ICHRA employee notices: four weeks until the October 3 deadline

Calendar-year ICHRAs generally require a detailed employee notice at least 90 days before the plan year — October 3 for a January 1 start. September is when content, class design, and affordability testing should be locked, not drafted.

If your ICHRA is calendar-year, the October 3 employee-notice date is four weeks away. That is not a paperwork formality — it is the compliance anchor for class design, contribution amounts, and how employees shop the individual market before January coverage starts.

The 90-day rule in plain English

For an ICHRA starting January 1, employees generally must receive a written notice at least 90 days before the first day of the plan year. Ninety days before January 1 lands on October 3 (in non-leap years). CMS’s HRA overview and the ICHRA regulations at 26 CFR 54.9815-2715A-1(d) describe the required content.

New hires who become ICHRA-eligible later still need a notice — generally no later than the date coverage can begin for them, with a special rule allowing up to 90 days before the plan year if they are not yet eligible when the annual notice goes out.

What the notice actually has to cover

The statute and regulations expect a substantive disclosure, not a one-pager with a logo. At minimum, employers should address:

The ICHRA amount (or how it is calculated) and which classes of employees are offered the ICHRA.
How the ICHRA interacts with the premium tax credit on the Marketplace — including the required statement that employees must decline the HRA to claim a subsidy if the offer is affordable under the ICHRA rules.
Where to get help enrolling in individual coverage (Marketplace, broker, carrier).
The annual renewal rhythm and that terms can change each year.
Contact information for questions.

If you are still debating contribution tiers or class splits in September, you do not have a notice — you have a draft outline.

Why September is the real deadline

October 3 is when the notice must reach employees. The work behind it belongs in September:

| Task | Why it cannot wait until October | | --- | --- | | Affordability testing by class | Drives contribution design and PTC language in the notice | | Class definitions finalized | Changing classes late creates notice and operational rework | | Broker / enrollment support lined up | Employees need a path to bind January 1 individual coverage | | COBRA / prior plan termination coordination | ICHRA often replaces group medical — timing matters | | TPA / payroll setup | Reimbursement rules and substantiation start on day one |

What employers should do this week

Confirm your ICHRA plan year and calculate the notice due date (90 days before plan year start).
Freeze classes and contribution amounts — or document deliberate exceptions for new hires.
Draft the notice against the regulatory checklist; have counsel or your ICHRA administrator review Marketplace / PTC language.
Schedule distribution (email, mail, or both) to land before October 3 — not on October 3.
Brief HR and managers on where to send employee questions so answers stay consistent with the written notice.

CBA administers FSAs, HSAs, HRAs, and COBRA for employers moving between traditional group coverage and account-based designs. ICHRA is a different animal — but the October notice is the milestone that separates a planned January launch from a January fire drill.