participants and beneficiaries.
With Frost Benefits Compliance Resources, you’ll know exactly what any new regulations will mean for your business — and get back time to focus on your core objectives.
How We Work
Our benefits compliance team can help your business by offering:
- Compliance consultants with decades of combined experience to answer your questions and provide both consultative phone and written support
- Guidance on matters that are black-and-white, or areas which become gray and necessitate legal advice
- Expertise in the Affordable Care Act, COBRA, ERISA, FMLA, HIPAA, Section 125 and many other federal mandates applicable to employer-sponsored group health plans
- Explanations of complex subjects in simple language
In general, our approach provides:
- Benefits compliance consultants who proactively arm you with the information and resources you need to stay on top of compliance related issues, news and changes
- Answers to benefits compliance inquiries (for example, questions about ERISA, COBRA, FMLA and PPACA). We also provide you with the information you need to communicate with partners, attorneys, tax advisors and others
What We Provide You
Feel confident knowing how to respond if an investigator from the EBSA knocks on your door. The Frost Insurance benefits compliance team includes a former senior investigator with the EBSA and is well equipped to assist you with preparation and/or response to potential investigations.
COVID-19 Resources
In light of the school and child care closures surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to understand how a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Arrangement may be available through your employer to help you.
Benefits Compliance Tips
Educational pieces that inform employers about targeted employee benefits compliance issues.
Read the Compliance Tip to learn the most current information regarding the amount and process for remitting the PCOR Fee.
The time period for Medicare Open Enrollment is quickly approaching. Medicare-eligible individuals are able to make elections and plan changes between October 15-December 7 annually. In advance of this requirement, employers providing prescription drug coverage must comply with an annual notice requirement advising these individuals as to whether their existing prescription drug coverage is Creditable or Non-Creditable, as compared to Medicare Part D, to avoid potential penalties for the lifetime of the individuals. This Compliance Tip discusses this important requirement.
This safe harbor is designed to help plan sponsors ensure that plan participants actually receive important plan information when it is provided electronically. Read this overview of the DOL’s Electronic Disclosure Safe Harbor for employer-sponsored group health plans to learn more.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that group health plans and health insurance issuers deliver certain notices, like the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC), to plan participants and beneficiaries in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner. This requirement applies regardless of grandfathered status. Learn more about these requirements in this tip.
Controlled group rules were expanded and incorporated into ERISA decades ago with the intent to protect employees so that employers could not use multiple corporations to escape coverage or nondiscrimination rules set forth under ERISA. Read the Compliance Tip to learn more about control groups and the recent health care reforms.
A summary of penalties that can be enforced by various regulatory agencies on employer-sponsored group health plans.
The Department of Labor amended regulations governing the delivery of information required to be furnished to participants and beneficiaries in employer-sponsored group health plans. Now able to disclose electronically, employers must perform a step-by-step analysis to determine when electronic disclosure is appropriate. Follow the step-by-step analysis detailed in this tip.
Review changes to employee benefits annual dollar limits for 2024.
The IRS has released final 2024 forms and instructions for ACA reporting under Code Sections 6055 and 6056. This Legal Update provides more details.
Need help staying compliant? Call (866) 227-2099 or request a call or email.