California Pilot Program Providing Commuters With Tax-Free Transit Benefits Becomes Permanent
September 27 2016 - 5:00AM
Business Wire
Employers in the San Francisco Bay Area must
Provide Tax-Free Transit Benefits
California’s Governor has signed into law SB 1128, making
permanent a pilot that provides employees in the Bay Area with
tax-free transit benefits. Under the program, employers in the Bay
Area with at least 50 full-time employees must provide their
workers with the option of tax-free transit and vanpool
benefits.
The legislation defines a “full-time employee” as one who
performed an average of at least 30 hours of work per week during
the previous calendar month. The number of full-time employees is
the average number of full-time employees per week, on payroll,
during the most recent 3-month period.
Transit benefits stem from a Federal law which allows employees
to be provided, or withhold, up to $255/month for transit or
vanpool expenses so long those funds are provided or withheld by
employer. Employers that do not currently have a commuter benefit
program in place will be pleasantly surprised at how easy this
benefit is to provide to employees. There are no required plan
documents and no defined open enrollment periods. By offering
commuter benefits, employers can save up to 7.65% on average in
payroll taxes, and employees can save up to 40% on their commuting
costs by using pre-tax money.
The pilot program has been incredibly successful expanding
commuting options to those in the Bay Area and this legislation had
a wide-range of support.
Meltem Korkmazel, COO of Edenred Commuter Benefit Solutions,
states: “The results of the pilot were incredible and now that this
pilot has been made permanent, the results will become more and
more visible: Higher transit and vanpool participation, less
roadway congestion and cleaner air.”
Under the Bay Area Commuter Benefits Program, all public,
private, and non-profit employers with 50 or more full-time
employees in the covered counties are required to do the
following:
- Register through www.511.org;
- Designate a Commuter Benefits
Coordinator;
- Provide one of three pre-approved
commuter benefits options or an alternative commuter benefit
option, approved by the Air District;
- Notify covered employees of the
commuter benefit option selected and provide instructions on how to
utilize this benefit;
- Maintain records documenting
compliance, for 3 years.
Once covered by the Bay Area Commuter Benefits Program, an
employer must provide commuter benefits to any “covered employee,”
not just full-time employees. Covered employees are employees who
performed an average of at least 20 hours of work per week during
the previous calendar month.
Information on implementing a transit benefit program can be
found at www.commuterbenefits.com, or by contacting us at
1-800-531-2828.
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About Commuter Benefit Solutions, by
Edenred
Edenred Commuter Benefit Solutions is the nation’s only
comprehensive commuter benefit solutions provider and number one
resource for commuter savings. Since 1985, Edenred has served
Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies, top third party benefit
administrators and the nation’s largest metropolitan area transit
authorities. With its premier solution offerings; Commuter Check, a
nationwide commuter benefits program for employers; and
WiredCommute, a private label program for third party
administrators, Edenred is able to provide a one-stop total
solution experience. Edenred’s mission is to make tax-free commuter
benefits a staple in employee benefits packages nationwide.
-------
About Edenred
Edenred, which invented the Ticket Restaurant® meal voucher and
is the world leader in prepaid corporate services, designs and
manages solutions that improve the efficiency of organizations and
purchasing power to individuals.
By ensuring that allocated funds are used specifically as
intended, these solutions enable companies to more effectively
manage their:
- Employee benefits (Ticket Restaurant®,
Ticket Alimentación, Ticket CESU, Childcare Vouchers, etc.)
- Expense management process (Ticket Car,
Ticket Clean Way, Repom, etc.)
- Incentive and rewards programs (Ticket
Compliments, Ticket Kadéos, etc.)
The Group also supports public institutions in managing their
social programs.
Listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange, Edenred operates in
42 countries, with more than 6,000 employees, nearly 660,000
companies and public sector clients, 1.4 million affiliated
merchants and 41 million beneficiaries. In 2014, total issue volume
amounted to €17.7 billion, of which almost 60% was generated in
emerging markets.
Ticket Restaurant® and all other tradenames of Edenred products
and services are registered trademarks of Edenred SA.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160927005453/en/
Edenred Commuter Benefit SolutionsKerrie LePage,
857-228-1422Media Relationskerrie.lepage@commuterbenefits.com
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