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Flexible
Benefit Plan
Employees are encouraged to take advantage of the
cost-saving benefits provided through the Plano ISD Flexible Benefit
Plan, commonly referred to as a "cafeteria plan". The components
of this Plan allow you to pay for certain eligible expenses on a
pre-tax basis which will reduce your federal income taxes.
Pre-Tax Premiums
This excellent option allows you to pay any PISD
medical, non-medical alternate, dental, and vision premiums on a pre-tax basis. Using this plan, any
eligible premium is deducted from your paycheck before taxes. Since you are paying these premiums anyway, you save tax money as well, by selecting this option.
Medical Reimbursement Flexible
Spending Account
General Purpose
Please Note: If you also plan to contribute to a Health Savings Account through a bank or another financial institution, you may not select the General Purpose medical reimbursement account. You must select the Limited Purpose medical reimbursement account.
This account allows you to set aside a fixed amount
of your pre-tax salary to pay for certain eligible health care expenses
that are not reimbursed by your insurance plans. This might include
charges applied to your deductibles, co-insurance,
prescription co-payments, certain over-the-counter medications, and eligible weight loss programs, just to name a few. Eligible expenses may be for you, your spouse, or dependent children. The
minimum you may select for this account is $25 per month, and the maximum is $416 per month. Any funds remaining in your account at
the end of the plan year and
not claimed for eligible expenses
will be forfeited and cannot be returned to you. Enrollment in this
account is not automatic from year to year. You must request re-enrollment
during the annual open enrollment period. You are encouraged to
seek professional tax or financial advice regarding this account
and your personal tax situation.
Health Care/Medical FSA - CIGNA Informational Flyer 
List of Over-the-Counter Eligible Items
Limited Purpose (new for January 1, 2010)
Please Note: If you also plan to contribute to a Health Savings Account through a bank or another financial institution, you may not select the General Purpose medical reimbursement account. You must select the Limited Purpose medical reimbursement account.
This account allows you to set aside a fixed amount of your pre-tax salary to pay for certain eligible health care expenses that are not reimbursed by your insurance plans, and will coordinate with a Health Savings Account. The Limited Purpose medical reimbursement account will not reimburse charges that are applied to your medical plan deductible, as those are eligible under the Health Savings Account. Eligible expenses may be for you, your spouse, or dependent children. The minimum you may select for this account is $25 per month, and the maximum is $416 per month. Any funds remaining in your account at the end of the plan year and not claimed for eligible expenses will be forfeited and cannot be returned to you. Enrollment in this account is not automatic from year to year. You must request re-enrollment during the annual open enrollment period. You are encouraged to seek professional tax or financial advice regarding this account and your personal tax situation.
Dependent Care Flexible
Spending Account
This account allows you to set aside a fixed amount
of your pre-tax salary to pay for certain eligible "dependent care"
expenses, such as day care for children or a disabled spouse. The
minimum you may select for this account is $25 per month, and the maximum is $416 per month (or
$208 per month, if you are married and filing separate tax returns). Any funds remaining in your account at the end of the plan year and not claimed for eligible
expenses will be forfeited and cannot
be returned to you. Enrollment in this account is not automatic
from year to year. You must request re-enrollment during the annual
open enrollment period. You are encouraged to seek professional
tax or financial advice regarding this account and your personal
tax situation. By electing this account, you may not be eligible
for the Federal Income Tax Credit.
Dependent Care FSA - CIGNA Informational Flyer
Cautions
- The types of eligible expenses that can be claimed for reimbursement
under the flexible spending accounts are determined by IRS
regulations. To find out if a particular expense qualifies under
IRS law, you should contact the account administrator, a tax advisor, or the IRS.
- Since you may suffer tax consequences resulting from your elections,
you are encouraged to consult a tax or financial advisor regarding
your personal tax situation.
- By electing the dependent care account, you may not be
eligible for the Federal Income Tax Credit.
- You will not be refunded any money left in your account that is not used - "Use It
or Lose It". When pre-tax money is put in a flex account,
it must be used for that benefit during the plan year. You will forfeit any unused funds. However, you can minimize your risk by setting aside only enough money for costs that you realistically expect to have.
- You must make an advance election regarding the amount of your flexible spending account. The election is irrevocable, unless you experience a qualifying change in
status. See the plan document for details.
- Reimbursement is based on when the service was rendered, not when you pay the bill. For example, if you see the doctor in December 2009, but you actually pay the doctor's bill in January 2010, the expense would only qualify under your 2009 flexible spending account.
Flex Card
This technology can provide an added convenience
to employees who enroll in a Medical Reimbursement Flexible Spending Account. Paper claims are most commonly used for reimbursement of expenses after the fact, but the Flex Card can allow immediate access to the funds
in your account at the time you need them. For example, most prescription co-pays
can be reimbursed through the Medical Reimbursement account. So at the pharmacy, instead
of paying your co-pay and submitting the receipt, you swipe the
Flex Card and the claim will go directly to your account and
be paid.
There are limitations to the card. It is designed to work only at specific merchants (e.g., doctor's offices, pharmacies, hospitals). However, the card transaction machine at an eligible merchant may not always work, depending on how their bank has set it up.
Use of the Flex Card does not remove your responsibility
to keep all receipts and documentation to prove the eligibility
of the expense. The account administrator will audit every transaction to make
sure the cards are being used properly. Therefore, they may request
copies of your documentation to validate any transaction. If you
do not provide the documentation requested, the transaction will
be voided, you must repay the account, and your card will be
deactivated.
The Flexible Benefit Plan Summary
Description and policy contain complete details regarding use of the
Flex Card, how the card works, how you can make sure you use
it properly, your obligations when using the card, the Plan's rights
to deny access to your card and recover ineligible expenses, and
more.
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