Cafeteria Plan Generator

1. Welcome & Overview

Welcome to the Cafeteria Plan Generator from Kinney Health Compliance. This tool helps Minnesota public employers create, manage, and maintain legally compliant Section 125 Cafeteria Plan documents—without the complexity and cost of traditional legal drafting.

With our guided wizard, you can generate a complete, ready-to-adopt plan document in minutes. Your finished plan is available as both a PDF and a Word document, complete with electronic signatures, an audit trail, and automatic compliance tracking.

What You Can Do

• Create a customized Section 125 Plan document tailored to your organization
• Choose from four benefit components: Pre-Tax Premiums, Health FSA, HSA, and Dependent Care Account (DCAP)
• Preview your full document before finalizing
• Endorse using digital signature and download in PDF or Word format
• Receive a matching Summary Plan Description (SPD) with every finalized plan—the plain-language companion document you distribute to employees
• Easily manage your plan over time with automatic compliance updates and custom amendment capabilities
• Maintain a complete audit trail of every action taken on your plan

2. What Is a Section 125 Cafeteria Plan?

A Section 125 Cafeteria Plan (also called a “Flex Plan” or “Premium Only Plan”) is an IRS-recognized benefit plan that allows employees to pay for certain benefits using pre-tax dollars. This reduces taxable income for employees and payroll taxes for employers.

Common benefits offered under a Section 125 Plan include:

• Pre-Tax Premiums – Employees pay their share of health, dental, and vision insurance premiums before taxes are calculated.
• Health FSA (Flexible Spending Account) – Employees set aside pre-tax money to pay for eligible medical expenses not covered by insurance.
• HSA (Health Savings Account) – Pre-tax contributions to an HSA for employees enrolled in a qualifying high-deductible health plan.
• DCAP (Dependent Care Account) – Pre-tax dollars used for eligible child care or dependent care expenses.

To see the list of benefits we do not offer and why they're excluded from this service, please see visit our general FAQ section.

As a Minnesota public employer, having a properly drafted and adopted plan document is a legal requirement to offer these benefits. The Cafeteria Plan Generator creates this document for you.

3. Getting Started

Choosing a plan membership

To use the Cafeteria Plan Generator, you will need either to purchase one of the available plan memberships or, if your organization has arranged access for you, to sign up with a membership access code (see Organization access below).

1. Visit https://kinneyhealth.com/cafeteria-plan-generator-tool/ and navigate to the store page.
2. View plan membership options and select one that fits your organization (see Section 7 for details).

   Your membership determines what you can do with the Cafeteria Plan Generator. There are two main purchase options, each priced by employer size:

   • Single Plan – A one-time purchase that gives you one plan credit to create and finalize a plan document. Best if you need a plan document and do not expect compliance changes during the year.
   • Bundle (Plan + Compliance Subscription) – Includes a plan credit plus a recurring annual subscription that keeps your plan current with compliance updates. Best for ongoing plan management and compliance.

   You can also purchase a standalone Compliance Subscription at any time if you initially chose the Single Plan option and later want access to compliance updates.

   Recommendation

   The Bundle membership provides the best value if you plan to use the Cafeteria Plan Generator as your ongoing compliance tool. Compliance Updates that reflect changes in federal or state law are only available with an active Compliance Subscription.
3. Complete the registration form with your name, email, and a password for account creation.
4. After purchase, you will be redirected to the plan creation wizard and receive a confirmation email.

Organization access (membership access codes)

Some organizations—for example, an association or a cooperative—arrange Cafeteria Plan Generator access for their member employers directly with Kinney Health. If yours has, you do not buy a membership from the store. Instead:

1. Your organization gives you a single-use membership access code (codes look like ACCESS-XXXXX-XXXXX) and a link to its sign-up page.
2. Open that link, enter the code in the Membership Access Code field at the top of the form, and complete the sign-up. No payment is collected and no price is shown. The banner on the page names the package your code activates.
3. You are taken straight to the plan creation wizard and can start building plans right away.

There are two organization packages; your organization chooses which one it provides:

• Organization Plan Access – Unlimited plan creation, downloads, and Maintenance Updates. Compliance Updates are not included; you can add a standalone Compliance Subscription from the store page whenever you want them.
• Organization Complete Access – Everything above plus Compliance Updates. There is nothing else to buy, and every store card will show as already included in your membership.

4. Creating Your Plan (Step-by-Step Wizard)

The Plan Creation Wizard walks you through seven steps to build your customized Section 125 Plan document. You can save your progress at any step and return later to finish.

