While third-party administration firms are well known for providing comprehensive administration services to employee benefit plans, brokers and agents, employers and plan sponsors may not be aware of how well suited TPAs are to handle the upcoming abundance of reporting and disclosure rules under health care reform.

W-2 health care value reporting

Health care reform requires employers to calculate and report the aggregate cost of employer-sponsored health coverage on W-2 forms. This requirement was originally scheduled to take effect for 2011 W-2s, but the IRS made this optional for 2011.  Employers must be prepared to comply for the 2012 W-2s. At first glance, this reporting rule seems straightforward, but upon close examination of the IRS guidance (IRS Notice 2011-28), you'll see that there are many complicated nuances.