SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - April 7, 2011) - Jennifer Benz, founder and chief strategist of Benz Communications, today announced the availability of its Adult Children Imputed Income Toolkit. Benz Communications is an HR communications strategy boutique.
While it is very well known that health care reform requires coverage of adult children, an important -- but critical -- component may have slipped by even the most educated HR and benefits managers. The value of coverage for adult children is taxable income in the majority of states. While not an issue at the federal level, most states have not adopted the federal provision and will, in fact, tax the value of this coverage. That is called imputed income. And, it is a complex communications issue that needs to be addressed.
Benz Communications' Adult Children Imputed Income Toolkit is a simple, strategic solution for communicating this complicated and confusing issue. The Toolkit was originally created at the request of the Silicon Valley Employers Forum, a coalition of large technology companies.
Benz Communications' Adult Children Imputed Income Toolkit features:
- Answers to questions: What is imputed income? When does imputed income apply? Who are the key stakeholders? How can I explain imputed income to employees? Who do I need to target with my communication?
- Template language, in several formats, including detailed FAQs, to answer employee questions and target communication to those impacted.
- Additional resources.
The Toolkit was reviewed by Ed Bray, JD, MBA, Director of Compliance at Burnham Benefits.
Benz Communications' Adult Children Imputed Income Toolkit costs $250. To learn more and/or purchase the Toolkit, please go to: http://www.benzcommunications.com/adult-children-imputed-income-toolkit.
"Health care reform is resulting in new benefits rules, some of which are particularly complex and difficult to communicate clearly to employees. We saw the adult children imputed income legislation as an ideal opportunity to be of value to our members by keeping them from grappling with this task individually. Benz Communications was the ideal partner for us to work with to create the Adult Children Imputed Income Toolkit. We look forward to partnering with them on other similar projects in the future," stated Lauren Vela, Executive Director of the Silicon Valley Employers Forum.
"We were thrilled to create this Toolkit for the Silicon Valley Employers Forum and we're even more delighted to share it with everyone else now. Health care reform is complicated. Individual benefits and HR managers don't have to figure it all out on their own," Jen stated.
As part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), adult children of benefits-eligible employees must be considered eligible for corporate medical plans. (The complete definition of eligible adult children may be found in Internal Revenue Code Section 152.) Following passage of the ACA, the IRS ruled that the health care coverage provided to adult children will not be taxed -- considered imputed income -- by the federal government. For states that have not adopted this federal provision, the value of the health coverage for adult children may be considered taxable income for state income tax purposes. As of March 8, 2011, 28 states have not yet adopted the provision. The new imputed income rules take effect when the specific ACA provision related to coverage of adult dependent children up to age 26 takes effect, which is the first day of the plan year on or after September 23, 2010. For companies that introduced adult dependent children coverage up to age 26 in 2010, before it becomes legally required, the state and federal taxability rules apply for that period of coverage, and may apply back to April 1, 2010.
About the Silicon Valley Employers Forum
Founded in 1994 to enable high-tech employers to pool their collective corporate benefits intelligence, the Silicon Valley Employers Forum currently has 31 members and is a nationally-recognized employer coalition for the technology sector.
About Benz Communications
Benz Communications is a benefits communications strategy boutique creating integrated employee benefits campaigns for employers committed to nurturing high-performing and satisfied employees. Benz Communications' clients include Fortune 500 companies, Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For, and small- to mid-size companies. Additional information about Benz Communications may be found at www.benzcommunications.com.
Contact Information:
Contact:
Robin Schoen
Robin Schoen Public Relations
215.504.2122