TASC Expands TASC Card with New Rewards and Incentive Option – TASC Cash
Continuing to expand capabilities in the Card market space
Madison, Wis. (November 20, 2014) – TASC announces its newest innovation – TASC Cash – a rewards and incentive option for the TASC Card.
TASC Chief Development Officer Pam Reynolds shared, "We’re excited to bring the TASC brand into the rewards and incentives card market. We know this innovation to the TASC Card will offer our clients an easy, convenient, and cost-effective way to recognize employees and other valuable relationships."
TASC Cash is a prepaid rewards/incentive MasterCard® designed to be given as a thank you gift or reward. Rather than limiting use to one restaurant or store, recipients can use the card at any retailer that accepts MasterCard.
"Each time a recipient uses TASC Cash, they’re reminded of the good job they’ve done and the giver’s appreciation," said Reynolds.
TASC Cash has been released to a limited audience. If you would like to be notified when TASC Cash is available in full release, please send an email to tasccash@tasconline.com.
TASC Recognized by Benefits Selling Magazine’s 2014 Readers’ Choice Award Program
TASC is recognized as a Third-Party Administrator with comprehensive service.
Madison, Wis. (November 18, 2014) – TASC (Total Administrative Services Corporation), a provider of tax-advantaged medical and other benefits account management services, has been named runner-up in Benefits Selling magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards. The magazine’s readership of 35,000 benefits brokers who sell group and voluntary benefits nationwide voted TASC runner-up in the “Which third–party administrator offers the most comprehensive service” category.
Benefits Selling had this to say about TASC: “…Which means, of course, that TASC takes the number 2 spot again. But they’re hardly a bridesmaid, building a strong, and apparently faithful, alternative broker segment. Think of them as the Samsung to AmeriFlex's Apple. Or maybe it's the other way around? Either way, both TPAs remain light years ahead of anyone in the business.”
This marks the sixth time the readers of Benefits Selling have recognized TASC as one of the country’s best third-party administrators. TASC previously won this award in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2013.
TASC is delighted with the award. “It’s one thing to be in the market saying good things about yourself, but when a large group of knowledgeable industry insiders take it upon themselves to honor you, that really says something,” says TASC Chief Executive Officer Daniel N. Rashke. “TASC will continue to work diligently to offer the most comprehensive service available for the benefit of our Clients, Participants, and Providers.”
TASC Named 2014 Philanthropy Day Award Recipient
TASC is recognized as “Outstanding Corporation” for its community minded service and giving.
Madison, Wis. (November 3, 2014) – TASC (Total Administrative Services Corporation), a provider of tax-advantaged medical and other benefits account management services, is pleased to receive the 2014 National Philanthropy Day Award for Outstanding Corporation. TASC was nominated by Jeanan Yasiri Moe, of Group Health Cooperative of Southeastern Wisconsin and a member of TASC’s Board of Advisors.
Each year, the Greater Madison Chapter of AFP (Assoc. of Fundraising Professionals) holds a Philanthropy Day event to honor individuals and companies who promote thoughtful and effective philanthropy in the greater Madison area. The awardees will be honored at the 27th annual luncheon on November 7, 2014 at the Overture Center for the Arts.
Kirsten Houghton, Principal at SVA and President of the AFP Greater Madison Chapter said, “Each year when I leave AFP’s National Philanthropy Day I hear words like “I am inspired” and “I want to do more.” I know this year’s event will be no different. Our honorees have something in common—they take action when they see a need and work to fill the gaps. National Philanthropy Day reminds us that one act of generosity coupled with hard work can change someone's life. Multiply those actions over a lifetime and you change the face of the community.”
Nominations are open to anyone and are accepted each year from May 1 through July. An anonymous panel of judges (non-AFP members) from the Greater Madison area review nominations and submit recommendations.
About AFP With 30,000 members in 231 chapters throughout the world, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) works to advance philanthropy through advocacy, research, education, and certification programs. The association fosters development and growth of fundraising professionals and promotes high ethical standards in the fundraising profession. For more information on AFP and National Philanthropy Day, please visit www.afpnet.org.
TASC Named 2014 Industry Innovator by the Institute of Healthcare Consumerism
CDO Pam Reynolds of TASC is recognized for her work on the innovative TASC Card.
