Although there are no fixed targets among employee benefitsspecified in the proposed Republican tax reform plan, it’s toosoon for employers or employees to breathe easy.

That’s according to a report from the Society for Human ResourceManagement, which points out that it’s too soon in the process toknow which benefits might draw fire if the GOP feels theneed to offset tax cuts elsewhere. But employers, naturally, arehoping that the tide flows the other way, with better tax treatmentor even expansion of some benefits.

Currently, the report says, salary-deducted payments for grouphealth plan premiums are excluded from an employee’s gross income.Employers, for their part, can write off premiums they pay as abusiness expense. The U.S. Treasury Department estimates that in2018, these exclusions and deductions will lower tax revenues by$235.8 billion. Employers, of course, hope this provision remainsuntouched, although it could provide a handy target.

One change employers are hoping for, though, is the eliminationof the “Cadillac tax” from the Affordable Care Act, which is set tostart in 2020. The 40 percent excise tax on employer-sponsoredhealth coverage above certain benefit thresholds ($10,200 forindividual coverage and $27,500 for family coverage) will hit a lotof unhappy employers should it remain in effect.

There is some concern, however, that even if the Cadillac tax isrepealed, it could be replaced by a cap on the tax exclusion foremployer-sponsored coverage, an idea that’s been bruited about inthe past. Katy Spangler, senior vice president for health policy atthe American Benefits Council in Washington, D.C., is quoted in thereport saying, “Instead of eroding employer coverage [with a cap],we should strengthen it by expanding health savings accounts andsupporting efforts to make preventive care more affordable.”

When it comes to 401(k)s and similar plans, tax-deductibleemployer contributions and tax-deferred employee contributionscould be eliminated, even though once contributions are withdrawnduring retirement they’re taxed. But since Roth contributions aretaxed on the way into the account, not on the way out, there’s sometalk of pushing toward Roth plans by eliminating or cutting the taxadvantages of 401(k)s. That would result in an immediate influx oftax dollars, which could offset cuts in the corporate andindividual tax rates.

Such a move could be a killer to employee savings habits, whichwould only exacerbate the retirement crisis.

Small business plans could come in for some tweaking, too; thereport says the tax reform framework includes a proposal to reducethe tax rate on small business “pass-through” income to 25 percent.And that, according to Craig Hoffman, general counsel for theAmerican Retirement Association, which represents retirement plansponsors and advisors, could inadvertently lower the incentive forsmall businesses to provide employee retirement plans.

For student loan and tuition assistance, the Republicanframework has a section titled “Work, Education and Retirement,”that includes the statement congressional committees “areencouraged to simplify these benefits to improve their efficiencyand effectiveness.”

And while that’s pretty unspecific, “That wording makes usnervous," Kathleen Coulombe, senior advisor for governmentrelations at SHRM, says in the report. She adds that there areconcerns that simplification could negatively affect the taxexclusion not just for employer-sponsored retirement plans but fortuition assistance and other workplace benefits as well.

The report points out that Section 127 of the tax code currentlyallows an employee to exclude from taxable income up to $5,250 peryear in employer-provided educational assistance. That amount hasnever been raised and is not indexed to inflation. “Many employersand stakeholders feel that this amount should be increased,”Coulombe says in the report.

Only time will tell.