Flexible Spending Accounts

PEBB offers both healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts (FSAs) for eligible employees.

An FSA is a tax-free account that allows you to use pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible out-of-pocket healthcare or dependent care expenses. You choose an annual amount to contribute to your account, and Payroll deducts your salary contribution before calculating your taxes. Paying for eligible expenses with these pre-tax dollars saves money.

Benefits Help Solutions is the Administrator of the Flexible Spending Accounts until the end of 2007. Starting January 2008, the new administrator will be ASIFlex, offering debit cards for healthcare accounts and improved online support for claims processing. For customer service, questions, and explanations of FSA policy, please call them or visit their website.

Here are things you should know about these accounts.

• FSAs operate according to IRS regulations.

• When you enroll, you enroll for the entire plan year, so you should plan accordingly.

• You may enroll for the pretax Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSAs) within 60 days following your date of hire.

• You may change your contribution amount midyear only within 60 days of a qualified status change.

• You forfeit any funds that you don’t use and claim for valid expenses by the deadline.

• Payroll will deduct even portions of your annual election amount from each paycheck over the course of the year. Nine-month employees (with the exception of faculty participating in the 12-month payroll redistribution program) will have 10 deductions per year, January through June and September through December, omitting July and August. Nine-month employees should divide their annual amount by 10 instead of 12 to calculate the monthly deduction.

• You need to enroll or re-enroll in your FSA accounts every year during Open Enrollment in order to continue FSA participation for the following calendar year.

PEBB contracts with ASIFlex to administer the FSA program under PEBB administrative rules and in keeping with IRS regulations. See the FSA discussion in the Summary Plan Description.

You may view the FSA Summary of Benefits provided by ASIFlex and for more information visit ASIFlex online at http://orpebb.asiflex.com/

Health Care FSA	Dependent Care FSA