Madison, Wis. (October 30 2014) – TASC (Total Administrative Services Corporation), a provider of tax-advantaged medical and other benefits account management services, today announced their designation as a 2014 Innovator by the Institute of Healthcare Consumerism’s (IHCC). Pam Reynolds, Chief Development Officer (CDO) at TASC, was recognized for outstanding leadership and innovative healthcare benefit solutions.
Instrumental in this recognition was Reynolds’ work on the development of the TASC Card with its MyCash innovation, a revolutionary way to pay for eligible healthcare expenses and spend funds reimbursed from a cardholder’s Flexible Spending Account (FSA), all on one card. With MyCash, claim reimbursements for out-of-pocket expenses are automatically deposited into a separate cash account that is accessible through the TASC Card for non-FSA purchases. This unique feature transforms the TASC Card into a multi-purpose payment tool for Participants.
“With the addition of MyCash, TASC has transformed the limited-use FSA card into a general purpose payments tool and means of accessing funds in Participants’ tax-advantaged accounts,” said Elaine Harkins, Vice President at MasterCard Worldwide. “This increases Participants’ engagement with their FSA and health plans overall. Pam has been instrumental in developing this solution and ensuring its success.”
About IHCC The Institute for HealthCare Consumerism is the only multi-platform, collaborative environment focused exclusively on innovative health and benefits management. It’s a place for employers (including HR and benefits managers, wellness executives, C-suite executives, financial management decision makers and executives), TPAs, solution providers, brokers, advisors, consultants and administrators of regional health plan providers to learn, connect and share.
TASC’s Suites Offer Tax Savings and Protection
TASC is packaging some valuable service offerings together to help employers save time, money, and worry.
Madison, Wis. (October 20, 2014) – TASC (Total Administrative Services Corporation), a provider of tax-advantaged medical and other benefits account management services, announces the release of four Service Suites designed to help employers save on taxes, reduce administrative workload, and lessen liability, all at the same time.
TASC’s new Services Suites provide tax savings and the efficient handling of complex, time-sensitive, and labor-consuming programs. Customers simply pick the Suite that best suits their goals and objectives. The four Suites include the following:
- Standard Suite: COBRA-ERISA
- Plus Suite: COBRA-ERISA-FSA
- Premium Suite: COBRA-ERISA-FMLA-FSA
- Compliance Suite: COBRA-ERISA-FMLA
COBRAToday takes the worry out of COBRA administration. We handle the necessary notices, forms, and record keeping. And we even provide for the collection of premium payments.
ERISAEdge provides required documents and record keeping. In addition, we help you follow a fiduciary code of conduct and meet strict deadlines for disclosing Plan information to eligible employees.
FlexSystem offers cutting-edge technology to provide Participants a variety of features and quick turnaround of their reimbursement requests.
FMLAMatters meets the challenge of FMLA’s complex legal administrative requirements. We assume responsibility and liability, backed by our employers’ hold-harmless guarantee.
Dynamic Services and Management
TASC’s Suites reduce the burden on the employer’s HR staff, allowing them to focus on other important functions. They also save employers money, because outsourcing costs far less than paying for more HR staff. In addition, with TASC’s Suites, Client’s HR staff no longer has to deal with the “personal” nature of these programs, while free webinars, newsletters, and notices keeps customers informed and updated.
TASC Acquires CUNA Mutual’s Payroll Business
TASC purchases CPI Qualified Plan Consultants’ book of payroll business; will serve these Clients with the innovative PayPath payroll advantage.
Madison, Wis. (September 17, 2014) – TASC (Total Administrative Services Corporation), a provider of tax-advantaged medical and other benefits account management services, announces that it has acquired CUNA Mutual’s CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc., (CPI) payroll business.
Since 1971 CPI, a subsidiary of CUNA Mutual Investment group has been widely known in the intermediary market as a retirement plan record keeper. Located in Great Bend, Kansas, CPI currently served 262 payroll Clients throughout the United States.
“An integral aspect of TASC’s growth strategy is to identify and acquire high-growth high-value solutions for customers. Purchasing CPI’s book of business fits perfectly with our desire to diversify services. We are very excited to add CPI’s Clients to our growing book of payroll business,” said Dan Rashke, TASC chief executive officer.