1 Plan Status

The first step asks whether you are creating a brand new Section 125 Plan or restating an existing plan that your organization already has in place.

• New Plan – Select this if your organization has never had a Section 125 Plan before, or if you are starting fresh.
• Existing Plan (Restatement) – Select this if you already have a Section 125 Plan and are using this tool to restate it with updated, compliant language. You will be asked for your existing plan’s original effective date.

2 Employer Information

Enter your organization’s details. This information is used throughout the plan document.

• Employer (Legal Name) – The full legal name of your organization as it should appear in the plan document (e.g., “Pine Lake School District”).
• Plan Year Start Date – The date your plan year begins. Most employers use January 1 or July 1. If restating, this is labeled “Restatement Effective Date.”
• Employer Address – The mailing address for your organization.
• Claims Administrator – The name of the person or company that will process benefit claims (e.g., your benefits coordinator or a third-party administrator).
• Claims Administrator Address – The mailing address where claims should be sent.

3 Coverage Options

Select which benefit components to include in your plan. You must select at least one option. Most employers include Pre-Tax Premiums as the foundation of their Section 125 Plan. You may select any combination of the following:

• Pre-Tax Premiums – Allows employees to pay their share of health, dental, and vision insurance premiums with pre-tax dollars. Included in most plans.
• Health FSA – Employees set aside pre-tax money (up to the annual IRS limit) to reimburse eligible medical, dental, and vision expenses.
• HSA – Pre-tax contributions to an HSA for employees enrolled in a qualifying high-deductible health plan (HDHP). Cannot be combined with a general-purpose Health FSA.
• DCAP – Pre-tax dollars for eligible dependent care expenses such as daycare, after-school programs, or elder care.

4 Plan Rules

Configure the specific rules for your plan. The options shown here depend on which coverage options you selected in Step 3.

Health FSA Plan Year Option – If you selected Health FSA, choose how unused funds are handled at the end of the plan year:

• Grace Period – Gives participants an additional 2½ months after the plan year ends to incur expenses using their remaining Health FSA balance.
• Carryover – Allows participants to carry over up to $680 for 2026 (indexed annually) of unused Health FSA funds into the next plan year.
• Neither – No grace period or carryover. Unused funds are forfeited at the end of the plan year (strict “use-it-or-lose-it”).

DCAP Grace Period – If you selected DCAP, you can optionally add a grace period for the Dependent Care Account. By default, DCAP uses only a run-out period (time to submit claims for expenses already incurred during the plan year).

Run-Out Period – Enter the number of days after the plan year ends that participants have to submit claims for expenses incurred during the plan year. The recommended period is 90 days.

5 Preview & Review

This step displays a full preview of your plan document content. Take time to review it carefully before proceeding.

• The document preview shows the complete plan as it will appear in the final document before endorsement.
• A sidebar navigation lets you jump to any article for quick review.
• If anything needs to be changed, use the Previous button to go back to previous steps and make corrections.

6 Plan Endorsement

The endorsement step is where the authorized representative formally adopts the plan. This serves as the official electronic signature on your plan document.

Authority Confirmation – Before signing, you must confirm how the plan adoption was authorized:

• Resolution Approved – A formal resolution was passed by your governing body (school board, city council, etc.) approving the adoption of this plan.
• Authority Delegated – The governing body has delegated authority to an individual to adopt employee benefit plans.
• You can download a draft PDF at this stage for offline review or to share with colleagues before proceeding to endorsement step.

Signature Information

• Printed Name – The full name of the person endorsing the plan.
• Signature – You can write your signature using the digital draw pad, use a digital signature that records your name with a timestamp, or leave the field empty for a hand-written signature.
• Title / Position – Your official title (e.g., “Superintendent,” “City Administrator,” “HR Director”).
• Date of Signature – The date the plan is being endorsed.

7 Download Your Document

After endorsement, your plan is finalized and ready for download. Clicking the download button on this page downloads two documents together:

• Your completed Cafeteria Plan document (PDF).
• Your Summary Plan Description (SPD) (PDF)—the plain-language companion document that summarizes the plan for your employees.

Both documents are permanently available from your Plan Dashboard, where you can also download them as Word documents (.docx) and access your Audit Report at any time.

5. Your Plan Dashboard

5.1 Dashboard Overview

The Plan Dashboard is the central hub for managing your cafeteria plan. Here you can see all of your plans, their current status, and available actions. From the dashboard, you can download, edit, view audit logs, and apply Compliance Updates or Maintenance Updates to your plan.

