- Money is deducted from your paycheck and put into your accounts before federal, state and Social Security taxes are calculated.
- Plan year is the Calendar year, January through December.
- During the plan year, you incur eligible expenses in health care and dependent care.
- Submit a claim for reimbursement and you are paid back out of your accounts.
- Because you are "paid back" out of an account that is never subject to taxes, you pay less taxes on your total earnings.
- If you have a change in family status, Health and Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts may be added or increased.
- All claims must be incurred after the effective date of the qualifying event.
- A new enrollment must be completed each calendar year to continue participation even if you are not changing amounts.
- The Health Care Spending Account is specifically for eligible health care expenses for yourself and your eligible tax dependents.
- The Dependent Care Spending Account is specifically for dependent care expenses such as daycare for your eligible children or elderly parents, it cannot be used to reimburse you for medical, dental, or other healthcare expenses for your dependents.
2011 FSA Health and Dependent Care Information (pdf)
- a brief description of the FSA plans
2012 FSA Health and Dependent Care Information (pdf)
- a brief description of the FSA plans for the 2012 calendar year.
FSA Health Care Provisions Document (pdf)
FSA Dependent Care Provisions Document (pdf)
FSA Q's & A's (pdf)
FSA Debit Card Q's & A's (pdf)
ELIGIBILITY
Health Care- Board Approved regular employee who has worked for a minimum of two years.
- Enrollment is during the FSA Open Enrollment period in November of each calendar year.
- Any benefit eligible employee.
- Currently working a minimum of 20 hours per week.
- Enrollment may be done when initially hired or during the FSA Open Enrollment period in November of each calendar year.
Lighthouse1 - monitor your FSA Account online
- Health care and dependent care worksheets to help participants estimate expenses for the plan year.
- Qualifying expense information.
- View account balances, election amounts, and claims reimbursement details.
To access your personal information on the web site, you will login with the user ID and password you created when you enrolled.
Participants preferring to speak with a live person will always have the option of contacting Zenith Administrators by phone at 602-336-2247 (Rose Martinez) or 602-336-2246 (June Farr).
CLAIMING EXPENSES
- As of January 1, 2011, OTC (over-the-counter) medications REQUIRE a prescription from your physician in order to qualify for FSA reimbursement.
- Remember smoking cessation programs and supplies are eligible expenses under the FSA program
- Submit your claims ONLINE and attach any necessary documentation!
- Use DEBIT CARDS for copay and pharmacy reimbursement.
- Have monies sent via DIRECT DEPOSIT.
- Submit claim forms and applicable documentation via U.S. mail, fax or email directly to Zenith Administrators.
- Disbursements are processed weekly - each Wednesday.
FSA Claim Form (pdf) - send completed forms to Zenith Adminstrators as listed below.
Acceptable forms of proof for incurred expenses
- Insurance company Explanation of Benefits (EOB) statement, pharmacy receipt or OTC (over-the-counter) receipt.
- When submitting dental receipts, those on Assurant, or any dental plan not sponsored by MCCCD, should supply a legible provider receipt (EOB if applicable).
- Those with MetLife dental should supply the Explanation of Benefits (EOB).
- Canceled checks and credit card statements are NOT acceptable as supporting documentation.
- The services must have already been provided.
- Write your name and Employee ID number on all documents.
Grace Period for Submitting Claims
The IRS has recently established a new ruling (Notice 2005-42) to allow employers to grant FSA participants an additional 2 1/2 months (grace period) after the close of a plan year to use contributions that were unused during that plan year.
Example:- The FSA participant has a $300 remaining balance in their health care FSA on December 31, 2007.
- The FSA participant incurs a $350 health care expense on March 2, 2008.
- The FSA participant can submit their $350 health care expense and $300 of the health care expense will be reimbursed from the 2007 health care FSA remaining balance.
- The remaining $50 health care expense will be reimbursed from the participant's 2008 health care FSA if elected.
The deadline to file prior year claims is April 15th of the following year for eligible expenses incurred through the previous plan year (including the grace period). After April 15th, any remaining dollars are deleted from your prior year account.
FSA CLAIM forms must be submitted by US Mail or Faxed to:
Zenith Administrators
2001 W. Camelback Road, Ste. B350
Phoenix, AZ 85015
Fax numbers: 602-248-8301
For faster claims service, use the online claims option listed above.
FSA ENROLLMENT is done annually online.