Flexible Spending Account Open Enrollment - 2010 Plan Year

Plan Overview

A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is a valuable employee benefit designed to put money in your pocket by providing a tax-advantaged way to pay for qualified health and dependent care expenses.

Benefits of an FSA

You’ll pay less in taxes:
An employee with a salary of $60,000 per year can save approximately $422 in taxes by contributing $1,500 towards an FSA account (depending on the employee’s tax situation). Use ASI’s tax calculator to estimate your tax savings from enrolling in an FSA.

You’ll have more pre-tax money to spend on health care and dependent care expenses:
Because taxes are not withheld from your contributions, the actual amount deducted from your paycheck will be less than the amount you set aside.

Many out-of-pocket expenses are covered:
Health care expenses for you and your eligible dependents that are typically not covered under your medical, dental or vision plans, such as co-pays and deductibles can be paid from a Health Care FSA account. A Limited Health Care FSA is available to employees enrolled in the Health Savings Account Option and can be used to reimburse you for dental, vision and out-of-network preventive care expenses. If you currently pay for day care for your children or adult dependents, you can use the Dependent Care FSA to reimburse yourself for these expenses.

How the Plan Works

By enrolling in an FSA, you can direct money, on a pre-tax basis, from your paycheck into a special tax-free account through regular, equal payroll deductions. When you incur a qualified expense, you submit a claim form and proof of payment to the plan administrator, ASI, who will then issue you a reimbursement check or direct deposit the reimbursement into your bank account. You may also chose to use a debit card to pay for qualified health care expenses at the time of purchase. Claim forms and direct deposit sign-up forms can be downloaded from the ASI website. Please note that debit card purchases may still require follow-up documentation to be submitted to ASI.

You will have until April 30, 2011 to submit claims to ASI for eligible expenses incurred during the 2010 calendar year. To determine how much to contribute, make a list of the expected out-of-pocket medical and/or dependent care expenses for you and your dependents for the next calendar year. It is important to be conservative in your estimates, as any money you do not spend during the plan year will be forfeited.

Additional information is available on ASI's website.

Health Care FSA
Co-pays, deductibles, eligible medical, dental and vision expenses not covered by health plans, over-the-counter drugs, and illness-related transportation expenses for you, your spouse and your tax dependents can be paid for through a Health Care FSA. Only expenses related to dental, vision or out-of-network preventive care services can be paid for through the Limited Health Care FSA. Health care expenses are limited to $5,000 per year.

Orthodontic expenses may be assumed to be incurred at the time a monthly payment is due and paid. These monthly payments must be spread out evenly over the expected period of orthodontic treatment.

For a more detailed overview of qualifying and non-qualifying health care expenses, refer to Internal Revenue Service Publication 502.

Dependent Care FSA
The Dependent Care FSA plan can be used for day care expenses incurred while you and your spouse work or attend school full-time. A dependent's medical expenses can not be claimed through the Dependent Care FSA. You can claim these expenses through your Health Care FSA.

The IRS limit for dependent care expenses is $5000 per family ($2,500 if married filing separate Federal Income Tax returns) per year. You must provide a tax ID number or Social Security Number for your day care center or private provider for tax purposes. Your provider cannot be one of your own children under the age of 18.

The information you will read here and in other FSA plan documentation refers to "dependent" and "qualifying person"; these terms are interchangeable and may differ from the definition of dependent for other health care programs.

For purposes of claiming expenses under the FSA Dependent Care plan, a qualifying person must be:

Your dependent child who was under age 13 when the care was provided, for whom you have custody of more than 50% of the year, and who you can claim as an exemption on your Federal Income Tax return; or

Your dependent (child older than age 13, spouse, parent or other family member for whom you have custodial responsibility) who is physically or mentally unable to care for himself or herself, shares the same residence with you AND has income less than the federal exemption amount.

For a more detailed overview of qualifying and non-qualifying expenses, refer to the Participant Plan Information (page 6). You may also refer to Internal Revenue Service Publication 503 or contact your tax advisor for additional information.

Changes to Elections
Changes to your elections are not allowed during the calendar year, except for qualifying life events (e.g., birth of a child or employment status changes). You must request FSA changes within 31 days of a Qualified Life Event change.