How does Service 1st Benefits support my business during open enrollment?

We personally manage the entire open enrollment process — from educating employees to handling enrollment forms and answering plan questions. Our goal is to make open enrollment smooth and stress-free for everyone.

Can employees contact you directly for help?

Yes. Employees can reach out to us anytime for questions about claims, coverage, ID cards, or plan details. We act as your team’s benefits partner, not just your broker.

What size businesses do you work with?

We specialize in serving small and medium-sized businesses, typically ranging from 1–200 employees. If you’re growing or planning to expand, we help scale your benefits as your team grows.

Do you handle communication with insurance carriers for us?

Absolutely. We take care of claims issues, employee changes, renewals, and any carrier communication so you don’t have to spend hours on hold.

Do you offer voluntary or supplemental benefits?

Yes. We can provide optional add-ons like disability, accident, or critical illness insurance to enhance your benefits package at little or no cost to the employer.

What types of group benefits do you offer?

We provide comprehensive group health, dental, vision, and life insurance options for small and medium-sized businesses. We help you compare plans, handle enrollment, and manage carrier communication.

What information do you need to provide a quote?

We typically need: Number of employees Basic employee census (age, gender, ZIP code) Current plan (if applicable) Desired benefits or coverage goals We keep the process as simple as possible.

Do you charge fees for your services?

No. Our services — including plan comparison, open enrollment, and year-round support — are provided at no additional cost to your business.

ACA Employer Mandate at 50 Employees: What Changes

Charlie Hopgood
Jul 29
2 min read

Yes — once you're an Applicable Large Employer (ALE) under the ACA, you're required to offer health coverage to full-time employees or face a penalty. The threshold is 50 full-time-equivalent employees, and the counting rules catch more growing businesses than owners expect.

How the 50-employee count actually works

It's not just headcount — it's full-time-equivalent (FTE) employees, averaged over the prior calendar year. Two part-time employees at 20 hours a week combine to roughly one FTE. This means a business with 45 people on payroll, several of them part-time, can already be an ALE without anyone realizing it.

What being an ALE requires

Offer minimum essential coverage to at least 95% of full-time employees (30+ hours/week) and their dependents
The coverage must be "affordable" — employee-only premium contribution capped at a percentage of household income (using IRS safe harbors since you don't know actual household income)
The plan must meet minimum value standards — covering a defined share of expected costs

What happens if you don't comply

Two separate penalty types apply, both calculated monthly and both real:

Failing to offer coverage at all to enough full-time employees, if even one goes to the marketplace and gets subsidized coverage
Offering coverage that's unaffordable or doesn't meet minimum value, again triggered per employee who gets subsidized marketplace coverage instead

Both are assessed by the IRS based on Forms 1094-C/1095-C reporting — which is itself a separate annual filing requirement once you cross the threshold.

The measurement period trap

Employers often check their count once, at hiring, and never again. FTE status is based on a 12-month measurement period, so seasonal growth, an acquisition, or steady hiring across a year can push you over 50 without a single dramatic hiring event you'd notice.

What to do if you're near the line

Run an actual FTE calculation over the trailing 12 months — don't estimate from headcount
If you're close to 50, model out both scenarios (staying under vs. crossing) before your next hiring decision
If you've crossed it, confirm your current plan actually meets affordability and minimum value — a plan that worked fine as a small employer offering isn't automatically compliant once mandate rules apply

Know where you stand before it costs you

Getting this wrong is expensive and often invisible until an employee gets subsidized marketplace coverage and the IRS notice follows. Talk to Service 1st Benefits and we'll run your FTE count and check your plan against ALE requirements before it becomes a penalty instead of a plan.