Flexible Speding and Termination of Employement

[LovesTheBeach]

I Live in Georgia -My employement was terminated today. I have a flexible spending account and elected to contribute the amount of my deductible which is $2000 (83.33 per pay). I had surgery three week ago and between a previous MRI and the surgery have met my deductible. I have submitted a claim for the balance of my deductible about a week ago. I have only contributed to date $667 according to the account statement. (The company i work for is always late paying bills), but technically according to my paychecks I have paid into the account $750. I have heard that as long as the person is was employed on date of service and claims are submitted during the Flex plan year, the employee is eligible for the full amount of the flex-spend election, not just the amount of the contributions made to date. Also that the amount that was paid over what was contributed can not be taken out of severance or the last paycheck. I already know that this is going to be an issue due to previous conversations with the account administrator at our company so I want to be prepared. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

[eerelations]

No need to re-post. OP, just because you didn't get an answer within six minutes doesn't mean you have to re-post, it just means the expert volunteers here are busy. They will get to your post eventually.

 

[CSO286]

I Live in Georgia -My employement was terminated today. I have a flexible spending account and elected to contribute the amount of my deductible which is $2000 (83.33 per pay). I had surgery three week ago and between a previous MRI and the surgery have met my deductible. I have submitted a claim for the balance of my deductible about a week ago. I have only contributed to date $667 according to the account statement. (The company i work for is always late paying bills), but technically according to my paychecks I have paid into the account $750. I have heard that as long as the person is was employed on date of service and claims are submitted during the Flex plan year, the employee is eligible for the full amount of the flex-spend election, not just the amount of the contributions made to date. Also that the amount that was paid over what was contributed can not be taken out of severance or the last paycheck. I already know that this is going to be an issue due to previous conversations with the account administrator at our company so I want to be prepared. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Now that your employement is terminated, you are only going be able to access what you've paid in.

The flex account is set up with the assumption that you will pay in the full year's election over the course of the year. How would they recoup the add'l $1250 if you are no longer working there?

What it sounds like you are attempting to do is swindle either the company manging the flex account or your [now] former employer out of $1250.

 

[swalsh411]

Now that your employement is terminated, you are only going be able to access what you've paid in.

The flex account is set up with the assumption that you will pay in the full year's election over the course of the year. How would they recoup the add'l $1250 if you are no longer working there?

What it sounds like you are attempting to do is swindle either the company manging the flex account or your [now] former employer out of $1250.

Please ignore the above "advice".

The correct answer is that you are entitled to use the full yearly election starting one day one of the plan year provided you had a qualifying expense while you were still active. So if you were an active employee on your date of treatment you can be reimbursed for up to your full yearly amount regardless of how much has been taken out of your check year to date.

And ignore that nonsense about trying to "swindle" your employer. This is how these plans work. Congress in it's infinite wisdom decided this is what the rules should be.

 

[Beth3]

swash is exactly right. The full amount of your annual deferral is available to you from the first date of the flex plan year through the date you were terminated (or longer, if you elect COBRA continuation.)

You likely have 90 days from the date of termination to submit any eligible expenses incurred prior to your term date. If those are in excess of the $667 you've contributed to date, that's just the way the plan works. If, for example, you have eligible expenses of $2,000 prior to your term date, then the flex plan has to reimburse you the full $2,000. If your employer/the plan adminstrator refuses to do that, then contact the federal Department of Labor and file a complaint.

 

[cbg]

Any claims that are SUBMITTED PRIOR TO TERMINATION can be reimbursed to the full amount of the annual pledge.

Any claims that are SUBMITTED AFTER TERMINATION are limited to what had already been paid in, and can only be paid at all if incurred while still employed (unless the FSA is elected for COBRA).

So since this OP had already submitted the claim prior to being termed, swalsh is right. Had the claim not yet been submitted at the time of termination, CSO286 would have been right.

 

[ESteele]

BTW, OP, why was your “employment . . . terminated today”?

 

[LovesTheBeach]

BTW, OP, why was your “employment . . . terminated today”?

Sorry for the delay coming back. Finally found a new position with a Fortune 500 company! My position was eliminated, job terminated. The company outsourced the entire sales department.

Thanks for all the advice. They still haven't paid the claim. I keep contacting the benefits administrator who handles the FSA plan every two weeks and she tells me she is waiting for funds from my previous employer (as I said I can see they don't pay on time according to the contributions) and that her contact keeps telling her they will send a check, which of course has been almost two months. Going to give them another couple weeks and file a complaint. Thanks again everyone who offered advice.