Jim Famularo, vice president of operations with CUNA Mutual Retirement Solutions made it quite clear why they chose to sell to TASC. “Selling our payroll business will allow us to invest and focus more on our core 401(k) business and related growth strategies,” said Famularo. “We feel TASC is the ideal organization to acquire this book of business, as payroll is core to their operating model.”
Concepts in Benefits, Inc. Joins the TASC Family of Businesses
TASC and Concepts in Benefits, Inc. have joined forces to provide innovative and sustainable solutions for reshaping health benefits financing in America.
Madison, Wis. (August 29,2014) – TASC (Total Administrative Services Corporation), a provider of tax-advantaged medical and other benefits account management services, announces that Concepts in Benefits, Inc. (CBI) has become a Division of TASC.
Founded in 1988 and located in Bedford, New Hampshire, CBI entered the FSA marketplace in 1999. Their team of one part-time and eight full-time employees provides administrative services for over 450 Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA) and COBRA administration plans primarily in the northeast United States.
“An integral aspect of TASC’s growth strategy is to identify and acquire high growth high value solutions for customers. CBI’s solutions fit this criterion perfectly. We are very excited to add CBI to the TASC family of businesses and to be able to offer their solutions to our customer-base,” said Dan Rashke, TASC CEO.
Bryan Murphy, President of CBI made it quite clear why they choose to merge with TASC. “We had several merger options with both local and national Third-Party Administrators (TPAs). After careful scrutiny and due diligence, it was clear that TASC was the most aligned with CBI in mission and culture. It was our desire to partner with a TPA who emphasized Client and customer service, who maintained a corporate culture with a moral compass, and who cares deeply about its employees,” says Murphy. “In addition, TASC’s aggressive use of technology was an extension of the path on which we had already embarked. We are proud to be a part of an industry-leading organization and we are excited to introduce them to our broker partners and Clients.”
TASC CEO Inducted into In Business Hall of Fame
Madison, Wis. (July 2, 2014) – TASC is pleased to announce that CEO Dan Rashke has been inducted into the In Business Hall of Fame. Rashke was part of the Class of 2014, which includes Gail Ambrosius, Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier; Robert Dunn, Hammes Co.; David Simon, Veridian Homes; Sandi Torkildson, A Room of One’s Own Bookstore; and Michael Victorson, M3 Insurance. When inducting Rashke into their Hall of Fame, In Business Magazine recognized him for his innovative use of telecommuting and for his philanthropic efforts in Dane County. Specifically, he and TASC were noted for their programs to increase volunteerism among the TASC staff. Programs like paid time off for volunteering and TASC’s Dollars for Do’ers that donates $5 per hour to any charity at which a TASC employee volunteers during off work hours. “I found it kind of neat that some of the efforts that our organization has put forth have been validated in this manner,” says Rashke. “I’m blessed to have a strong leadership team that helps prop me up.”
For the complete In Business article, click here.
TASC Launches Transit & Parking Service Offering
Madison, Wis. (July 2, 2014) – TASC (Total Administrative Services Corporation), a provider of tax-advantaged medical and other benefits account management services, is pleased to launch a new Transit & Parking service offering. For many employees, just getting to work is a costly endeavor. TASC’s Transit & Parking offering works to lower employee expense and helps employers enhance their benefits package with an incentive that can attract and retain qualified employees at practically no additional cost! And by encouraging more employees to use public transportation, Transit & Parking helps reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, and save energy.
When offered as a pretax benefit, the Transit & Parking deduction helps employers and employees alike save on federal taxes. And employees subject to state and local taxes will realize even greater savings. Expenses eligible for reimbursement through Transit & Parking include transport on mass transit facilities, transport on a commuter highway vehicle, which is define as having seating capacity for at least six adults, and at least 80 percent of total mileage must be for transporting the employee between his/her residence and place of employment, and costs paid for parking on or near the employer’s business premises or at a location from which the employee commutes to work by mass transit facilities, commuter highway vehicle, or carpool.
