FSA rollover now allowed but...

[allisolm]

http://money.cnn.com/2013/10/31/pf/flexible-spending-accounts/
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-irs-flexible-spending-20131101,0,6868683.story#axzz2jP281LA5


You can now rollover up to $500 of your flexible spending medical account. No more use it or lose it - but wait -

You can only get the rollover if your employer chooses to offer it (employers get the forfeited funds so they might not want to offer the option). If your employer already offers a grace period for you to use the funds, both options can't be offered, so they would have to change their current plan for you to get the rollover. Employers can start to offer the rollover option immediately but, since some are already working on 2014 plans and they would have to alter those, it looks like 2015 before many will see this, if at all.

Sounds good, but still a ways down the pike for many, I fear.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

No thanks, I will stick with the PPO option.

 

[Genx87]

I've never understood why FSA's werent allowed to be rolled over from the start? And why does the company you work for get to keep the money if you dont use it?

 

[Engineer]

No thanks, I will stick with the PPO option.

Are you thinking of HSA or FSA? You can have a FSA and PPO.

 

[allisolm]

And why does the company you work for get to keep the money if you dont use it?

The way I understand it, it's to cover their losses from people who make one or two month contributions, then use the entire yearly total amount (which I gather is allowed), and then stop working for the company. Also used to help offset costs of administering employee benefit programs.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Are you thinking of HSA or FSA? You can have a FSA and PPO.

I was thinking of HSA and confused it with FSA.

 

[Genx87]

The way I understand it, it's to cover their losses from people who make one or two month contributions, then use the entire yearly total amount (which I gather is allowed), and then stop working for the company. Also used to help offset costs of administering employee benefit programs.

I'd have to ask or maybe Sacktoking would know the answer. My understanding of FSA was it is funded through the year and you can only pull from it what is in the account.
The administration of benefits is a crap reason if that is true.

 

[waggy]

hmm there is no good reason i can think of that if you don't use it that the company gets to keep it.

 

[allisolm]

I'd have to ask or maybe Sacktoking would know the answer. My understanding of FSA was it is funded through the year and you can only pull from it what is in the account.
The administration of benefits is a crap reason if that is true.

Wikipedia (for whatever it's worth) says "One consideration regarding medical FSAs is that the participating employee's entire annual contribution is available at the start of the plan year, commonly January 1, or after the first contribution to the FSA is received by the FSA vendor, depending on the plan. Therefore, if the employee experiences a qualifying event during the first period, the entire amount of the annual contribution can be claimed against the FSA benefits. If the employee is terminated, quits, or is unable to return to work, he or she does not have to repay the money to the employer."

I know that when we had an FSA we never used more that we had in it, so I have no firsthand knowledge of what's allowed beyond that.

 

[Jaskalas]

You can only get the rollover if your employer chooses to offer it...

Fairly confused why we continue to let Healthcare be determined by employer anymore.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

The way I understand it, it's to cover their losses from people who make one or two month contributions, then use the entire yearly total amount (which I gather is allowed), and then stop working for the company. Also used to help offset costs of administering employee benefit programs.

I should think there would be a tax penalty to cover that.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Fairly confused why we continue to let Healthcare be determined by employer anymore.

Because your employer pays a substantial contribution towards it. I'm sure they would like to change that because if they were allowed you would be on your own and they'd keep the money, or give you a fraction of what it would cost for equivalent coverage. That said ALL money should have been allowed to be rolled over from the beginning. Most people don't have needs they can predict, but vary from year to year to some degree. I could have used 10k this year, but the amount was slashed from 5 to 2.5k so health care is indeed more expensive due to government action. Last year I had about 1k left over, but that was taken from me. Again that's not the employer, but Uncle Sam who determined my healthcare.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I'd have to ask or maybe Sacktoking would know the answer. My understanding of FSA was it is funded through the year and you can only pull from it what is in the account.
The administration of benefits is a crap reason if that is true.

You can pull the entire amount in advance if your employer allows it. I used mine up in the first three weeks after it restarted.

 

[WackyDan]

I'd have to ask or maybe Sacktoking would know the answer. My understanding of FSA was it is funded through the year and you can only pull from it what is in the account.
The administration of benefits is a crap reason if that is true.

NOPE. The company puts in escrow the entire amount. In 2010 I had elected to use the entire $5200 limit for my FSA ( was going to have Lasik and had wife with high medical costs). End of February I get my 60 day pink slip from my employer. April 30th would be my last day on the job and exit interview(even though due to being customer facing I didn't have to actually work those last 60 days. ).

I had the Lasik done in Early February... I called the plan admin to determine how much of a balance I had and they told me $5200. After I explained my situation, they explained that the company puts that money at risk at the start of the year and the full balance was mine to use.

So I received $5200 tax free (used the whole amount between the lasik and other costs) and only contributed like $1700 towards my balance before my last day. So that was $3467 dollars I got free... and I essentially considered it part of my severance.

Look at it this way, you plan some medical expenses around what you have elected to place in your FSA... And that is probably why I got to take full advantage of it. It wasn't my choice to be laid off... Shit - I exceeded my numbers AGAIN that year.

Now I have a high medical need child and the ACA(Obamacare) has capped my FSA to $2500 which isn't nearly enough to help with the out of pocket costs. Fuckers.