Posts by Ryan Ross
2026 PCORI Fee: $3.84 and Due July 31
The 2026 PCORI fee is $3.84 per covered life for plan years ending on or after October 1, 2025 — which includes every 2025 calendar-year plan — and it must be reported and paid to the IRS by July 31, 2026, on the second-quarter Form 720. Plan years that ended between January and September 2025…
Read MoreWhat Is a Buy-Sell Agreement? A Broker’s Guide
A buy-sell agreement is a legally binding contract among the owners of a business that spells out what happens to an owner’s share if they die, become disabled, retire, or otherwise leave. It controls three things: who is allowed to buy the departing owner’s interest, what events trigger a sale, and the price. Think of…
Read MoreMEWAs Explained: When They Work and When They Don’t
A MEWA — multiple employer welfare arrangement — is a way for two or more unrelated employers to pool together and offer welfare benefits through a single arrangement. ERISA Section 3(40) defines it. The Department of Labor regulates it. States often regulate it more aggressively than the DOL does, especially when the MEWA is self-funded.…
Read MoreWhat Is Portability in Group Insurance? A Broker Guide
Portability in group insurance is the feature that lets an employee keep their employer-sponsored coverage after they leave the job. Most often it shows up on group term life policies, but it also appears on voluntary products like AD&D, accident, critical illness, and short-term disability. The employee pays the premium directly, the policy continues, and…
Read MoreKeogh Plan: What It Is and Why the Name Stuck
A Keogh plan is a tax-deferred retirement plan for self-employed people and unincorporated businesses. If that sounds like a description of a half-dozen plans you already know, that’s the point: the IRS no longer uses the word “Keogh” at all. What used to be called a Keogh is today just a qualified retirement plan for…
Read MoreUnilateral Contract Explained: What Brokers Should Know
A unilateral contract is an agreement where only one party makes a legally enforceable promise, and the other party accepts not by promising anything back but by performing an act. The classic textbook version is a reward: “I’ll pay $100 to whoever finds my dog.” Nobody owes you a search. But the moment someone returns…
Read MoreInsureds: What the Term Actually Means in Group Benefits
Open any insurance glossary on Google and “insureds” looks like a property and casualty term. Named insured, additional insured, certificate holder, contractor COIs — that’s the whole conversation. For benefits brokers, that’s the wrong frame. On a fully insured group health policy, “insured” works differently than it does on a contractor’s general liability policy. On…
Read MoreReinsurance Explained: A Benefits Broker’s Plain-English Guide
Reinsurance is insurance that insurance companies buy to protect themselves against catastrophic losses or unexpectedly high claims. The original insurer (called the “cedent”) transfers part of its risk to a reinsurer in exchange for part of the premium — the same way a homeowner buys protection from a carrier. You don’t sell reinsurance. But your…
Read MoreContingent Beneficiary: A Benefits Broker’s Plain-English Guide
A contingent beneficiary is the backup recipient on a life insurance policy or benefits designation — the person or entity that gets paid only if every primary beneficiary is unable to receive the proceeds. “Unable to receive” doesn’t just mean death. It also includes disclaiming the benefit, being unlocatable, or being barred under the Slayer…
Read MorePer Stirpes Explained: A Benefits Broker’s Guide
Per stirpes is a beneficiary designation that says: if one of my named beneficiaries dies before I do, their share goes to their descendants — not back into the pool to be split among the other named beneficiaries. Latin for “by branch.” It’s the box on a group life insurance form that decides whether a…
Read More