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

Earnings by an insurance company from dividends on its equity portfolio, rent from real estate and other property it owns, and interest on its bond holdings. ...

Choice an employee can make of receiving higher private pension benefits prior to eligibility for Social Security, and lower pension benefits thereafter. For example, employees taking early ...

Ocean marine insurance covering one trip. Ocean marine insurance is written either for a specific time period or per trip. A voyage policy is usually written for cargo, whereas a time ...

Person who enters property without the right to do so. For liability purposes, it has been held that property owners are not responsible for trespassers as long as they do not intentionally ...

Time frame during which an annuitant makes premium payments to an insurance company. The obligations of the company to the annuitant during this period depend on whether a pure annuity or ...

Type of excess of loss reinsurance in which the insurance company (cedent) is guaranteed reinsurance for future covered losses once they exceed a specified amount on either a per loss, per ...

Classification at death of all pension plans, profit-sharing plans, individual retirement accounts (IRAS), annuities, and installment payments to the extent to which the deceased was ...

Return of a percentage of premium paid by a business firm if its loss record is better than the amount loaded into the basic premium. ...

Sums payable to the winning plaintiff by the losing defendant in a court of law; can take any or all of these forms: general, punitive, and special. ...

Popular Insurance Questions