The dashboard shows:

• Available Plan Credits – How many new plans you can create. Organization members do not see a credit count—plan creation is unlimited, so the Create New Cafeteria Plan button is always available.
• Compliance Subscription Status – Whether your subscription is active or not.
• Plan List – A table of all your plans with their name, version, plan year, status, and available actions.

5.2 Plan Statuses & Plan Year Badges

Plan Statuses

Status	Meaning
In Progress	You have started creating this plan but have not completed all wizard steps. A progress indicator shows which step you are on (e.g., “Step 3 of 6”—the six steps you complete before the download step).
Draft	You have completed the wizard steps but have not yet endorsed (signed) the plan.
Finalized	The plan has been endorsed and the final document has been generated. It is ready for download and use.

Plan Year Badges

Plans are labeled with a plan-year status badge so you can see at a glance where each one stands:

Badge	Meaning
ACTIVE	The current date falls within this plan’s plan year. This is your currently effective plan.
UPCOMING	This plan’s plan year has not started yet. It will become active on its start date.
EXPIRED	This plan’s plan year has ended. If it is still your most recent plan—for example, you forgot to restate it for a new year—you can still open it with the Edit button and restate it. It only becomes a read-only historical record once a newer version replaces it.

5.3 Editing an Existing Plan

You can re-open a finalized plan to make changes by clicking the Edit button on your dashboard. How a change is treated depends on two things: whether the change is substantive (see Section 6.3 for what counts), and whether your plan year has started yet.

Non-substantive changes—such as correcting an address, claims administrator name, or a typo—take effect immediately and do not require re-endorsement, whether your plan is active or upcoming.

Substantive changes always require a new endorsement. Once a plan has been endorsed, any substantive change—to your benefit options, plan year rules, or plan year dates—changes the legal content of your plan document, so it constitutes a formal plan amendment. Adopting an amended plan requires endorsement, so you confirm your authority and re-endorse before the amended document can be finalized. What happens with your plan year dates depends on whether the plan is active or upcoming:

Editing an Active Plan (its plan year has started)

A substantive change to an active plan is treated as a formal custom plan amendment for your next plan year. Under IRS rules, mid-year amendments to a Section 125 Plan generally cannot take effect until the next plan year, so the system requires you to move the Plan Year Start Date forward—no earlier than the day after your current plan year ends. After re-endorsement, your original version stays in force as your active plan for the rest of the current year, and the amended version becomes your upcoming plan (see Section 6.3 for the full amendment process).

Editing an Upcoming Endorsed Plan (not yet in effect)

If your plan is endorsed but its plan year has not started, substantive changes still require re-endorsement, and what happens next depends on how the plan came to be. If it is your first plan in the system, every field is open to change, and after re-endorsement the plan is simply updated in place—since that version never went into effect, there is nothing to preserve as a historical record. If your upcoming plan was created by amending a previous plan, the version being replaced is preserved in your version history, and the plan status (new vs. existing plan) is locked, because your plan’s history is already established. In both cases you may keep or adjust the Plan Year Start Date, with one limit on how early it can be set:

• If this is your first plan in the system, the start date can be today or any later date—it cannot be moved into the past.
• If your upcoming plan was created by amending a previous plan, the start date cannot be earlier than the day after the prior plan year ends, so the two plan years never overlap.

5.4 Downloading Documents (PDF & Word)

From the dashboard, each finalized plan has two download buttons:

• Download Plan – Your official Cafeteria Plan document, the formal legal document your organization adopts.
• Download SPD – Your Summary Plan Description, the plain-language companion document you distribute to employees.

Each button offers the same two formats:

• PDF – A professional, paginated document ready for printing, filing, or sharing. The plan document includes your electronic signature, page numbers, and proper legal formatting.
• Word (.docx) – An editable document that preserves the formatting and content. Useful if you need to share an editable copy with legal counsel or other stakeholders.

5.5 Viewing the Audit Log

Every significant action on your plan is recorded in an audit trail. Click View Audit Log on the dashboard to see a chronological record of:

• Plan creation and each wizard step completion
• Endorsement details (who signed, when, from what location)
• Document downloads
• Compliance Updates and Maintenance Updates applied
• Custom Plan Amendments and version history

You can also download a printable Audit Report (PDF) for your compliance files.

