Happy Holidays from CPN!

CPN will be closed...

Thursday, November 22^nd & Friday, November 23rd 

to observe the Thanksgiving Holiday.

If you are a client whose scheduled reimbursement processing date falls on the date above, please see the below payment schedule.

• Claims received no later than 8:00a.m., CDT, Wednesday, November 21st will be processed the same day.

• Claims will also be processed on Monday, November 26^th.

Thank you and CPN wishes you all a wonderful holiday season.

Effective Immediately - NEW CPN Policy - Customer Service Calls

Effective Immediately, CPN has put into place a new policy for taking incoming calls from spouses/dependents of your Participants (Account Holder).

Any calls into CPN’s customer service MUST be from the Participant/Account Holder, not the spouse or dependent. If a spouse or dependent calls to request a card, CPN will direct them to the MyFlexOnline that is available for the participant who holds the account.

If the participant/account holder gives their spouse/dependent access to their MyFlexOnline account, there they can request a card for themselves. Otherwise, the participant/account holder can call CPN’s customer service department and request one in their name.

CPN apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause, but it is the in the best interest of the Participant. We appreciate your understanding. This same policy is also honored by VISA’s lost/stolen hotline. Only the participant may call in to report a card lost/stolen for security reasons. CPN values and upholds the same type of security to protect all participants’ accounts.

Thank you,

CPN Management

CPN's Halloween 2012

Corporate Planning Network's 

2012 Halloween Party

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate,

The first one said,

"Oh my, it's getting late."

The second one said,

"But we don't care."

The third one said,

"I see witches in the air."

The fourth one said,

"Let's run, and run, and run."

The fifth one said,

"Get ready for some fun."

Then whoosh went the wind,

And out went the lights,

And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

PUMPKIN CONTEST WINNERS!!!!!

CPN's Family!

CPN Holiday Schedule - Labor Day

Please note CPN will be closed, Monday, September 3^rd to observe Labor Day.

If your company's scheduled reimbursement processing date falls on the date above, please see the below payment schedule.

• Claims received no later than 8:00a.m., CDT, Friday, August 31st, will be processed the same day.

• Claims will also be processed on Tuesday, September 4th.

Thank you and CPN wishes you all a great and safe Labor Day weekend.

Upcoming 2013 CPN Renewal Information

This notification is addressed to Debit Card Clients who are on a calendar year plan year (January to December) ONLY. 

If your plan year is not on a calendar year, you may delete this notification.

CPN will begin to send 2013 Calendar Year Renewal Packets via email in the next few weeks. Everyone should receive their renewal packet no later than October 15^th. If you do not, please contact Katherine Reder via email katherine@cpnflex.com.

Below are some very important reminders for you as well as helpful information you may want to communicate to your participants.

Unreimbursed Medical Maximum

IRS max set limit at $2,500

As you know, the IRS has set the maximum limit on Health Unreimbursed Flexible Spending Accounts at $2,500 effective January 1, 2013. For companies whose 2012 FSA maximum are currently set over $2,500, you will notice your FSA maximum has been lowered to the new amount in your 2013 renewal packet. Those with limits already set at $2,500 or lower, will be fine. However, if any client needs to make changes to your maximum amounts, please contact Katherine Reder.

2012 Card Request Deadline

The deadline to order 2012 take care® cards for new hires, etc. will be October 31, 2012. Keep in mind, any new hire information you send CPN on or after October 31^st, they will be required to submit paper claims and request reimbursement from their 2012 account.

“Dates of Service” Reminder

Please remind participants they cannot use their 2013 take care card to pay for 2012 dates of service*. This will require the charge amount to be adjusted, and the participant will be responsible for paying CPN back. This is the most commonly seen occurrence and CPN cannot stress its importance enough. If the amount is not paid back by the employee, the employer will be invoiced for the balance due amount.

*“Dates of Service” Reminder with 2 ½ Month Claims Extension on Medical FSA Plan

Participants who enroll in the FSA for 2013 and still have 2012 FSA money left, may use their take care card to pay for services, and funds will be deducted from their 2012 monies (if available) but only until 3-15-2013.

