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Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
FSAs are voluntary accounts that help you pay for expenses not covered
by the other benefit programs. You can participate in one or both of the
following accounts:
* Health care expenses
* Dependent (day) care expenses
Re-enrollment is held once a year in November with coverage effective January 1. All other flexible benefits are effective July 1. The date services are provided determines eligibility of an expense for reimbursement from your FSA, not when you are formally billed or charged or when you pay for the services.
Effective for the 2009 Plan Year, the University’s Flexible Spending Account (FSA) plan will be managed by Ceridian Benefits Services, one of the world’s leading providers of benefits administration.
Through Ceridian, participants in a health care FSA will be able use an FSA Benefits
Card that is linked to their health care FSA. This means that you
can use the Benefits Card to pay eligible health care expenses directly from
your flexible spending account. Please see the links below for more detail about
Flexible Spending Accounts, Services and the FSA Benefits Card:
Frequently Asked Questions
FSA Online Account Management Instructions
Benefits Card Dependent Request Form
Ceridian Employee Web site Tour
FSA Calculator
Ceridian Health Care FSA Reimbursement Form
Ceridian Dependent Care FSA Reimbursement Form
Direct Deposit Authorization Form (for Ceridian's reimbursement to your bank account)
When you set up an account, you use before tax payroll contributions to
pay for your eligible expenses on a tax-free basis.
Under FSA regulations, you may cover more dependents than under the other
medical and dental plans. For the health care account, an eligible
dependent can also include a dependent parent, as long as you provide
more than one half of the individual's support.
For the dependent (day) care account, an eligible dependent includes
your children (but only under age 13), your spouse (but only if he or
she is disabled), and your parents or in-laws who depend on you and your
spouse for more than one half of their support and who spend at least
eight hours a day in your home.
The Flexible Spending Accounts Plan includes a 2½ month grace period extending through March 15 of each year. This means that a participant may submit expenses incurred in the two and one-half month grace period for reimbursement from either the prior year (if funds still remain) or the current year. Expenses incurred during the grace period will be first paid by any balance remaining from the prior year's election; then, if applicable, expenses will be reimbursed under the current plan year's elected amount (example). Any remaining balance from the prior plan year will be forfeited at the end of the grace period.
Note: FSA reimbursements are not automatic. You must complete
and submit claim forms to receive reimbursement. Claims may
be submitted through April 30 for expenses incurred between January 1
(or the actual period you were enrolled, if enrolled after January 1)
and the end of the grace period.
When you're deciding how much to contribute to an FSA, you should estimate
your expenses carefully. Once you contribute money to your FSA, you:
- cannot transfer money from one account to another.
- cannot withdraw money except to be reimbursed for a covered expense.
- must use the money in the account only for expenses incurred during
the period enrolled, upto and including the 2½ month grace period.
If you do not spend all the money, you will forfeit any unused balance.
- cannot change the amount you contribute during the year unless you
have a change in family status and apply within 30 days of the event.
These restrictions are required by the federal government.
FSA Reimbursement procedures
- Health care FSA claims are processed each week by the Office of
Human Resources. Regardless of whether there is enough money in
your account to cover the entire claim, you will receive reimbursement
for the entire health care claim up to the maximum of your annual FSA
contribution. The moneys you receive are non-taxable to you.
- Dependent (day) care FSA claims are also processed each week. If
enough money is in your dependent (day) care account to cover the entire
claim, you'll receive reimbursement for the full amount. If not, you'll
receive a partial amount up to the account balance. Reimbursements will
continue until the claim balance is fully paid. The moneys you
receive are non-taxable to you.
- Contribution limits are as follows:
| FSA |
Minimum |
Maximum |
| Health Care |
$5/pay ($120) |
$125.00/pay ($3,000) |
| Dependent (Day) Care |
$5/pay ($120) |
$208.33/pay ($5,000) |
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