The information included in
this email does not apply to conservation officers, excise officers, Indiana
State Police plan participants, part-time employees or contract employees.
A Flexible Spending
Account (FSA) provides another opportunity for you to better control your
health care dollars. By tucking away pre-tax dollars from your paycheck, you
have an account that’s dedicated for the reimbursement of qualified medical,
vision and dental expenses.
All FSAs offered by the state have a use-it-or-lose-it rule.
Money left at the end of the plan year is not rolled over or reimbursed, so
plan carefully.
You must re-enroll in a
FSA each year. If you decide that an FSA is right for you and your family, it
is important to be conservative when allocating the yearly amount.
Three types of FSAs: Medical Care, Limited Purpose and Dependent
Care
Medical Care and Limited Purpose
FSAs allow employees to use pre-tax dollars to cover health care costs for
medical, dental, vision, hearing and other out-of-pocket expenses not paid by
insurance.
For 2014, the maximum
annual contribution for the Medical Care and Limited Purpose FSAs is $2,500.
A Limited Purpose FSA may only
be used for dental, vision and preventive care expenses until the minimum
deductible of a CDHP is met ($1,250 for single and $2,500 for family, per
federal regulations). Once the
minimum deductible is met, the Limited Purpose FSA can be used as a Medical
Care FSA.
If you are enrolled in a CDHP/HSA, your FSA will
automatically become a Limited Purpose FSA. You do not need to meet the minimum
deductible to use the funds in your Limited Purpose FSA for dental and vision
expenses. You can pay for dental and vision expenses from your Limited Purpose
FSA at any point during the year.
Dependent Care FSAs are
not front-loaded. Portions of your biweekly pay are put into a pre-tax account
to help pay for eligible dependent care costs throughout the year. Currently,
the maximum annual contribution amount for the Dependent Care FSA is $5,000
($2,500 if married and filing separate tax returns).
Dependent care costs
include most dependent care expenses for eligible children and adults.
Dependent care expenses do not include medical expenses and therefore can be
used even if you participate in a HSA.
The state’s FSA program is
administered through Key Benefits Administrators. The administrative fee will
remain at $2 biweekly.
Get more information about your 2014 benefits
Before you make your selections for
open enrollment, do your homework. Look at your health care costs over this
past year so you will know what your expenses have been. Then review the information
on the three plans available for 2014. Input that information into the Benefits Calculator and from there, make an informed, educated decision.
If you have further questions, attend
one of the town hall
meetings or webinars or talk to a Benefits
Specialist.
2014 Open Enrollment website: www.in.gov/spd/openenrollment
CONTACT THE SPD BENEFITS HOTLINE
Benefits Hotline: 7:30 a.m. to
5 p.m. Monday through Friday, Eastern Standard Time
- 317-232-1167
within Indianapolis area
- 1-877-248-0007
toll-free outside Indianapolis
Email: SPDBenefits@spd.in.gov
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