How to give every employee a raise
without spending a dollar.

The mechanism, in plain English

Every W-2 employee earning $25,000+/year and covered under an ACA-compliant group health plan can be enrolled in a complete Section 125 Preventive Care plan. The mechanic, on a per-employee basis:

• $1,200/month of the employee's pre-tax salary is structured through the cafeteria plan — reducing their FICA-taxable wages by $14,400/year.
• The employee's federal income tax + employee FICA withholding drops by about $272/month (since they're paying tax on a smaller wage base).
• A post-tax wellness reward of ~$1,000/month is paid back to the employee's paycheck through a licensed indemnity insurance carrier (per IRS Rev. Rul. 69-154, Situation 3).
• Net effect for the employee: +$71.96 per paycheck (~$863/year), every paycheck, automatically.
• Net effect for the employer: $681.60/employee/year in net FICA savings (after the program's $35/month admin fee). Plus a Workers' Comp reduction at the next carrier audit cycle (because WC base = taxable payroll, which Section 125 reduces by definition).

See your raise — instantly

Use the Paycheck Decoder below to enter your current monthly take-home pay. The tool will show your projected post-Section-125 take-home + the annual raise total. There's also a one-click PDF generator that produces an HR Request Template you can hand to your owner or HR director.

Why this isn't just a salary increase

A traditional raise costs the employer more, not less. A $1,000/year salary increase costs the company $1,000 + $76.50 (employer FICA) + the additional Workers' Comp premium on the higher payroll base. For a 50-employee operation, a $1,000/year raise per employee is ~$54,000 of new annual employer expense. The Section 125 mechanism is structurally different: by reducing the FICA-taxable wages, it lowers the employer's tax burden while simultaneously increasing the employee's net take-home. Same paycheck improvement for the employee, opposite financial direction for the employer.

What employees gain beyond cash

The wellness program embedded in Section 125 Preventive Care includes 24/7 telemedicine for the entire household, 400+ free generic medications, dental savings up to 60%, and mental health counseling resources. That's ~$1,380/year of additional benefit value per enrolled employee. For a workforce that often lacks easy access to those benefits — restaurants, home care, cleaning, hospitality, retail — it's genuinely meaningful. Many operators report it as a recruiting and retention edge.

Real-world: how this looks at scale

Black Tiger Transportation (66 W-2 employees) saves $140,000/year. 66 employees each take home ~$72 more per paycheck. CEO is a CPA who reviewed every relevant IRS code himself. Case study →

Avant-garde / 69-location restaurant group (132 W-2 employees) saves $250,000+/year combined. 132 employees each take home ~$72 more per paycheck. Owner is an insurance broker who had three law firms review the structure before signing. Case study →

Compliance — what verifies the math

HitesmanLaw P.A. (May 5, 2025) — 8-page formal legal opinion from Darcy L. Hitesman, J.D., a Super Lawyer-rated ERISA attorney with 35+ years in IRC § 125 practice. Concludes the program satisfies applicable IRS requirements.

CBIZ Advisors LLC (August 22, 2025) — Top-7 U.S. accounting firm, 135,000+ clients. Independent review confirms compliance with IRC §§ 125, 105, 106, ERISA, ACA, and COBRA.

$500,000 insurance-backed legal protectionper enrolled employer + $10,000 per employee participant. Read the law in the IRS's own words at IRS.gov — Cafeteria Plans. See the federal statute at 26 U.S.C. § 125.

What to do next

For employers: book the free 15-minute analysis with the tax specialist. The output is a specific dollar number for your business that you can take to your own CPA.

For employees: use the Paycheck Decoder above and download the HR Request Template PDF. Hand it to your owner or HR director. They can take it to their CPA before deciding anything. Full employee guide →