Section 125 Plans (cafeteria Plans)

Definition of "Section 125 plans (cafeteria plans)"

Shon McGuire real estate agent

Written by

Shon McGuireelite badge icon

Adams Cameron & Co. Realtors

Additions made by Congress in 1978 to the Internal Revenue Code that provide an employee benefit plan under which the employee makes an irrevocable decision to forego a portion of future income in exchange for receiving future benefits not subject to income tax at reception date. The employer deducts the cost of the employee's future benefits from present income as a business expense. These plans usually provide three options:

  1. Premium Conversion Employee contributes a proportionate share of the family health care costs with pre-tax dollars.
  2. Medical Reimbursement Account Employee is able to use a SALARY REDUCTION PLAN to pay with dollars on a pre-tax basis for medical expenses not covered by insurance; a separate medical reimbursement account is established for each employee.
  3. Dependent Care Reimbursement Account Employee is able to use a salary reduction plan to pay with dollars on a pre-tax basis for dependent care expenses.
An additional option sometimes provided for employees only (family members are excluded) is TERM LIFE INSURANCE for an amount up to $50,000 and DISABILITY INCOME INSURANCE. All employees must have equal access to the plans whether they are highly compensated or non highly compensated employees. Any monies left in the employee's account not used by the end of the year revert back to the company; this is known as the Use It or Lose It rule. As the employee incurs expenses, that employee applies for reimbursement through a form attached to the bill. When the administrator of the plan issues a check to the employee for the expenses, a statement is also provided that shows the amount remaining in the employee's account.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Insurance Terms

Pension plan format. After deciding how much to contribute, the employer can suspend, reduce, or discontinue contributions during the first 10 years only for reasons of business necessity; ...

Latin phrase meaning "beyond power or authority" describing an act by a corporation that exceeds its legal powers. For example, corporations do not have the authority to engage in the ...

Process of discovering sources of loss concerning the property risk faced by individuals and business firms. The first step is to analyze possible perils that can damage or destroy both ...

Coverage that will indemnify the insured for the expenses, up to the limits of the policy, if a building is damaged by a peril such as fire, and zoning requirements and/or building codes ...

Right of survivors to the interest in property of a deceased joint tenant as the result of property held in joint tenancy. ...

Investments restricted to short-term financial instruments issued by state, city, and county governments and agencies. Interest paid by those instruments are not subject to federal income ...

Technique of risk management. It ensures that an individual or business does not incur any liability relating to a given activity by avoiding the activity in question. For example, a ...

Coverage in a separate policy or as an endorsement to the commercial general liability (CGL) form, for liability exposures for an employee who drives a leased car or his or her own ...

Day on which the New York Stock Exchange is open for transactions; used in calculating accumulation unit values for variable dollar insurance products. ...

Popular Insurance Questions