“By implementing a Transit & Parking Plan with TASC, employers can save approximately $225 annually per employee on taxes, while their employees can save more than $1,100 a year,” says Dan Rashke, TASC CEO. “At a time when employers and employees alike are searching for savings, TASC’s Transit & Parking service offering helps them save money on a necessary expense.”
eflexgroup, Inc. (eflex) and eCOBRA Join TASC
Top Administrators Merge to Offer Powerhouse of Services
Madison, Wis. (June 1, 2014) – TASC (Total Administrative Services Corporation), a provider of tax-advantaged medical and other benefits account management services, announces that eflex and eCOBRA have become TASC Divisions. All headquartered in Madison, WI, the three companies have joined forces to provide innovative and sustainable solutions for reshaping tax free benefit offerings across the nation.
By joining forces with TASC, eflex and eCOBRA preserve their cultures of innovation, teamwork and service excellence, while gaining the scale-based advantages of a well-capitalized organization with over 800 employees in 60 locations. As TASC divisions, the eflex and eCOBRA networks will have access to a best-in-class portfolio of services for businesses large and small.
Both companies view the merge as great opportunity to expand and improve services. “We’ve been competitors in the same space, headquartered in the same town for 15 years,” said Tom Jacobs, eflex co-founder and CEO. “It’s about time we joined forces and started to focus on delivering the very best service and value to businesses and employees across the country,” he added. “Our combined services mean faster answers, faster payments, more web self-service and technology, and quite frankly more and better product offerings. We couldn’t be happier.”
“We are so pleased to welcome eflex and eCOBRA to the TASC family of businesses,” said Dan Rashke, TASC CEO. “We’ve known them a long time. We see this merger as a way for both companies to learn from each other’s best practices and grow.” He went on to say that an integral aspect of TASC’s growth strategy is to identify and acquire high growth high value solutions for customers. “The eflex and eCOBRA solutions fit the criteria perfectly.”
TASC Launches Funded HRA Service Offering
Madison, Wis. (May 12, 2014) – TASC is pleased to announce the launching of a Funded Health Reimbursement Arrangement (Funded HRA) service offering for public sector entities. A leading benefits administration firm headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, TASC has grown to be the largest privately held, stand-alone third-party benefits administrator in the United States.
A Funded HRA provides employees a source of tax-free funds to pay for out-of-pocket uninsured medical expenses and then takes it a step further by integrating investments and allowing employees to invest, accumulate interest, and receive reimbursement payments, all tax-free. An employee who receives $1,000 a year in an unfunded HRA accumulates $20,000 in 20 years. Meanwhile, with TASC’s Funded HRA (assuming a 4 percent growth rate), the same employee accumulates over $30,000 in that same 20 years!
Employers who combine a Funded HRA with a Higher Deductible Health Plan can gain control of healthcare expenses for their active employees. A funded HRA can be used exclusively to pre-fund post-employment healthcare expenses for retirees. Participant accounts accumulate and compound tax-free during employment and are used to pay for retiree health insurance premiums and uninsured medical expenses during the employee's retirement years.
“Offering a Funded HRA service offering really helps public and government entities offer employees an attractive, sustainable, and flexible healthcare benefits package,” says Dan Rashke, TASC CEO. “And it helps employers save money on healthcare, create a hedge against healthcare inflation, and prepare for future healthcare obligations.”
TASC Acquires GiveBack to Transform Charitable Giving
Madison, Wis. (May 2, 2014) – TASC is pleased to announce the acquisition of the online philanthropy program GiveBack. A leading benefits administration firm headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, TASC has grown to be the largest privately held, stand alone, benefits administrator in the United States.
GiveBack’s founder, Stephen Paletta, was the winner of Oprah Winfrey’s reality show “The Big Give.” Half of his one million dollar winnings were earmarked for continued giving. Paletta reasoned that if he could use the money to create an easy way to encourage people to give a little bit more to the charities they cared about, he could do more good than by just donating the $500,000. With Oprah Winfrey’s help, that’s how GiveBack came to be. Now Paletta is joining forces with the employee benefits leader TASC.
“I wanted to create a platform where each person would be able to give as they see fit and be celebrated for it. And that’s what GiveBack does; it provides a platform for every person to have their own personal foundation and support the charities of their choice,” says Paletta. “With TASC’s help, the vision for GiveBack is 10 million people, giving away an average of $500 a year. Do you know that’s five billion dollars a year? That would be the largest charitable foundation in the world.”
