In October 2017, UBA published the 2018 Annual Benefit Plan Card. The card has been updated to reflect a change in the small employer health insurance credit average wage phase-out.

The Annual Benefit Plan Card is a quick reference chart that you can co-brand and give to clients showing the 2018 cost of living adjustments for health and Section 125 plans, qualified plans, Social Security/Medicare withholding, compensation amounts, and more. Near the end of 2017, the U.S. Social Security Administration updated the 2018 taxable wage base, which is now $128,400 instead of $128,700. That figure appears at the top of the right-hand table on the benefit plan card, under Social Security/Medicare, labeled "OASDI taxable wage base."

In March 2018, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2018-10, which adjusted the annual inflation factor from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to a new factor called a chained CPI. This is retroactively effective to January 1, 2018.

As a result of the change, the family contribution limit for health savings account contributions is lowered to $6,850 from $6,900. Individuals with family coverage who planned to contribute to the full family amount should decrease their contributions going forward. The most recent change is to the small employer health insurance credit average wage phase-out, which has been lowered to $26,600 from $26,700.

The updated 2018 annual benefit plan card can be downloaded form AdEase under Compliance or What's New.

Questions? Contact Karen Hsu at khsu@ubabenefits.com

If you have questions about AdEase, please contact Meg Cipar at mcipar@ubabenefits.com.