UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Flexible Spending Plan

Flexible Spending Account Changes

University of Portland is happy to announce some unique opportunities for Flexible Spending Accounts benefits this year per the Consolidated Appropriations Act which allows temporary changes to Section 125 cafeteria plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic:

  • All Medical and Dependent Care FSA unused 2020 account balances will automatically rollover into 2021 accounts and will be amounts that are in addition to 2021 elections.
  • Employees can elect up to $10,500 per household for Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts for the 2021 calendar year.
  • We are allowing employees to submit new enrollments or change requests to 2021 FSA elections during the month of April to go into effect May 1, 2021.  If you wish to enroll in an FSA plan please complete and submit the 2021 Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Enrollment.
  • All out-of-pocket amounts paid by an individual taxpayer for COVID-19 PPE for use by the taxpayer, the taxpayer’s spouse, or the taxpayer’s dependents after January 1, 2020 are eligible to be reimbursed under health FSAs and HSAs.

If you have any questions please reach out to the HR benefits team at benefits@up.edu.

2019 Flexible Spending Accounts Information

Piggy bank with FSA

Human resources would like to remind employees who signed up for a 2019 medical or childcare flexible spending account offered by UP that services must be incurred in 2019 to be eligible for reimbursement.  You will have until March 30, 2020 to submit reimbursement requests for elgible expenses incurred in 2019 to Allegiance. In April 2020, any unused medical FSA balances between $20 and $500 will rollover into a 2020 flexible spending account. Dependent care balances are not eligible for rollover.

For more information, such as a listing of eligible expenses or plan forms, please visit the plan’s page at the UP website. If you have any questions about benefits, please contact human resources at benefits@up.edu or call x8484.

New Flexible Spending Account Provider for 2019

With the start of 2019, employees are reminded to use the new Allegiance debit cards that should have been received in late December for all 2019 Flexible Spending Account expenditures. Flexible Spending Accounts are set up with Allegiance at this time. You can access your online profile with the following steps:

  1. Go to www.askallegiance.com.
  2. Select the Health/Reimbursement Login.
  3. Click on Register a New User.
  4. You will then be prompted to enter in some personal identifiers – including your SSN# and the zip code of your primary residence.
  5. Click Submit

If you have any trouble accessing the account online, please email benefits@up.edu for assistance.

Please be aware that Discovery Benefits debit cards expired mid-December 2018 and therefore issued new cards around the same time the Allegiance cards were sent out. Please note, both cards have the same activation phone number on them and look identical until you peel the white activation label off the cards, you will see that one set is for Discovery Benefits (2018 provider) and one for Allegiance (2019 provider). The Discovery Benefits cards should no longer be used now that 2018 has passed.

Reimbursements and receipts for any 2018 expenditures will still need to be submitted to Discovery Benefits and not the new provider Allegiance. You have until March 30, 2019 to submit reimbursement requests for 2018 with Discovery Benefits.

As noted previously, any unused 2018 medical flex spending balances between $20 and $500 will rollover to Allegiance in late April, 2019, and will be available for 2019 expenditures at that time. You did not have to elect a 2019 Allegiance medical FSA account for the rollover to occur.

Also, copays for self-referral massages through Kaiser CHP Program are not eligible for medical Flexible Spending accounts. Only massages that are prescribed by a doctor for a diagnosed medical condition will be eligible for medical FSA expenditures in 2019.

You can find all forms needed for both vendors in PilotsUP here.

For more information contact human resources at hr@up.edu.

Flexible Spending Account Users: Submit Claims for 2017

All employees who participated in a 2017 Flexible Spending Account plan with Discovery Benefits have through Friday, March 30, 2018 to submit claims for expenses incurred in 2017. Please see the Human Resources FSA website for guides on filing claims. If you enrolled in a 2018 Medical FSA plan and have a 2017 medical FSA balance between $20 and $500 after March 30, 2018, those funds will roll over into the 2018 account and be available for 2018 claims after March 30, 2018.

Please note: Any 2017 balances not eligible for rollover and left unclaimed after March 30 will be forfeited.

Email benefits@up.edu with any FSA questions.

Flexible Spending 2017 Accounts: A Reminder

All employees who participated in a 2017 Flexible Spending Account plan with Discovery Benefits have until March 30, 2018 to submit claims for expenses incurred in 2017. Please see the Human Resources FSA website for guides on filing claims. If you enrolled in a 2018 Medical FSA plan and have a 2017 medical FSA balance between $20 and $500 after March 30, 2018, those funds will roll over into the 2018 account and be available for 2018 claims after March 30, 2018.

Please note: any 2017 balances not eligible for rollover and left unclaimed after March 30 will be forfeited.

Email benefits@up.edu with any FSA questions.

 

2017 Flex Spending Account Information

Human resources would like to remind employees who participated in the 2017 medical or childcare Flexible Spending Account offered by UP that eligible services must be incurred in 2017.  For more information, such as examples of eligible expenses or helpful “Did you know..” information, please visit the plan’s page at the UP website: Flexible Spending Accounts. If you have any questions about your benefits, please contact human resources at benefits@up.edu or call x8484.

Flexible Spending Account Vendor Changing in 2016

changes copyBeginning in January 2016, the University will be using a new vendor for flexible spending accounts. Discovery Benefits promises to bring a higher level of customer service and more on-line resources to support employee needs. All claims for 2015 will be completed through Flex-Plan Services (recently rebranded as Navia Benefits). Employees who have an allowed carryover at the end of the calendar year will automatically have those funds moved to Discovery Benefits for 2016 claims. More information will be available at the Wellness Fair on October 28.

For more information, contact HR at 8981 or hr@up.edu.

Flexible Spending Account Program Announcement

please_note-feb-24 2As a reminder to all Flex-Plan participants, beginning with the 2014 plan year, all savings under the plan must be used by December 31, 2014, with the exception of up to $500, which can be rolled into the 2015 plan year and used throughout 2015. There will no longer be a 2.5 month grace period.

If you have any questions, contact Andy Sherwood, human resources, at 8981 or sherwood@up.edu.

Important Flex Spend Policy Update

andysherwood copyA review of final November payroll statistics showed that previous years’ spending patterns within Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts were not holding true this year. This inconsistency negates the immediate advantage for most participants that the previously announced change in the grace period would have brought. Based upon this, human resources will defer changing the grace period/rollover option to commence in the 2014 plan year, instead of at the close of 2013.

All current FSA Plan participants will have through March 15, 2014 to complete eligible transactions for the 2013 plan year. Participants will then have until March 31, 2014 to file all claims for reimbursement with Flex Plan. There will be no 2013 funds available beyond this grace period.

Beginning with the 2014 plan year, all savings under the plan must be used by December 31, 2014, with the exception of up to $500, which can be rolled into the 2015 plan year and used throughout 2015. The Open Enrollment website for Flex-Plan will remain open through Wednes­day December 11, 2013, to accommodate any additional changes employees would like to elect for next year.

Questions regarding the plan years, grace periods, and carryovers may be directed to Andy Sherwood at 8981 or sherwood@up.edu.