Key Items for Same-Sex Benefits

Towers Watson identifies key item in "IRS Clarifies Same-Sex Marriage Issues for Cafeteria Plans (Including FSAs) and HSAs After Supreme Court’s Windsor Decision", including:

"1. Employers and their counsel need to review IRS Notice 2014-1 to determine its impact on the employer’s particular facts, particularly with respect to existing health plan contribution payment arrangements for health coverage of same-sex spouses, and for FSA and HSA contributions.

2. Unfortunately, the IRS guidance has arrived so late in the 2013 cafeteria plan year that, as a practical matter, it will afford virtually no time for large employers to implement options with respect to the balance of the 2013 cafeteria plan year.

3. Employees may recover overpayments of income and employment taxes attributable to periods (over 2013 and the previous three years) when employees have paid for same-sex spouse coverage on an aftertax basis..."

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