by Sherron Lumley. A health savings account (HSA) is an option available to small businesses that when used in combination with a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) provides an affordable way to offer medical benefit to employees. For the employer, there is a significant benefit—contributions made to an employee’s HSA are tax deductible. For the employee, the benefit from the employer is not considered part of gross income for tax purposes, so the funds contributed are not subject to...

by Reed Richardson. Ask almost any small business owner about health insurance costs and they’re likely to tell you the same thing. Were Ben Franklin around today, he would have to amend his famous quote “Nothing is certain but death and taxes” to include one more inevitable fact of life: health insurance premium increases. Indeed, the recent figures can be eye-watering. Between 2001 and 2011, health premiums increased 113 percent across all business sizes in the United States, according...

By Max Berry When money and time are tight, assisting with your employees’ continuing education may seem like little more than a nice idea: one of those potentially rewarding but ultimately non-essential strategies you’ll employ once your bottom line is a bit healthier. But in a service-based economy that thrives on innovation—and with young people bringing more advanced education to the work force than ever before—refreshing the education of your own employees begins to seem less like an...

Simple to set up, easy to administer, Simplified Employee Pension Plans may be for you By Max Berry Among all the 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and various types of IRAs available to you and your employees, Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plans don't get a whole lot of attention. This doesn't mean you shouldn't consider one for your firm. If you're a small business owner just starting to offer retirement packages to your employees-or one simply looking to expand the ways employees can save-a SEP may be...