Clients count on us for functional data and concierge services that keep them out of trouble and help them avoid penalties. We offer robust compliance technology that:

Monitors and collects data
Handles COBRA and FMLA administrative tasks
Removes compliance challenges in terms of privacy and IRS reporting

ACA Ocean assists in monitoring and collecting data to determine when employees are eligible for benefits, when benefits were offered, as well as assistance with IRS form 1094 and 1095 creation and filing.

Tracker COBRAedge provides General Initial Notice upon enrollment in benefits, and collects premiums for COBRA participants, removing the employer burden of these administrative tasks. This includes mail or electronic distribution of required notices to employees; invoicing, collection and remittance of premiums by participants; and an employee portal.

LeaveXpress Tracker helps you manage and track Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) federal, state and military leaves of absence; eligibility and entitlement calculations; workflow process management; communications; document storage and reporting.

PCORI & 5500 Filing calculates the number of covered lives per quarter and fees to be remitted to the IRS, collects proper schedules, prepares IRS forms 720 and 5500, and transmits them to the Department of Labor.

Education, via in-person and virtual seminars, may include continuing education credits for insurance agents or SHRM and HRCI professional designees.

HR & Compliance consulting includes phone and email support for your HR and compliance questions, plus advice and strategic solutions.

If you’re looking for an affordable way to provide employees with meaningful benefits while reducing costs, we’ve got you covered. Our goal is to help you and your employees save. Not only are we top-notch benefits plan designers and administrators, we can manage the administration of tax-advantaged HRAs, Special Pay and FICA Alternative Plans including enrollment, recordkeeping and communication.

Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)
Help employees and retirees offset the rising cost of health care by offering an HRA. All reimbursements from the plan are tax free, and all plan earnings are tax free. Plus, employers and employees save 7.65% on FICA taxes.

You control to whom the benefit applies (subject to non-discrimination rules) by determining plan eligibility and contribution formulas. Choose a defined contribution HRA, a retiree HRA or an integrated HRA. We’ll help you manage them all with 24/7 online plan access for you and your employees, and claims submission via mobile app or online portal.

Special Pay Plans
Special Pay Plans are retirement plans funded using unique forms of compensation like unused sick leave and unused vacation pay. Typically housed within a 401(a) or 401(b) retirement plan, these plans allow for tax-deferred payout of accumulated leave and other retirement incentives. With this benefit, employers and employees permanently save up to 7.65% on payroll and FICA taxes.

Special Pay funds are paid out pre-tax, enjoy tax-deferred investment growth, and do not incur federal, state or local income tax liability until they are withdrawn. Our team can set-up and manage these plans, helping you effectively maximize the value of accumulated leave payouts for both you and your employees.

FICA Alternative Plan Optimization
Public sector employers and employees enjoy significant tax savings with FICA Alternative Plans. These retirement plans, under IRS Code Section 3121, let you avoid paying the matching 6.2% Social Security contribution and replace it with an impactful 7.5% pre-tax contribution from the employee’s wages. Employees get close to the same take-home pay, even though their retirement contribution is higher. Plus there’s the added benefit of potential tax-deferred growth.

We can help you optimize your existing FICA Alternative Plan to ensure that you’re administering it for maximum savings.

*FICA Alternative Plans are not available in all markets.

When it comes to benefits, employees like choices. They want to select the options that are most meaningful to them — and they’re willing to pay for these important voluntary benefits either fully or partially through payroll deduction.

Building a voluntary benefits package with us means giving employees the coverage options they need and want to protect their families. Our voluntary benefits options include:

Accident
Hospital indemnity
Critical illness
Telemedicine
ID theft protection
Life insurance with long-term care
And more

Our professional, multilingual Benefits Call Center associates can support a diverse population, and we are staffed to support over 1,500 calls per day. We can use your existing HRIS or our platform. You choose.

We serve groups as small as 100 and as large as 250,000 employees, and support clients in all 50 states. Our team empowers your team with professional benefits education and enrollment.

Benefits choices — As healthcare costs continue to rise, employers are seeking new ways to help all employees get the benefits coverage they need. Our benefits professionals assist employees in finding the right mix of voluntary products to complement their benefits.

Enrollment services — Our extensive experience with enrollments of all shapes and sizes has allowed us to become experts in the benefits industry. We offer a multi-option solution with three distinct specialized services to meet your unique employee benefit enrollment needs: call center enrollment, face-to-face enrollment, and self-service enrollment.

Technology — We can customize a benefits administration solution to support the most effective enrollment approach. Our systems are built around your organization’s specific needs, and are fully configurable and easily customized.

Through intuitive design and robust functionality, The BEACON, our cloud-based platform, ensures that employees get a clear picture of all of their employer-provided benefits. The BEACON offers a superior enrollment experience, featuring total benefits education, administration and communications.

