SIMERPU RESEARCH · SOURCE RECAP
How Colorado Employers Reduce Payroll Taxes via Wellness Programs
SIMERPU recap and commentary: Mardy Gould
Opened — main text retrieved
Quick recap
Explains claimed employer payroll savings through qualified pre-tax wellness elections, with numerical examples and plan-document and nondiscrimination considerations.
SIMERPU’s viewpoint
A Colorado-focused illustration is useful when it prompts an employer to examine its actual payroll and employee population. SIMERPU would identify the assumptions behind the pre-tax election and the savings calculation, alongside the plan-document and nondiscrimination considerations. A local presentation still needs an employer-specific application.
What this source contributes
The local framing and numerical examples can prompt employers to examine their own payroll facts.
What remains unanswered
Location alone does not establish employee tax participation, eligibility or the result of a particular plan.
Mardy Gould’s take
I would use the example as a starting point and rebuild it for the employer’s actual workforce. Ask which taxes apply, which employees qualify and what fees are deducted. The local context is useful when it leads to more specific questions, especially where employees’ payroll circumstances differ from the standard illustration.
Questions I would bring to the conversation
1. Which payroll taxes apply to this workforce?
2. What plan and eligibility assumptions support the election?
3. What is the net result after fees and participation limits?
Mardy Gould · Co-Founder, SIMERPU →
What would change our assessment?
Employer-specific payroll data and verified plan terms could change the numerical result substantially.
Read the original source
The original author and publisher are credited below. Continue to their article, document or source page for the complete context.
Original Author: Pure Risk Advisors (no individual byline)
Publisher: Pure Risk Advisors
Original Publication Date: 2026-02-05
Read this alongside…
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City of Chicago
Source position: Neutral / explanatory
Compare a workforce-specific analysis where tax participation changes the economics.
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26 CFR §1.105-2 — Amounts expended for medical care
eCFR / Office of the Federal Register
Source position: Neutral / explanatory
Keep the reimbursement question separate from local savings arithmetic.
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What do we need to know when approached by vendors offering payroll tax savings programs?
WTW
Source position: Critical
Turn the example into concrete questions for the employer’s advisers.
Read the SIMERPU recap →
Keep learning with SIMERPU
Build your understanding with learning resources, the free Professional Roadmap and our approach to reviewing sources.
About this source
Original Updated Date: Not stated
Source Type: Vendor / adviser marketing or advocacy
Model Discussed: §125 wellness payroll elections
Position: Promotional
Period: Recent — 2023–2026
Retrieved: October 31, 2026
Each record identifies the material retrieved. SIMERPU’s viewpoint and Mardy Gould’s take are editorial commentary; the source-position label describes the original source’s stance. Read the original and its qualifications when evaluating a particular arrangement.
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