Flexible Spending Accounts

Eligibility

All employees, including rehired annuitants, are eligible to enroll in this program, except:

• Student Hourly employees
• University Staff Temporary employees
• Student Assistants with one of the following titles: Fellows, Scholars, Trainees
• Employees-in-Training with one of the following titles: Grad Intern/Trainee, Post-Doc Fellow/Trainee

Enrollment

If you have any questions regarding your eligibility or enrollment options, contact the HR office in your school, college, or division

If you are a newly hired employee:

• You have 30 days from the date employment begins to enroll.
• Coverage will be effective on the first of the month on or following your hire date.

If you are a currently enrolled employee:

• You are required to re-enroll each year during Benefits Open Enrollment to continue participation. Enrollments do not carry forward from year to year.

Health Care FSA

The Health Care FSA covers eligible expenses that are not covered or are partially covered by insurance plans, such as prescription drugs, medical deductibles, copays, and coinsurance amounts. You may also use this account to pay for eyeglasses, dental expenses, and certain over-the-counter drugs and supplies. See IRS Publication 502: Medical and Dental Expenses for additional information.

These expenses can be incurred by you, your spouse, and/or a qualifying child or relative. See IRS Publication 969: Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans for additional information.

Read the FSA unsubstantiated claims process for procedures, employee communications, and timelines.

You are not eligible for the Health Care FSA if you enroll in the High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with the Health Savings Account (HSA). Consider enrolling in the Limited Purpose FSA instead.

Limited Purpose FSA (LPFSA)

A Limited Purpose FSA (LPFSA) covers eligible dental and vision expenses. You may also use LPFSA dollars for medical expenses once your HDHP medical deductible is met. These expenses can be incurred by you, your spouse and/or a qualifying child or relative. This plan is only available if you are enrolled in a HDHP plan design. See IRS publication 969 for more details on expenses that may qualify.

Dependent Care FSA

A Dependent Care FSA covers eligible expenses for the physical care of dependents, either inside or outside the home. If you are married, your spouse must be unable to provide dependent care because they work, are actively looking for work, are enrolled in and attending school full time, or are themselves physically or mentally incapable of self-care.

Eligible dependents include your qualifying child, spouse, and/or qualifying relative. See IRS publication 503 for more details on expenses that may qualify.

This account does not pay for medical, dental, and/or vision expenses for your eligible dependents.

FSA Contribution Limits and Carryover Amounts

Health Care FSA

Contributions Allowed:

• 2025: $50 – $3,200
• 2026: $50 – $3,300
• Minimum annual election is $50 for Health Care FSA.

Carryover Amounts:

• 2025: $50 – $640
• 2026: $50 – $660

Limited Purpose FSA

Contributions Allowed:

• 2025: $50 – $3,200
• 2026: $50 – $3,300
• Minimum annual election is $50 for Limited Purpose FSA.

Carryover Amounts:

• 2025: $50 – $640
• 2026: $50 – $660

Dependent Care FSA

Contributions Allowed:

• 2025: $0 – $2,500 or $5,000 (depending on tax filing status)
• 2026: $0 – $3,750 or $7,500 (depending on tax filing status)

Carryover Amounts:

None. There is no rollover for the Dependent Care FSA; any amount unspent by the deadline will be lost.

Carryover Limits and Deadlines

These accounts are considered “use-it-or-lose-it” accounts.

For the Health Care FSA and Limited Purpose FSA, this means that if you do not use the full amount, then you will forfeit:

• Anything greater than the carryover amount
• Anything less than a balance of $50 if you did not re-enroll for the following plan year during the benefits enrollment period in the fall

For the Dependent Day Care Account, if you do not use the full amount, the remaining balance will be lost.

The deadline to file the current year’s claims is March 31 of next year.

If eligible, carryover will appear in your Health Care FSA account balance on or around April 15.

Frequency of Contributions

Annual Employees (paid over 12 months):

Employee and employer contributions are processed on the first two paychecks of each month (24 paychecks per year if eligible and enrolled for the entire calendar year).

Academic Year Employees (paid over 9 months):

Employee and employer contributions are processed on the first two paychecks of each month during the academic year (18 paychecks per year if eligible and enrolled for the entire calendar year).