Content library with 100+ educational videos
Turnkey Spanish translation
Customizable site & employer branding
Mobile device optimization
Call center & face-to-face enrollment options
Year-round communications
Decision-support functionality
Group & voluntary product enrollment

Consult with us.

Maximize your district budget with customized benefits.

Get a streamlined solution.

We understand that attracting and retaining talented K-12 employees is more critical than ever. With at least 280,000¹ fewer public school teachers than before the pandemic—and this shortage now expanding to bus drivers, custodians, school nurses and cafeteria workers—offering the best options for affordable, high-quality insurance and other benefits can play a big part in whether your employees choose to stay or go. We can partner with districts to package benefits that are appealing to employees even amid budgetary constraints.

Consult with us.

Maximize your district budget with customized benefits.

Get a streamlined solution.

Consult with us.

We understand your organization.

We are the leader in providing customizable employee benefits to the public sector, and we understand what K-12 education organizations like yours need to create benefits and retirement plans that serve the people who serve our children.

Partnering with us means offering a fine-tuned, highly tailored mix of products and services that gives you a competitive edge and meets your employees’ needs. We promise best-in-class program design, one-stop personal service and robust technology that will save you time and money, help you attract and retain employees and simplify your plan administration.

We understand your organization.

Compliance Services

Using robust technology, we remove compliance challenges.

Learn more

HRA • Special Pay Plans • FICA Alternative Plans*

Creative, cost-effective solutions for retirement & health care funding.

Learn more

Voluntary Benefits

Great for employees and helps you recruit and retain top candidates.

Learn more

Benefits Administration & Enrollment

We ease your administrative burden with The BEACON.

Learn more

Compliance Services

Using robust technology, we remove compliance challenges.

Learn more

HRA • Special Pay Plans • FICA Alternative Plans*

Creative, cost-effective solutions for retirement & health care funding.

Learn more

Voluntary Benefits

Great for employees and helps you recruit and retain top candidates.

Learn more

Benefits Administration & Enrollment

We ease your administrative burden with The BEACON.

Learn more

Compliance Services – ACA, FMLA, COBRA

We remove compliance challenges.

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Compliance Services – ACA, FMLA, COBRA

We remove compliance challenges.

Compliance is complex. We can help.

Navigating compliance can be daunting. It’s your responsibility to stay up to date with regulatory paperwork and file the proper IRS forms detailing your employee benefits eligibility. Tracking this information — including hours worked, dependents and employment status — is a lot. But not with us.

Not only are we top-notch benefits plan designers and administrators, we also offer robust technology that monitors and collects data, handles COBRA and FMLA administrative tasks and removes compliance challenges in terms of privacy and IRS reporting. We can also help you with an IRS audit if you receive an ACA compliance letter or penalty.

Consult with us.

HRA • Special Pay Plans • FICA Alternative Plans

Save with tax-advantaged specialty benefit plans.

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HRA • Special Pay Plans • FICA Alternative Plans

Save with tax-advantaged specialty benefit plans.

Get optimized health and welfare benefits for employees.

Did you know there are specialty plans you can establish that save both your K-12 organization and employees tax dollars?

Maximize accumulated leave: Use tax-advantaged benefits plans to drive significant savings for both you and your employees. Consider a Special Pay Plan or Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) to provide tax-deferred or tax-free benefits.

Attract and retain substitute teachers: Offer retirement benefits to part-time, seasonal and temporary employees with a FICA Alternative Plan.* This is an alternative to Social Security that eliminates the employer’s matching contribution and replaces it with an impactful employee benefit.

Consult with us.

Voluntary Benefits

Add popular benefits options your employees want.

Voluntary Benefits

Add popular benefits options your employees want.

Attract and keep top talent with voluntary benefits.

Voluntary benefits have become an integral part of many K-12 employee benefits packages. Having these options available to supplement their core benefits gives school district employees peace of mind and gives you a competitive edge.

Offering a wide range of voluntary benefits is not just nice for employees, it also helps you recruit and retain top candidates. With these benefits options in the mix, K-12 employees feel more secure, protected and satisfied in their work environment, and you have an effective way to stand out in today’s tight labor market.

Count on us for valuable voluntary coverage that sets you apart — and at discounted rates your employees will likely not find on their own.

Consult with us.

Benefits Administration & Enrollment

A simple, turnkey platform.

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Benefits Administration & Enrollment

A simple, turnkey platform.

Enrollment. Onboarding. Education.

How can you make benefits administration easy for you and your employees? Using our proprietary, innovative technology, we provide an integrated, multichannel experience and a one-stop solution for all your employee benefits programs.

Take the hassle and headache out of enrollment by partnering with us. We provide customized enrollment strategy and communications for a seamless employer and employee experience. Plus, our cloud-based Benefits Education Administration & Communication Online (BEACON) platform is easy to use and helps employees understand and receive full value from their employer-provided benefits.

Consult with us.

1Low pay, stress and burnout: U.S. schools face severe teacher shortage

*FICA Alternative Plans are not available in all markets.