With open enrollment season quickly approaching, it’s important to help your employees stay on top of their benefits with some timely reminders. There are several ways employees can maximize their benefits and prepare for the coming plan year.

Pass this resource along to your employees by downloading and sharing or printing to help employees close out the 2022 plan year and prepare for 2023.

Use remaining FSA funds

A flexible spending account (FSA) is a convenient way for employees to save money by paying for eligible health expenses on a pre-tax basis. When employees utilize an FSA, they have to use their funds up before the end of the plan year. Employees who are looking for an easy way to use their remaining FSA funds should check out the FSA Store – the largest online marketplace for guaranteed FSA eligible products. The FSA Store takes the guesswork out of whether products are FSA eligible because all products on the site are eligible.

It’s important for employees to understand the rollover, runout, and grace period that are in place for their plan. Some employers allow their FSA participants to rollover a set amount of funds to use in the new plan year. However, the rollover amounts are subject to federal limits established by the IRS. To view up-to-date plan limits, visit www.ebcflex.com/planlimits. With a rollover, it’s important for employees to know if and how much they can rollover so they’re able to prepare and not forfeit the funds they don’t use.

The runout period that many employers allow is the timeframe that gives participants extra time to submit claims incurred during the plan year. The incurred expense must occur before the end of the plan year, however participants have extra time to submit those claims for reimbursement.

Additionally, some employers also allow a grace period. FSA participants who have the ability to use a grace period can incur expenses and submit after the plan year ends within the available timeframe. Employers can customize how long the grace period is, but the maximum gives participants 2 months and 15 days after the plan year ends. If there’s no grace period, then employees should be aware so they can get all claims incurred before the end of the plan year’s runout period.

Submit any outstanding claims

Employees who have a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) or FSA should submit any outstanding claims before the end of the plan’s runout period. For many plans, the runout period ends three months after the end of the plan year, but the employee should check their summary plan description for details, which can be found in their EBC online account.

The easiest way to submit claims is online. For fast processing, tracking, and ease-of-use, participants can submit claims online or through our mobile app, EBC Mobile.

Substantiate claims

Whether a transaction was completed with the Benefits Card or a claim was submitted, sometimes EBC will request documentation to substantiate a claim’s eligibility. Participants will be notified if their transactions require substantiation. Documentation should be submitted with enough time for processing before the last day of their plan year. Just like submitting claims, providing documentation for substantiation can be done easiest online – where it’s secure, quick, and easy. A transaction that requires substantiation will not go away when the new plan renews. If the Benefits Card is deactivated, it will remain that way even when new money is applied.

Benefits Card updates

For employees who have an FSA, HSA, or HRA and utilize EBC’s Benefits Card, there are a few things they should check on. These employees should verify that their Benefits Card is still active and has not expired. If it hasn’t expired, it’s important that employees hold on to it for the upcoming year – they will not be sent a new one if it’s still active. Employees whose card has expired will automatically be sent a new one within 30 days of the expiration date for the upcoming year.

Additionally, employees should take stock at whether they need a secondary Benefits Card for their spouse or a dependent. The easiest way to request a new card is by logging in to their online account at www.ebcflex.com.

Check on HSA investments and contributions

For employees who are enrolled in an HSA-qualified high deductible health plan (HDHP), contributing to an HSA has significant perks. With an HSA, employees can spend, save, or invest their funds and receive triple tax-advantage savings. HSAs offer a unique perk that none of the other flexible spending benefits do – accountholders can invest their funds once they reach the minimum balance of $1,000. For employees who have an HSA, the end of the year is a good time to check in on investment performance to see if they want to make any changes.

Review 2022 health expenses

The close of 2022 provides the opportunity to prepare for 2023. When it comes to benefits, employees can take the time to evaluate their health care utilization and change contribution amounts for the next year or decide it’s the time to contribute to an HSA or FSA.

Employees who currently have a FSA or HSA may find it advantageous to review how much they spent on health expenses in 2022 to help inform their 2023 contribution amount.

For employees who didn’t contribute to an HSA or an FSA this year, the end of the year can be an excellent opportunity to sit down and look at medical expenses for the year and calculate how much money they would have saved with an HSA or FSA.

The ability to contribute to an FSA or HSA is dependent on what the employer offers and what health plan the employees choose. However, if it’s an option, utilizing an HSA or FSA can save employees 30% on eligible health expenses*. Employers should consider reminding their employees of the potential savings and encouraging them to think about how much they can save if they choose to utilize one of these accounts. To help Open Enrollment go smoothly, EBC offers enrollment toolkits with communication materials to help promote your benefit offerings to your employees and help educate them on the value of the accounts.

*This tax example is a broad approximation of tax liability. Further, your contributions may be subject to state income tax in some states. Your specific savings depend on your tax bracket. You should consult a tax advisor for help with your own situation. Current IRS tax laws control all pre-tax payment and contribution matters and are subject to change.

2023 Open Enrollment

After evaluating 2022 medical expenses and determining what election amount to make, the next step is for employees to re-enroll (or enroll for the first time) in their benefits. When going through the open enrollment process, another important thing for employees to check on is whether they have their spouse/dependent listed on their account with EBC, if applicable. Doing this allows the spouse/child to call and access account information should it be necessary. If an employee doesn’t have anyone on their account and wishes to, the best way to do this is by filling out a Participant Authorization form, which can be found in their online account.

Open enrollment can be a stressful experience for employees, but EBC aims to provide as easy of a process as possible for employers and employees alike. If you have questions about any of the suggestions on this list or how to handle the end-of-year process as an employer, please reach out to your assigned EBC Client Account Representative.