Who may participate?
If you are a full-time regular or fixed-term employee, or a regular part-time or fixed-term employee scheduled to work a minimum of 1,440 hours per year, you are eligible to participate in the Flexible Spending Account Program.
What are they?
Flexible Spending Accounts let you set aside a portion of your paycheck to pay for certain health and dependent care expenses tax-free. Examples of health expenses are medical and dental deductibles, copayments, eyeglasses, and contact lenses. Dependent care expenses may include day care center, nursery school, in-home care costs or elder care expenses.
Your contributions are deducted from your paychecks before federal, New York state, and Social Security taxes are computed and deposited into accounts in your name. Because you don't pay taxes on your contributions, you save money.
You pay for health and dependent care expenses as usual and get reimbursed for those expenses by filing claim forms with the third party administrator. Eligible expenses must be incurred within the applicable calendar year -- regardless of when they are paid.
Health care and dependent care accounts are separate. You cannot transfer money from one account to another. Once you have designated a payroll deduction amount, this amount cannot be stopped or changed until the beginning of the next calendar year unless you terminate employment or have a qualifying family status change.
When can I enroll?
- You may begin participating on the first of the month following your date of hire. Your contributions are deducted equally over the remainder of the calendar year.
- You may enroll during the annual Open Enrollment; participation will begin on January 1. Your contributions are deducted equally during the calendar year.
How much can I contribute?
Each year you can deposit up to:
- $3,000 to your Health Care Account to pay for expenses not covered under a medical plan for you, your spouse, and/or dependents. This maximum is prorated for a new employee based on date of hire.
- $5,000 to your Dependent Care Account to pay for expenses so that you and your spouse, if you're married, can work.
Can I change my election?
If you have a qualifying family status change, you have up to 30 days to submit a new enrollment form to Human Resources. You may also change the amount of your contributions or stop participating in the program during the annual Open Enrollment period to be effective January 1.
How do I get reimbursed?
- Pay the expenses or submit your insurance claim form as usual.
- When you have incurred $25 or more of expenses, send a Reimbursement Request Form, along with proof of the incurred expense, directly to the third party administrator. Once the request is approved, a check will be sent to you by the third party administrator. Checks are mailed once a week.
What else should I consider?
Any money in your account that is not used for expenses incurred by the end of the calendar year and for which a claim has not been submitted by March 31, of the following year, will be forfeited. This is required by law.
Since there is some risk involved, you should put funds into a spending account only for those expenses you feel certain will be incurred. If you leave Rensselaer for any reason, any money remaining in an account can still be used for expenses incurred while you were employed at Rensselaer. To be reimbursed for medical expenses incurred after you leave Rensselaer, you would have to continue making contributions to your account. However, this would be on a post-tax basis.
Over the Counter Announcement for Flexible Spending Medical Accounts
 More detailed information is contained in the Summary Plan Description available at the Human Resources office.
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