MERS’ legal counsel has reviewed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) guidance and determined that the MERS Health Care Savings Program HCSP) may qualify as minimum essential coverage (MEC). For the purposes of HCSP, MEC applies to individuals who have access to their HCSP account for reimbursements of medical expenses (generally, this means terminated or retired… Continue reading
To improve plan administration and customer communication processes, MERS is now requiring that specific data be included when reporting a new hire or a rehired employee. The following fields will now be required entries: Social Security Number Full name (first and last) MERS plan number Date of birth Original date of hire Participant status Address… Continue reading
Based on customer feedback, participants and customers who are able to make changes to their MERS invested-accounts can now allocate investment funds in incremental percentages. Previously, funds could only be allocated in whole number percentages. Changes can still be made by dollar amount.
Based on customer feedback, municipalities with a forfeiture balance will now have the ability to use that balance as a funding source when reporting to MERS Check, wire and ACH will continue to be offered as funding sources. Resources Available: Wage, Contribution, and Employer Portal Guide
As your partner in retirement, we want to ensure your Health Care Savings Program (HCSP) plan is in compliance with IRS guidelines. Upon adoption of HCSP, you may have elected to offer a mandatory leave conversion provision for one or more division(s). Leave conversions are all or a portion of unused leave payouts that are… Continue reading