| The
University's Flexible Spending Accounts allow you to set
aside pre-tax dollars for certain out-of-pocket health care
and dependent care expenses, thus lowering the amount of
income tax you will pay while providing more value for every
expenditure you make.
The
University offers two types of accounts:
- Health
Care Flexible Spending Account
- Dependent
Care Flexible Spending Account
How
the Accounts Work
Managing a Flexible Spending Account is simple. Each year,
you set aside an amount you reasonably predict you will
spend on health care and work-related dependent care and
contribute this sum on a pretax basis into the appropriate
Flexible Spending Account.
Your contributions to FSAs do not reduce your pay for determining your life insurance, travel accident insurance, long-term disability, or retirement benefits provided by the University.
Online Calculator
The University's claims processor, SHPS, provides an online FSA Calculator to help you determine how much to contribute to your FSA account, and lets you know how much you can save by using pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible health care and/or dependent care expenses.
Contribution
amounts are reported to SHPS monthly at the end of the month
in which the payroll deduction is taken.
Then,
as you incur eligible expenses, you simply submit the required
documentation to SHPS.
SHPS
will usually reimburse all claims for eligible expenses
within ten business days from the date it receives your
request.
An
important difference to remember:
- You
can file claims for amounts totaling your entire annual
health care contribution from your Health Care Flexible
Spending Account at any time during the year;
- To
receive a reimbursement from your Dependent Care Flexible
Spending Account, you must have accumulated sufficient
contributions to cover your claim at the time your request
is made.
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