5.6 Previous Versions

Your dashboard keeps the focus on the plan or plans that matter right now. In the Plan Document column you will see at most two: the plan currently in force (your active plan) and, if you have set one up, your upcoming plan. When you have both, a small dropdown lets you switch between them; if you only have one, it simply appears on its own.

Whenever a newer version takes over from an older one—for example, after you apply a Compliance Update, or once an amended plan reaches its effective date—the older version is saved as a read-only backup. Backups that are no longer your active or upcoming plan are tucked into a separate popup so they don’t clutter your dashboard. To see them, click the View previous versions button in the Plan Document column.

A popup window opens where you can:

• See each saved backup, listed newest first
• See a label explaining why each backup was created—a “Pre-Compliance Update Backup” (saved before our changes were applied) or a “Pre-Amendment Backup” (saved before your own changes)—along with the date it was created
• Download any backup’s plan document or its Summary Plan Description as a PDF or Word document

These backups are read-only—they cannot be edited or made active again. They serve as your historical compliance records, documenting what plan language was in effect during each period.

6. Keeping Your Plan Current

Employment benefit law changes regularly. The Cafeteria Plan Generator helps you stay compliant through three distinct types of updates:

6.1 Compliance Updates

When significant changes in federal or state law affect Section 125 Plans, we release a Compliance Update. This is a new version of the plan document template that incorporates required legal language changes.

How It Works

1. When a Compliance Update is available, you will see a “Compliance Update Available” notice on your dashboard and receive an email notification.
2. Click the Apply Compliance Update button to begin.
3. The system analyzes your plan to determine if the changes actually affect your specific document (based on which benefit options you selected).
4. If your plan is affected: You will see a redlined version of your document showing exactly what changed—additions are highlighted in green and removals are shown in red with a strikethrough. A sidebar lets you navigate directly to each changed section. Review the changes, then re-endorse your plan to adopt the Compliance Update.
5. If your plan is not affected: You will see a simple notice explaining that the changes do not apply to your specific plan. You can apply the Compliance Update with a single click—no review or re-endorsement is needed.

6.2 Maintenance Updates (Minor Fixes)

Occasionally, we release minor fixes to the plan document template—such as correcting a typo, updating a dollar figure for annual inflation adjustments, or clarifying wording. These are called Maintenance Updates.

How It Works

1. When a Maintenance Update is available, you will see a “Maintenance Update Available” notice on your dashboard.
2. Click Apply Maintenance Update to review the changes.
3. Just like Compliance Updates, the system checks whether the Maintenance Update affects your specific plan. If it does, you will see a redline of the changes and an option to accept them.

6.3 Custom Plan Amendments (Your Own Changes)

If you need to revise an endorsed plan—such as adding or removing a benefit option, changing your plan year rules, or changing your plan year dates—edit your plan from the dashboard. A substantive change amends the legal content of your plan document, so it constitutes a formal custom plan amendment, and re-endorsement is required to adopt the amended plan (see Section 5.3).

When a substantive change amends an active plan (its plan year has already started):

• Your original endorsed version stays in force as your Active plan for the rest of the current plan year, while your amended version becomes your Upcoming plan and takes effect at the start of your next plan year. Both appear in the Plan Document column.
• Once your next plan year begins and the amended version becomes active, your original version automatically moves into the View previous versions popup as a read-only “Pre-Amendment Backup” (see Section 5.6).

When a substantive change amends an upcoming plan (endorsed, but its plan year has not started yet), the same re-endorsement is required to adopt the amended plan. If it is your first plan in the system—never in effect and not created by amending an earlier plan—no historical snapshot is created and the plan is simply updated in place. If your upcoming plan was itself created by amending a previous plan, the version being replaced is preserved in your version history, so your amendment trail stays complete.

7. Membership Tiers & Pricing

Membership is based on your organization’s size. Each tier is available as either a Single Plan or a Bundle. Prices below are current as of September 2026; the store page always shows the current price at checkout.

Employer Size	Single Plan (One-Time)	Bundle (Plan + Annual Subscription)
Small (Under 50 employees)	$200	$300 first year, then $150/yr
Medium (50–199 employees)	$400	$500 first year, then $150/yr
Large (200+ employees)	$700	$800 first year, then $150/yr

The Bundle’s first payment covers the plan plus the first year of the Compliance Subscription at a reduced rate; after that, only the subscription renews. The plan itself is paid for once and is never billed again, and cancelling the renewal never takes away the plan.