According to TASC President and CEO Dan Rashke, the partnership provides an opportunity to continue and expand on an area he is increasingly involved in, philanthropy.
"By joining together, both organizations can grow and leverage each other’s strengths and core areas of expertise,” says Rashke. “And when you consider the good we can do in the world with this service offering, it’s really exciting!”
TASC Uses SEER for Software and Delivers Improved Productivity and Cost Savings With Software Development
Background As one of the nation’s largest privately held third-party benefits administrators, Total Administrative Services Corporation (TASC) provides a wide range of employee benefits solutions to clients of all sizes across all 50 states. The services they provide include flexible spending accounts, health reimbursement arrangements, health savings accounts, COBRA administration, and other products designed to assist Human Resource leaders with corporate benefit and risk compliance administration.
Challenges TASC Faced TASC is experiencing rapid growth--over 20% every year--and the company’s product development capabilities and capacity needs have been growing at a similar rate. “We develop most of our product administration software internally and we wanted to be better able to measure our productivity within the software development function. It can be maddeningly hard to measure software development productivity, and you can’t improve what you can’t measure”, explained Karl Richards, CIO of TASC.
TASC needed to measure productivity improvements within the software development team as they improve their development processes and implement a new continuous software delivery model. “Our goal is to be able to measure our results so we can clearly understand the impact of our actions and demonstrate the value we are contributing to the organization,” said Richards.
The number one challenge for CIOs is defending and demonstrating how much software development costs. Because software is activity-based, you can’t just deliver a bill of materials. The costs to write software have a lot to do with the amount of functionality the project is designed to deliver, its level of complexity and the desired level of quality, as well as the capabilities of the software development personnel, the processes, tools, and other project environmental factors that can influence productivity.
Solutions After considerable research and exploration, a consultant suggested that Richards look at SEER for Software. While Richards had heard of these estimation methods being used by government agencies and large development shops, at the time he didn’t think that it would be useful or applicable for midsize businesses like TASC. The consultant suggested that the path to measuring software improvement was by using software estimation tools and modeling and then tracking actuals against those estimates. “It can be maddeningly hard to measure software development productivity and you can’t improve what you can’t measure”, explained Karl Richards, CIO of TASC.
Results TASC Experienced After working with Galorath to better understand the SEER solution, TASC decided to implement SEER for all new software development projects. TASC was able to achieve more than was originally planned and derived several important results for the organization that enhanced both the productivity and the credibility of the TASC IT team.
Faster Estimating and Improved Productivity Richards reports that the first thing they noticed was that his team was able to deliver project estimates much faster using SEER for Software. The tool is designed to take and analyze a series of inputs to quickly estimate the cost and schedule to actually build the project. For most companies, this process requires a significant amount of effort to be invested upfront simply to deliver an estimate. Richards commented, “Not only are we faster at delivering the estimates, we no longer need to have our best and most costly resources spending time on the estimation process. We’re now able to empower our Project Managers to take over that role.”
Unleashing Previously Hidden Data to Drive Results Over the last year, TASC has been estimating projects in SEER and then returning to review benchmark data after the project has finished. That process has allowed them to also develop a mechanism to track project execution productivity over time and therefore be able to analyze trending and react accordingly.
“All that data is being captured in SEER today and we had no way to obtain that data before,” said Richards. “The data also helped us learn about the complexity of the functions we’re developing and gain a better understanding of our risk analysis throughout the Software Development Life Cycle.” By request, Galorath collaborated with and delivered a special dashboard tool to TASC that allows it to report how well projects are going and to track productivity on groups of projects over time.
Early Visibility to Critical Business Decisions For TASC, one of the most measureable accomplishments was experienced almost immediately when on a large integration project, SEER demonstrated that TASC was heading down a path of unfavorable economics. Because of the early visibility, changing direction allowed the team to deliver an 82% Internal Rate of Return (IRR) on this project instead of a negative net value, saving both time and lost opportunity cost.
That kind of early visibility enhances credibility with the leadership team and has also given the team a level of confidence to look at using SEER for vendor evaluations as it contemplates full software module outsourcing for certain projects. Richards says, “I know that I will never have enough resources to accomplish everything requested of IT, so I see SEER giving me the intelligence to spend IT dollars as strategically as possible, and that’s a competitive advantage for TASC.“