§ 5.33 Administrative expenses of a contractor or subcontractor.

(a) Creditable costs. The costs incurred by a contractor's insurance carrier, third-party trust fund, or other third-party administrator that are directly related to the administration and delivery of bona fide fringe benefits to the contractor's laborers and mechanics can be credited towards the contractor's obligations under a Davis-Bacon wage determination. Thus, for example, a contractor may take credit for the premiums it pays to an insurance carrier or the contributions it makes to a third-party trust fund that both administers and delivers bona fide fringe benefits under a plan, where the insurance carrier or third-party trust fund uses those monies to pay for bona fide fringe benefits and for the administration and delivery of such benefits, including evaluating benefit claims, deciding whether they should be paid, approving referrals to specialists, and other reasonable costs of administering the plan. Similarly, a contractor may also take credit for monies paid to a third-party administrator to perform tasks that are directly related to the administration and delivery of bona fide fringe benefits, including under an unfunded plan.