What’s Included

Feature	Single Plan	Bundle
Plan creation credit	1 plan	1 plan
PDF & Word downloads	Yes	Yes
Summary Plan Description (SPD)	Yes	Yes
Maintenance Updates (minor fixes)	Free	Free
Compliance Updates	—	Yes
Version history & audit trail	Yes	Yes

8. Managing Your Account & Subscription

To access your account page, click the account link in the website header as shown below.

From your account page, you can manage your Cafeteria Plan Generator account and subscriptions. Here you can:

• View your active subscriptions and renewal dates
• Update your payment method
• Renew or cancel your Compliance Subscription
• View your purchase history and invoices

9. Frequently Asked Questions

Can I create more than one plan?

Each plan credit allows you to create one plan. If you need additional plans (for example, if you manage multiple entities), you can purchase additional single plan memberships. Organization members (Plan Access or Complete Access) can create as many plans as they need without purchasing anything.

What is the Summary Plan Description (SPD)?

The Summary Plan Description is a companion document generated alongside your plan document. While the plan document is the formal legal document your organization adopts, the SPD explains the plan in plain language and is the document you distribute to your employees. It is built from the same information as your plan, so whenever you download it, it always matches the plan version it belongs to. You receive it together with your plan in Step 7, and you can download it anytime from your dashboard using the Download SPD button (PDF or Word).

Can I change my plan after it’s been finalized?

Yes. Click the Edit button on your dashboard to make changes. Keep in mind that any substantive change to an endorsed plan—active or upcoming—requires a new endorsement. See Section 5.3 for details on how editing works and how the system handles plan amendments.

What happens if I selected the wrong benefit options?

You can change your benefit options and other plan details by editing your plan. The document will automatically regenerate with the correct sections for your updated selections. See Section 5.3 for details.

Can I edit the document text directly?

If you need to directly modify the text, you are welcome to download your plan in Word and edit that copy outside the system. Just keep in mind that copy then becomes yours to maintain: any later changes you make within our system—a Custom Plan Amendment, Compliance Update, or Maintenance Update—will not flow into it automatically, so you would need to carry those changes over yourself.

Is using an electronic signature legally valid?

Yes. Our electronic signature options meet the requirements of the federal ESIGN Act and the Minnesota Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Minn. Stat. § 325L). The system records the signer’s identity, timestamp, IP address, and other metadata as part of a comprehensive audit trail.

How do I know when a compliance update is available?

You will receive an email notification when a Compliance Update or Maintenance Update is available. You will also see a prominent notice on your Plan Dashboard the next time you log in.

What is the difference between a Compliance Update and a Maintenance Update?

A Compliance Update reflects meaningful changes in law or regulation that affect the legal compliance of your plan document. An active Compliance Subscription is required. A Maintenance Update is a minor, non-substantive update (typo fix, inflation-adjusted dollar figure, wording clarification) that is always free.

What if a Compliance Update doesn’t affect my plan?

The system intelligently analyzes whether the specific changes in a Compliance Update apply to your plan based on your selected benefit options. If the changes don’t apply to your plan, you will see a clear notice explaining this and can apply the Compliance Update with a single click—no redline review or re-endorsement is needed.

Can I go back to a previous version of my plan?

You can view and download any previous version of your plan from the View previous versions popup on your dashboard (in the Plan Document column). However, previous versions are read-only and cannot be made the active plan again. They serve as your historical compliance records.

What format should I keep for my records?

We recommend downloading and saving the plan PDF, the Summary Plan Description, and the Audit Report for each finalized version of your plan. The PDF is your official plan document, the SPD is the version you distribute to employees, and the Audit Report documents the endorsement and activity history for individual plan versions.

Do I need to print and physically sign the plan?

No. The electronic endorsement through the Cafeteria Plan Generator can legally serve as an official signature. However, you are welcome to print and wet-sign a copy for your files if your organization prefers that approach. You can choose the “blank signature” option during endorsement if you plan to sign the printed copy.

What browsers are supported?

The Cafeteria Plan Generator works best in modern browsers including Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari. We recommend using a computer or tablet as well as keeping your browser up to date for the best experience using our service.

10. Getting Help & Support

If you have questions or need assistance:

• Email: Contact us at info@kinneyhealth.com
• Phone: Contact us at 952-688-2872 during business hours (9am-5pm Central Time Zone, Monday through Friday)
• Contact form: kinneyhealth.com/cafeteria-plan-generator-tool/contact/

Our support team is available to help with account issues, technical questions, and general guidance on using the Cafeteria Plan Generator.