Posted October 6, 2014 09:42:32 CDT

Your Agreement Health FSA: Don’t Leave Money on the Table

by LRC

If you are enrolled in a health flexible spending account (FSA), you should be aware of the rules around any unused dollars at the end of the Plan Year.

The "Use It or Lose It" IRS Rule
According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), if you do not use all the money in your health FSA by the end of the Plan Year, you will lose the unused balance, unless you use it within the Grace Period.

The Grace Period
For the 2014 Plan Year, the health FSA Grace Period is January 1, 2015 to January 30, 2015. This means that if you incur eligible health FSA expenses between January 1, 2015 and January 30, 2015, and you have a remaining balance in your 2014 health FSA, you can be reimbursed up to the remaining 2014 balance of your health FSA.

2014 Plan Year Deadline for Submitting Health FSA Claims
For the Period of Coverage ending on December 31, 2014, the general deadline for submitting reimbursement forms to UnitedHealthcare is March 31, 2015. However, if your Period of Coverage ends on any date prior to December 31, 2014, then the deadline for submitting reimbursement forms to UnitedHealthcare is 90 days after the date your Period of Coverage ends. For example, if your health FSA Period of Coverage ends on September 15, 2014, you will have until December 14, 2014 to submit your eligible health FSA claims in order to be reimbursed. If you need assistance calculating your specific deadline, contact the FSA Customer Care Center at 1-888-298-9754.

IMPORTANT: Late claims cannot be paid.
To receive reimbursement using any available 2014 Plan Year dollars, the reimbursement form must be either:

• Received by UnitedHealthcare by March 31, 2015 or, if applicable, 90 days after your Period of Coverage ends, or
• Mailed to UnitedHealthcare by first-class mail and postmarked on or before March 31, 2015, or, if applicable, 90 days after your Period of Coverage ends.

Note: The IRS only allows you to be reimbursed from your health FSA for services received during the Plan Year. For example, you cannot use 2014 health FSA dollars to pay for claims that took place in 2013 or that will occur in 2015.