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FlexTalk Newsletters | Other Links |
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FlexTalk Winter 1999 In this Issue:
At Manley Services, we’re proud to be associated with some of the best and brightest, both in terms of our clients and our employees. In this issue, we feature architects and designers Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, and a list of our longest-term employees. For those of you who have not met Stan Manley, we’ve also included an article to introduce him to you. Compliance with the rules and regulations surrounding flexible spending accounts is challenging. This month, in our feature article, we give you some information that will help you determine whether or not a medical expense is allowable. To find out if that “R and R” golfing vacation is an allowable expense, read on... Client Profile: Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership Manley Services enjoys excellent working relationships with their clients. These clients cover many industries and services, but all share one thing in common: the highest standards for their business practices and their flex plan administration. Among our valued clients is the outstanding architecture and design firm of Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership. Headquartered in Portland, ZGFP has a history in the architecture, urban design and interior design fields that spans more than 45 years. They employ over 350 people in their offices in Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles and Bethesda, Maryland. Their specialty is commercial architecture, like hospitals, convention centers, office buildings, and university structures. Among ZGFP’s outstanding designs is Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, a recent winner of the American Institute of Architects Design Award. The Honors Award was presented for works that show excellent “use of natural light, gutsy and aggressive use of many different materials and a stubborn streak of modernism,” according to an October 28, 1999 article in the Oregonian’s Living section. Other North West landmark buildings designed by ZGFP are Portland’s Oregon Convention Center and OMSI, and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. When it comes to the administration of their flex plans, ZGFP relies on Manley Services. Gigi Pelfrey, ZGFP’s Payroll and Benefits Administrator, finds their service to be excellent. “They are very personable, upbeat, professional people,” she says. Comments from employees indicate that they are happy with the fast turnaround on reimbursements. “Its very rare that I have to intervene in any problems,” says Pelfrey. “When there are problems, Manley’s personnel are there to straighten them out.” All in all, Manley’s five-year relationship as the plan service provider for ZGFP has been rewarding for both parties. And while ZGFP is adding to the urban environment through uncompromising standards of form and function, we like to think that we’re doing the same for the benefits environment. BENEFITS: Flexible Spending Account What is an Eligible Health Expense? As the sponsor of a medical Flexible Spending Account, you know about the benefits of such an arrangement. Employees save for expected, but uninsured, medical expenses, incur the expense, submit their claims, and are reimbursed. The employee is happy, the company is happy, even the IRS is happy. But what happens if the expense for which the employee saves and requests reimbursement is a golfing vacation to the Bahamas, to alleviate stress? In short, the employee, the company and the IRS will be unhappy. Very unhappy. There are several tests an expense must meet in order to be considered eligible under a Flex plan. These tests are covered in Internal Revenue Code Section 213, and are the subject of guidance in Treasury Department regulations, Revenue Rulings, and other IRS publications. Interestingly, after meeting several specific tests, an expense still must be scrutinized using a “facts and circumstances” test. That means that while an expense may be approved for one claim, it may not be for another. Plan sponsors and practitioners alike wish that guidance was provided in black and white, but until that happens, these are the rules we must use. First, the expense must be primarily for the “diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease,” according to Section 213. Second, if not for the disease or illness, would the expense have been incurred? The answer must be ’no.’ Third, the expense must be considered reasonable. If all three of these tests are met, a “facts and circumstances” test is applied. Manley’s advice to clients is that employees ask us before allocating money to a questionable expense. Expenses that are covered by the company’ s insurance are safe, but anything else is questionable. If an employee saves toward an expense that is not allowable under Section 213, they are still obligated to contribute the funds and, of course, cannot recover them later. Manley Services, as the plan service provider, is obligated to verify some basic information. We must check to see that the date of service is within the plan year, and we must use a best faith effort to see that the expense is medically necessary. That’s why we sometimes request that participants send a letter from their medical care provider stating that the expense is medically necessary. When we perform these required steps, reimbursement goes as quickly and smoothly as possible. As always, if you or your employees have questions about an upcoming expense, please