IMPORTANT: Participants must keep up with their 2012 FSA balance. If they use their take care card to pay for a 2012 dates of service in the 2013 plan year, and the charge amount is greater than their 2012 FSA available balance, the difference will be deducted from their 2013 FSA, which is not allowed and will be adjusted requiring the participant to pay back to CPN.

During this 2 ½ month extension, the card may be use for 2013 dates of service as well, but if funds are available in the participant’s 2012 FSA, it will pay from the 2012 FSA first until the balance goes to zero ($0.00) – this is OK, but keep in mind, if a participant swipes for a 2013 date of service and uses all their 2012 FSA money, and then comes up with a 2012 date of service bill they need to pay, they will not be able to claim this expense because their 2012 FSA balance will at that point be zero ($0.00).

Pending IRS-verification on charges made on a prior account

Participants need to check their MyFlexOnline account by going to www.cpnflex.com to see if they have any charges requiring IRS-verification. They may view this list from their “pending payments” screen. If their current plan year card is placed on suspension due to pending itemized statements or Explanation of Benefits, this will also cause their “future” card status to remain suspended until their prior plan year has been addressed.

Thank you for allowing CPN to be your plan administrator and we look forward to yet another great year.

CPN Management

The Supreme Court Decision on the Affordable Care Act

During the last week of March, the Supreme Court heard an unprecedented three days of oral argument on the question of the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (the "ACA"). On June 28, 2012, the Court announced that it finds the entire ACA to be constitutional.

As a result, it's full steam ahead on meeting near-term requirements, such as the need to issue a summary of benefits and coverage or "SBC" document in connection with open enrollment.
 
In addition, outlined below is a snapshot of how this decision affects Consumer-Directed Benefit Accounts, such as Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts ("FSAs"), Health Reimbursement Arrangements ("HRAs") and Health Savings Accounts ("HSAs"):

• Health FSAs are still subject to a cap of $2500 on salary reductions beginning with plan years starting on or after January 2013.
• Health FSAs, HRAs, and HSAs must still require a prescription to reimburse medical over-the-counter medicines;
•  W-2 reporting is still required;
• Preventive care mandates (including contraceptive benefits) continue to apply to non-exempt health FSAs and HRAs; and
• Non-qualified HSA distribution excise tax continues at 20%.

Obviously, there are a number of other provisions that are included in the ACA and CPN will continue to update you as more information arrives.

The Court's complete set of opinions can be found here.  

$2500 Limit for Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts under the Affordable Care Act

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “Act”) imposes a $2,500 contribution limit on Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts (“health FSAs”) with “taxable years” that begin after December 31, 2012. Prior to this statutory limit taking effect, plan sponsors had the discretion to impose limits on the amounts of salary reduction contributions that employees could elect under the health FSAs.

 

On May 30, 2012, Notice 2012-40 was released and provides long awaited clarification of the Act’s statutory language regarding what constitutes a tax year for purposes of applying the contribution limit. This technical guidance explains that a tax year is defined as the plan year when calculating the limit.

 

In short, the Notice clarifies that:

 

1. the $2,500 limit applies to plan years that begin on or after January 1, 2013. Clients with off-calendar plan years that start before January 1, 2013 are not required to impose the limit until the following plan year that starts in 2013;

 

2. the $2,500 is a plan participant limit. In other words, a husband and wife who both work for the same employer may each elect $2,500;

 

3. the $2,500 is a plan limit. Specifically, a participant who works for two employers that are not in the same control group may elect $2,500 under each plan;

 

4. grace period amounts (i.e., amounts elected in a plan year that begins in 2012 that are available for the first 2 ½ months in the subsequent plan year), do not count toward the $2,500 limit;

 

5. plans must be amended to reflect this change before the end of 2014.

 

 

The new $2,500 limit reduces the potential for using health FSAs to defer compensation and the extent to which salary reduction amounts may accumulate over time. Given the $2,500 limit, the Treasury Department and the IRS are considering whether the use-or-lose rule should be modified. If so, CPN will notify you immediately regarding this topic.

 

 

The complete Notice is available at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-12-40.pdf and will be in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2012-25, dated June 18, 2012.