Frequently asked questions
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Saegis Benefits sells the following products:
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Group Products:
- Term Life
- Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D)
- Short Term Disability
- Long Term Disability
- Dental
- Supplemental Life
- Dependent Life
- Term Life
- Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D)
- Short Term Disability
- Long Term Disability
- Dental
- Dependent Life
- Cancer plans
- Accident plans
- Critical Illness
- Hospital Indemnity plans
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Saegis Benefits has an exclusive arrangement with USAble Life in which USAble is the only carrier quoted on groups with 1 to 99 lives.
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It takes approximately 15 business days to receive the contract and certificates. These documents are shipped via UPS to the group administrator on file and delivered to the physical location of the group.
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Yes, the group administrator will receive an administrative manual from Saegis Benefits that includes the contract along with a supply of both enrollment and claim forms.
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No, the BCBSNC Group Membership Department handles the enrollment of the ancillary products along with the health enrollment.
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The first billing statement should be reviewed carefully to ensure that all employees are included on the statement and that the correct rates are being billed. If the coverage is non-contributory, all eligible employees must be enrolled.
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If you have non-contributory coverage, the employer is paying the total cost of the premium and all eligible employees must be enrolled (whether enrolled in the health plan or not). If you have contributory coverage, the employer and employee are sharing in the cost of the plan. For contributory plans, there is a 75% participation requirement meaning that 75% of all eligible employees must enroll in the plan.
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A waiting period is the period of time, after initial enrollment, that all new employees must exhaust before becoming eligible for benefits. Each group determines their own waiting period. Typically, employers select the first of the month following 30, 60 or 90 days after initial enrollment.
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For initial setup of a group, new employees can be enrolled via a DOI spreadsheet. For ongoing maintenance, new employees must complete an enrollment form electing coverage. Even if the employer is paying 100% of the premium, each employee must complete an enrollment form. The primary purpose of the enrollment form is to collect beneficiary information. Once the form is complete, the employer should provide a copy to the employee and keep a copy in the employee's personnel file.
On the billing statement, there is a reconciliation section in which the employer can add new employees. Upon completion, submit the original enrollment form with the monthly billing statement and payment.
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All groups with disability coverage have the option to have USAble Life prepare W-2s annually for disability claims. All new groups must complete a USAble Life W-2 Agreement. If you are an existing group and are interested in USAble Life preparing W-2s annually, please complete the USAble Life W-2 Agreement.
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Short-term and long-term disability benefits may or may not be considered taxable income. The taxability of these benefits is determined by who pays the premium and how it is paid. Contact your tax advisor for more information.
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When a disability benefit is considered taxable, the benefit become subject to tax withholdings. These withholdings include FICA (Social Security and Medicare tax), and FIT (federal income tax). FICA and FIT only apply to the portion of the benefit that is considered taxable based on the descriptions provided above.
Federal income tax withholding is voluntary rather than mandated by federal law. The employee will be responsible for electing how much FIT to withhold (if any) and making any changes to this amount during the duration of the claim.
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For long-term disability coverage, USAble Life will include a FICA-match service at the request of the employer at no additional cost.
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All FICA and FIT withholdings on disability payments are deposited by USAble Life through the Federal Reserve System using USAble Life's Federal Tax Identification number. These deposits are made on a biweekly basis to coincide with the frequency that disability income withholding reports are distributed.
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Yes. Long-term disability and short-term disability FICA reports are distributed biweekly. Summaries are distributed as well, on a quarterly and yearly basis. These reports are generated automatically and will be sent to all employers that have benefits paid during the applicable periods. You can request additional reports by contacting the USAble Life FICA representative at 1-800-648-0271.
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Please consult with your tax advisor for an answer appropriate to your company. Unless the FICA-matching service is requested for short-term disability, USAble Life will only withhold and submit the employee's portion of FICA as reflected in the reports provided to your office.
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No. Only groups that had employees on disability in the applicable month will receive the monthly report. Every group will receive a report at the end of the year if any disability benefits have been paid during the year.
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The employer will be responsible for FUTA and SUTA taxes on both short-term and long-term disability payments. Please refer to IRS Publication 15A, under the sections regarding sick pay, for details on instances in which the payments may be exempt from FUTA.
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USAble Life will generate W-2s for all groups who have opted for the FICA matching service at no additional cost. For groups with short-term disability coverage that have elected to retain responsibility for matching FICA, W-2 printing service may be requested at no additional cost.
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The employer is still required to report all disability benefits, as well as any withholdings. If the employer group has terminated their USAble Life coverage, the W-2/FICA reporting requirement remains the same.
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Yes. A W-2 is still required and it should show the benefits as third party sick pay.
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No. The employer can either include the third party sick pay with the taxable wages received during active employment with the employer, or they may choose to issue a separate W-2.
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Upgrades for group size 1-50 should be sent to rating.enrollment@bcbsnc.com
Upgrades for group size 51+ should be sent to NBAdd.change@bcbsnc.com
Salary changes should be sent to group.maintenance@bcbsnc.com
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We will use USAble Life's tax ID number for all generated long-term disability claim W-2s and short-term disability claim W-2s. If your company has elected to prepare your own W2s for sick pay, your company's tax identification will be used.
NOTE: Please be aware that Saegis Benefits and USAble Life are not tax advisors and the information outlined in this section is only to assist you with some general tax questions. Any specific or detailed questions should be addressed with your own tax consultant.