As your business grows, so does your payroll—and with it, the amount of money you send off in payroll taxes. For many employers, it’s an accepted cost of doing business. But what if it didn’t have to be? Scaling companies often overlook smarter payroll strategies that can legally reduce their tax burden while actually improving their employee benefits. Sounds too good to be true? That’s exactly what the Lumara Plan was designed to fix.
This isn’t your typical Section 125 plan. To help with payroll taxes, The Lumara Plan combines a compliant Section 125 framework with a fully managed Preventative Care Management Plan (PCMP) and a Self Insured Medical Reimbursement Plan (SIMRP), giving businesses a powerful, modern way to reduce payroll taxes and reinvest those savings into better care for their teams.
Let’s break it down.
Why Traditional Payroll Structures Are Costly for Scaling Companies
As your W2 count grows, so does your FICA (Social Security and Medicare) tax bill. For every employee, employers are typically responsible for paying 7.65% in payroll taxes. Multiply that across 50, 100, or 1,000+ employees, and you’re looking at a major recurring expense.
Many business owners turn to outsourcing or software to “get help with payroll taxes” from an administrative standpoint, but few look at strategic ways to legally reduce those taxes altogether.
That’s where pre tax deductions payroll comes in. But not all pre-tax strategies are created equal.
Why Pre-Tax Deductions Alone Aren’t Enough
Pre-tax deductions in payroll—like health insurance premiums or commuter benefits—can offer limited savings, but they often apply only to specific employees or result in minimal tax impact. Most companies already leverage these and think they’ve maxed out their opportunities.
The Lumara Plan goes far beyond that.
The Power of the Lumara Plan: A Fully Managed, Fully Compliant Alternative
Lumara helps employers stop overpaying payroll taxes by integrating three smart, compliant components:
- Section 125 (Cafeteria Plan): A framework that allows certain health-related benefits to be deducted pre-tax.
- Preventative Care Management Plan (PCMP): Covers proactive care like wellness checks, screenings, and digital health support, improving long-term employee health.
- Self Insured Medical Reimbursement Plan (SIMRP): Offers tax-free reimbursement for specific medical expenses not typically covered by insurance.
The result is one of the most compliant, benefit-rich programs available, built specifically for scaling companies.
What Makes the Lumara Plan Different?
Unlike traditional approaches, the Lumara Plan:
- Requires no out-of-pocket cost to the employer
- Works alongside existing health plans without replacing or disrupting them
- Does not reduce employee take-home pay—in fact, employees often see a 3–4% net paycheck increase (about $100/month)
- Can be implemented in just 30–45 days
- Saves employers approximately $600 per year per W2—equal to $60,000 per 100 employees
That’s not just help with payroll taxes—that’s a real solution.
How the Lumara Plan Works in Action
Let’s say your business has 150 full-time W2 employees. Under traditional payroll structures, you’re paying around $86,000/year in FICA taxes.
By implementing the Lumara Plan:
- You could reduce that cost by $90,000 annually
- Your employees receive expanded benefits—including $0 copay Telehealth, wellness tools, mental health support, and critical illness coverage
- Nobody’s paycheck is reduced, and your team gets more value than ever
It’s a win-win.
Key Employer Benefits
- Save ~$600 per year per employee
- Fast, automated rollout in just 30–45 days
- No disruption to existing benefits or systems
- Lower healthcare claims—average savings of $1,400 over 3 years
- Improve retention and recruitment with meaningful perks
- Immediate bottom-line impact
Key Employee Benefits
- 3–4% net increase in take-home pay (~$100/month)
- $0 copay for Telehealth, wellness visits, and mental health resources
- Universal Life, Disability, and Critical Illness coverage
- Tools and dashboards from the Mayo Clinic
- Expanded coverage for spouses and dependents
- More than 40,000 employees are already enrolled in the Lumara Plan—and for good reason.
Lumara’s Value to Scaling Companies
Lumara was built around one simple idea: employees deserve better support, and employers deserve better margins. Every year, businesses unknowingly waste thousands of dollars in payroll taxes, while their employees miss out on valuable, tax-free health benefits.
Our plan helps fix that.
It’s not just a tool to get help with payroll taxes—it’s a complete, managed system that works quietly in the background, improving financial efficiency and employee satisfaction without changing your existing structure.
It’s 100% compliant, 100% automated, and 100% cost-free.
Let’s Compare: Traditional Payroll vs. Lumara Plan
| Feature | Traditional Payroll | Lumara Plan |
| Payroll Tax Savings | None | ~$600/W2/year |
| Employee Take-Home Pay | No change or reduced | 3–4% increase |
| Added Benefits | Limited | Expanded health + family-wide coverage |
| Cost to Employer | High (FICA) | $0 |
| Setup Time | N/A | 30–45 days |
| Compliance | Varies | Fully managed & IRS-compliant |
Who Should Use the Lumara Plan?
If you’re a growing company with 50+ W2 employees and you’re looking to:
- Stop losing money to tax waste
- Modernize your benefit offerings
- Avoid costly plan overhauls or confusing compliance risks
- Deliver real value to your team without trade-offs
… then Lumara is for you.
Final Thoughts: There’s a Smarter Way to Grow
Growing a business is hard enough without unnecessary tax burdens draining your resources. With the Lumara Plan, you can reinvest payroll tax savings directly into your people, without adding complexity, changing plans, or spending more.
Pre-tax deductions in payroll are just the beginning. When you layer them with a compliant, automated PCMP and SIMRP solution like Lumara, you unlock a smarter, more strategic payroll tax structure—designed specifically for scaling businesses.
More than 40,000 employees are already enrolled. Isn’t it time you discovered what they’re gaining?
Book your 10-minute consultation today and find out how much you could save.
Need help with payroll taxes and benefit planning? We’re here to help.
Learn more about the Lumara Plan by talking with a benefits expert and get a free savings proposal now!