call our customer service line, at extension 107, or email us at sales@manleyserv. We’re always happy to help you. Dealing with former employees can sometimes be difficult. At the least, there is the paperwork required by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA); at the worst, ill feelings are added to the mix. To help our clients ease this problem, Manley Services began offering COBRA administration services in 1998. It’s proving to be a useful service to many of our clients. We provide COBRA administration to about 35 groups currently, and the business is growing rapidly. We’ve recently welcomed Georgia Saraceno in our COBRA department. Georgia joins John Follett and Brian Holmes on our COBRA team; she can be reached at extension 130. When you call to inquire about our COBRA services, be sure to say hello to Georgia. Stan Manley considers himself a fortunate man. He lives and works in an area he can truly call home, and the people he works with, related to him or not, he considers family. Stan was born and raised in Coburg, a small community just north of Eugene, Oregon, and the location of Manley Services. As a boy, Stan appreciated small town life. A 100%, dyed-in-the-wool baseball fan, he started early playing for his local teams, and dreamed of someday becoming a major league star. At least, he says with a laugh, “until I found out that there were people who were bigger, and stronger, and faster!” Once he made that disappointing discovery, Stan went to his fallback position: college. He attended Linfield, where he studied business and continued to play baseball. It was while attending Linfield, in fact, that Stan met his future wife, Liz. “She lived right across the street from the baseball field,” he chuckles. In fact, that’s where they met. Married in 1984, Stan and Liz are the proud parents of Tyler, 12, and Zach, 8. Instead of the usual “see you when we both get home!” arrangement that many couples have these days, Stan and Liz see each other during the day, too, since Liz also works for the company. When Stan is not at the office, he enjoys spending time with his family, and outdoor activities like fishing and hunting. And of course, he continues to indulge his passion for baseball. In fact, Stan only recently retired after nine years as the head baseball coach at Sheldon High School. “I’ve been coaching and playing forever,” he says, and he plans to help out with his boys as they move through the ranks of baseball teams. After graduating from college, Stan sold radio advertising for a few years before moving to Eastern Oregon to take a job as a Human Resources manager at a mill outside Pendleton. “I really enjoyed working in Human Resources, and it gave me good training for what I’m doing now.” After three years in Pendleton, Stan’s father, Gene Manley, asked Stan and Liz to open an office in Boise for his one-year-old business, Manley Services. They agreed, and spent a few years in Boise before coming back to Oregon to further expand the business. For Stan, the best part of working at Manley is the people. He says, “They’re great people to work with. They work hard, and are really conscientious about the jobs they do. It makes it fun to come to the office.” Even in this tight labor market, Manley Services employs people Stan considers “the best. We’ve been very, very fortunate,” he says. “Our employees are so wonderful, I can’t say enough about them. We can go out and sell, but without the people who work here in the office we wouldn’t be anything.” So while his career is not in the Major League, Stan Manley feels every day that he’s playing on the All Star Team. Manley Services opened for business in April 1987, with three employees and big dreams. We’ve come a long way in nearly 13 years; we now employ thirty-two people, and service more than 1,800 plans. While we’re proud of the success we’ve realized as a company, the credit really belongs to the skilled and dedicated people who work with us. We’ve been very fortunate to have a stable work force, because of our loyal staff. We appreciate the contributions made by all our employees, but we’d particularly like to recognize the following employees, who have been with us for many years.
Does your company use Manley Services to provide Premium Only Plan (POP) assistance? Nearly 700 organizations do. The POP allows employees to pay their health insurance premiums pre-tax; it’s a great savings to the employees, and often, to the employer. Consider, though, the benefits of adding a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) to the plan. It’s easy to add with a plan amendment at any time during the year, and in most cases, the company’s tax savings will cover the additional cost. The benefit? An FSA allows employees to use pre-tax dollars to pay out-of-pocket health expenses (like deductibles, orthodontia, co-pays and vision care) or dependent care expenses. A great deal for everyone! Call us for more information, and we’ll be happy to give you the details. If you have not yet had your renewal meeting, now is the time to schedule it. Please call Sandra at extension 122, or Angie at extension 106, to schedule. Please send in employees’ renewal forms as soon as you receive most of them, so we can process them quickly. If there are a few stragglers, send them in later. If you have questions and a modem, you can email us. Send questions to sales@manleyserv.com. Need forms? Call Heather Wilson at extension 129. She’ll be happy to get you a fresh supply of forms for things like address changes, enrollments or reimbursements.
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