FAQs

What are the QSEHRA Notice requirements?

An employer funding a QSEHRA for any year must provide a written notice to each eligible employee that includes the following information:

  1. A statement regarding the maximum dollar amount of reimbursements that may be made for the year with respect to the eligible employee (the “permitted benefit”).
  2. A statement that the employee should provide information regarding his/her permitted benefit to any Health Insurance Marketplace to which the employee applies for advance payment of the health care premium tax credit (subsidized coverage).
  3. A statement that, for any month in which the employee does not have MEC, he/she may be subject to an individual shared responsibility payment and reimbursements under the QSEHRA may be includible in gross income.

Effective for years beginning after December 31, 2016, the Notice generally must be provided no later than 90 days before the beginning of the year in which the QSEHRA is funded (or if an employee is not eligible to participate in the QSEHRA as of the beginning of such year, the date on which the employee is first eligible). In addition, effective for years beginning after December 31, 2016, an employee’s total permitted benefit for the year must be reported on his/her Form W-2.

Failure to provide the Notice may result in a penalty of $50 per employee per day with the total penalty not to exceed $2,500 in a calendar year. Penalty relief is available for years beginning after December 31, 2016 as long as the Notice is provided no later than 90 days after December 13, 2016.

What are the criteria an employer must meet before they can fund a QSEHRA?

An employer is eligible to fund a QSEHRA for the current calendar year if the employer had fewer than fifty (50) full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees, on average during the prior calendar year as determined according to the employer shared responsibility provisions also known as “pay or play”; and the employer does not offer a group health plan to any of its employees.

Where can I see information about my employees’ available HSA Advance amount or any repayment balances?

In your Employer Account, a new “Advance Account” tab displays both the available advance balance and activity, and the advance repayment amount and activity.

What reporting is available with the HSA Advance feature?

HSA Advance information is included in the HSA Advance Activity available on demand through your Employer Account. It contains numerous sources of information regarding your employees’ HSA Advance accounts. Also, HSA Advance balances are included in the HSA Account Detail report.

How will I know when HSA Advance funds are being used or when funds are being repaid?

You will receive an employer notification when there is either an advanced funding need or when advanced funds are being repaid to your bank account. The notification will arrive one business day before the electronic funds transfer.

Are there any tax implications for employees who use funds from their HSA Advance account?

No. Surency will automatically treat each advance funding contribution as a regular payroll deduction in terms of counting it towards the designated IRS maximum contribution limit. Also, when a contribution is used to repay the advance, it will not be included in the maximum contribution calculation, so it is not double counted.

Can an HSA Advance account be established or adjusted mid-year?

Yes. You can set up an HSA Advance account for a new employee at any time during the benefit Plan Year. The advance amount provided should not be higher than the total of employee contributions that will occur in the remainder of the Plan Year.

Similarly, current employees may decide to adjust their payroll election during the year. If an employee reduces or increases their HSA contribution, it is possible to change the HSA Advance amount for your employee as well through your Employer Account or via a CDEx import record. If the employee has used HSA Advance funds, they will not be able to reduce their HSA contributions to less than their advance repayment amount. (Within the Member Account, there is an optional configuration to reduce the updated advance amount by the outstanding repayment amount to reduce risk having an outstanding balance to repay at the end of the year.)

How is the HSA Advance money paid back?

Surency will automatically facilitate an electronic fund transfer to deposit into your bank account when a consumer’s payroll deduction or employer contribution is received.

How do employees access the HSA Advance funds?

The process happens automatically. When an employee makes a payment using their Benefits Card or makes a personal payment and requests a distribution using the Surency mobile app or Member Account, and they have insufficient funds in their HSA and their investment account, funds from the HSA Advance account will then be applied.

Who determines the employee’s HSA Advance amount?

You set the HSA Advance amount per employee. Best practice is to set the amount to either the payroll election for the benefit year or a percentage of the consumer’s payroll election to minimize the risk of employees having an outstanding advance repayment amount at the end of the Plan Year. If you make an HSA Advance amount available in the middle of a Plan Year, it is recommended that the advance amount be equal to or less than the amount of remaining payroll deductions. There will be configuration settings to determine if the advance balance should be included in the auto-pay settings for claims exchange.

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