Time to Make Health and Retirement Plan Decisions for 2024
Preparing for annual enrollment is a big task. At Portico, we’re also in prep mode, getting ready to help employers like you make thoughtful, informed decisions that not only feel right for your organization and budgetary goals, but also meet the evolving needs of employees.
Employees covered by comprehensive benefits are destined to be healthier, happier and more reliable.1
With proper health care coverage, employees are likely to better monitor their own health, as well as that of their covered family members, while staying up to date on preventive care.
And the health of your employees is paramount! Reviewing plan participant data from the previous year, also referred to as utilization data, will arm you and your team with the confidence needed to assure your organization offers a mix of health plan options that satisfy the needs of most.
DID YOU KNOW: 64% of U.S. workers trust that their employers are making the best decisions possible about the benefits they offer.1
Health Plan Renewal Meetings with Portico
Your Portico relationship manager will reach out to schedule your renewal meeting in August. In the meantime, we’ll prepare by reviewing your organization’s specific data.
During the renewal discussion, your relationship manager will:
- Present your health plan utilization data (participation rates, demographic info, coverage details, etc.) for 2022;
- Share health plan rates for the 2024 plan year and provide general recommendations;
- Discuss which programs within the ELCA Health Plan to promote to your employees based on trends and utilization; and
- Talk through any concerns or questions you may have.
We understand that renewal meetings are often highly anticipated — it’s the first time you get to see trends and data for the prior year. Our goal is to guide you toward strategic, thoughtful decisions that are appropriate for the upcoming plan year.
Important Considerations
Renewal meetings typically last about an hour. During this time, it’s important to be prepared to make the following decisions:
- Would you like to change or add to the number of health benefit options you currently offer?
- Are there any updates to your cost-share arrangements?
- Would you like to add any additional products?
- Do you have a new or expanded focus, such as wellness?
We look forward to supporting your team through this important phase of benefits planning.
Copy, Paste, Send!
Template: Employee Survey on Health Care
Resources
Article: Offering Choice and Affordability of Benefits is an Art and a Science
Retirement Plan Considerations for the Upcoming Year
If you offer retirement plan benefits through Portico, here are some important considerations to review for the 2024 plan year:
- Would you like to offer an or make changes to your existing employer contribution? If so, consider:
- The formula/amount
- Eligibility requirements
- Vesting schedule
- Would you like to make to make any other changes? For example, adding:
- Automatic enrollment
- Roth
More information on required Roth catch-up contribution under the SECURE 2.0 provisions will be available once guidance and information is issued by the IRS and the DOL.
For these and other topics that are top of mind, please reach out to your relationship manager at any time, but especially in advance of the upcoming annual enrollment period so we can help you efficiently make plan updates and stay on track.
Importance of timely 403(b) contributions
Timely remittance of employee contributions is considered a fiduciary responsibility and tax penalties could apply if employers fail to submit timely, generally within 2 – 3 business days depending on the size of your organization.2
Most instances of late remittances will be considered a prohibited transaction. As such, if a company is able to segregate plan employee contributions from its general assets within three business days, failure to do so in that time frame may be considered a late remittance.
Read more about the importance of timely deposits from Fidelity.
Resources
Secure Act 2.0 Legislation
Quarterly Broadridge Investment Summary
12023 Future of Benefits Report. The Hartford. Retrieved June 27, 2023 from https://s0.hfdstatic.com/sites/the_hartford/files/future-of-benefits-executive-summary-2023.pdf
2Timely remittance of employee contributions in defined contribution retirement plans. (2021, June 30). AICPA & CIMA. Retrieved July 18, 2023, from us.aicpa.org/content/dam/aicpa/interestareas/employeebenefitplanauditquality/resources/ebpaqcprimers/downloadabledocuments/timely-remittance.pdf