Benefits Enrollment & Reference Guide - Harford County Public ...

Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Highlights
Enrolling In The Plan
Make your election during open enrollment
(or when you first become eligible).
Determine your election amount(s) by using the FSA
Worksheet.
Elect up to the plan maximums.
Remember you do not have to participate in the
health plan to be eligible for the FSA.
Annual election(s) will be deducted equally pre-tax
over the course of your plan year.
FSA Debit Card
Participating in a FSA with Debit Card has many
advantages! Look at what the card can do for you.
Eliminates the need of filing out claims forms and
waiting for a reimbursement check.
Most transactions will not require supporting
documentation.
HFS Benefits will send you a monthly statement if
you have to remit documentation.
If you choose not to use the card or if your provider
does not accept MasterCard ® , you can pay out-ofpocket
and submit for reimbursement.
Look how the advantages really add up. It’s time for YOU
to begin saving money and simplifying your expenses.
FSA Grace Period
(Health Care Spending Only)
For the Health Care FSA, you have an extended 2 1 ⁄2 months
time frame (until 9/15/12) to incur expenses and have
them applied towards your 7/1/11 – 6/30/12 account.
Expenses incurred during the Grace Period (July 1 through
September 15) and approved for reimbursement will be
paid first from available amounts that were remaining
at the end of the preceding Plan Year and then from
any amounts that are available to reimburse expenses
incurred during the current Plan Year. It is important to
keep the extension in mind when you determine your new
FSA contributions. This added feature will help to virtually
eliminate the “use it or lose it” clause associated with
Medical Flexible Spending Accounts.
Amounts remaining in your account at the end of the
Plan Year that are not applied to pay expenses submitted
on or before the October 31 deadline will be forfeited.
Claim forms are available at www.hfsbenefits.com.
The FSA Debit Card
The FSA Debit Card offers the convenience of paying
for your eligible expenses directly at the point of sale.
It works like any other credit card. Since the card lets
you pay for eligible health care expenses directly from
your health care FSA, it means no more paying cash for
services up front. It also eliminates the waiting period
for reimbursement checks and the hassle of filling
out claims forms. The FSA debit card can be used at
authorized health care providers where MasterCard ® is
accepted. For a full list of authorized merchants, please
visit www.hfsbenefits.com. If you plan to use your FSA
debit card to pay for daycare expenses, please check
with your daycare provider to see if they are equipped
to accept MasterCard ® .
Since the FSA plan is a pre-tax benefit, the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) requires that all purchases be
substantiated. Therefore, you may be required to
submit copies of your receipts to the plan administrator
to comply with the guidelines provided by the IRS.
For the health care FSA, the limit on your card is your
annual elected contribution amount. For the dependent
care FSA, the limit on your card is your YTD payroll
deduction less your YTD reimbursed. If a service provider
does not accept the card, you can always submit a
claim for reimbursement. HFS Benefits will either mail
a reimbursement check to your home address or issue
a direct deposit into the bank account that you have
provided. More information about the FSA Debit Card is
available at www.hfsbenefits.com.
Harford County Public Schools – Benefits Enrollment & Reference Guide 53