Benefits Genius · Author
David Toves
Partner, Toves Financial Group
About David Toves
David is a licensed health and life agent and Partner at Toves Financial Group. His work at Benefits Genius focuses on translating Section 125 mechanics into practical sales execution for newly licensed brokers — qualification frameworks, talk tracks, objection handling, CPA partnerships, and the payroll-register-level math that closes deals.
Before Toves Financial, David led business development at Teladoc Health, where he managed strategic enterprise alliances. The cross-section of healthcare technology, employee benefits, and broker sales informs every article he authors here.
For the complete career history, professional credentials, and contact information, see his team page.
What David writes about
Broker sales execution
Qualifying calls, objection handling, talk tracks, CPA partnerships, follow-up cadence.
Section 125 mechanics
FSA, DCFSA, HSA, premium-only plans, plan documents, participation rate math.
FICA savings math
Employer FICA reduction on eligible pre-tax dollars, plus the employee paycheck impact.
Broker compensation
PEPM, flat-fee, hybrid structures. Pricing first proposals. Reading payroll registers.
Articles by David Toves
20 articles- general
2026 FSA, HSA & Dependent Care FSA Limits
The 2026 IRS limits: health FSA $3,400, dependent care FSA $7,500, HSA $4,400 self-only / $8,750 family, with carryover rules and IRS sources.
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How Much Does a Section 125 Plan Save?
Section 125 can save employers up to 7.65% FICA on eligible pre-tax dollars, and can save employees income tax plus FICA. See the 2026 employer and employee math.
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Broker Compensation Models for Section 125: PEPM, Flat Fee, and Hybrid Explained
New Section 125 brokers comparing carrier offers face three common compensation structures: PEPM (per employee per month), flat annual fee, and hybrid. Each has different implicati…
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The First Five Section 125 Demo Calls: What New Brokers Prepare For and What David Walks Through With You
Your first five Section 125 demo calls are the most important meetings of your first 60 days. New brokers who walk in unprepared lose those meetings. Brokers who use the BG/Toves n…
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'My PEO Handles This': How New Brokers Handle the PEO Section 125 Objection
When a prospect says their PEO handles Section 125, most new brokers retreat. They should not. PEO Section 125 plans are real, but they are often single-tier, under-marketed, and b…
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When a Prospect Says 'We Already Have a Section 125': The Plan-in-Name-Only Objection
Many prospects say yes when asked if they already have a Section 125 plan. Most of those plans are token compliance, not working math. New brokers who can identify the gaps and ref…
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Pricing Your First Section 125 Proposal: What New Brokers Need to Know Before Sending a Quote
The first formal proposal a new Section 125 broker sends is often where they fumble. Pricing structures vary by carrier, fees stack in unfamiliar ways, and the prospect expects a c…
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What to Do After a Section 125 Prospect Says No: The 3-Touch Follow-Up That Wins Later
Most new brokers treat a no as the end of the conversation. The brokers who build durable books treat it as the start of a longer relationship. Here is the 3-touch follow-up sequen…
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How to Read a Payroll Register for Section 125 Opportunities (A New Broker's Field Guide)
Every prospect's payroll register tells you whether they are a Section 125 candidate before the discovery call even starts. New brokers who learn to read a register confidently ide…
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The Qualifying Call in 4 Questions: How New Brokers Decide If a Section 125 Prospect Is Real in 5 Minutes
The first 5 minutes of a prospect call decide whether you have a real deal or a courtesy meeting. New brokers who walk in with 4 specific qualifying questions skip the 60-minute pi…
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The 5 Ways Section 125 Compounds with the Rest of Your Broker Practice
Section 125 is not a single product. It is the pillar that compounds with group health, HSAs as retirement, voluntary benefits, ICHRA, and P&C cross-sells. Brokers who treat Sectio…
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Your First 30 to 60 Days as a Section 125 Broker (Week-by-Week with BG Network Support)
The Section 125 muscle takes 30 to 60 days to build. Not 90. The math is concrete enough that brokers who delay action lose momentum. This is the week-by-week plan for your first 6…
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How New Brokers Build a CPA Partnership: A 6-Step Playbook for the Highest-Leverage Referral Channel
CPAs see every employer's payroll tax expense quarter after quarter. They watch it grow with the workforce. They cannot offer the Section 125 fix themselves (they are not benefits …
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The 5 Objections Every Section 125 Prospect Raises (and the LAER Framework for Handling Each)
Every Section 125 prospect raises the same five objections, usually in a predictable order. Brokers who can handle them in real time close. Brokers who freeze on the objection lose…
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The Three-Bucket Pitch: The 30-Second Section 125 Framework Every New Broker Should Memorize
Prospects give brokers about 30 seconds before deciding whether to keep listening. Most new brokers blow it by explaining the IRS code. The Three-Bucket Pitch is the 30-second fram…
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HSA + HDHP Combo for New Brokers: How to Position the Only Triple-Tax-Free Account in the IRS Code
The HSA is the only account in the US tax code with triple-tax-free status. Contributions are pre-tax. Growth is tax-free. Qualified withdrawals are tax-free. For new brokers, this…
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Health FSA and Dependent Care FSA: The 2026 Broker Explainer (How to Pitch Both Side by Side)
Two Section 125 accounts. Same IRS code. Wildly different use cases. The Health FSA is the broker's bread and butter. The Dependent Care FSA is the underused lever that compounds f…
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Why Participation Rate Is the #1 Metric New Brokers Should Use to Evaluate Any Section 125 Product
When a broker evaluates a Section 125 product, commission and features are distractions. Participation rate is the single number that tells you whether the plan will actually deliv…
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What Is Section 125? A New Broker's Plain-English Guide to the Niche That Compounds
Section 125 is the IRS code that lets employees redirect pre-tax pay into FSAs, DCFSAs, and HSAs. For newly licensed health and life agents, it is the lowest-competition starter ni…
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Section 125 Is the Best Starter Niche for Newly Licensed Insurance Brokers (Here's Why)
Most new brokers default to group health or life. The brokers who specialize in Section 125 build sustainable books faster, with less competition, in any economy. Here's how the ni…
Want to organize a Section 125 review?
If a Section 125 conversation feels like the right next step for your book or your clients, start by organizing the facts for professional review.
