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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 PDF file
List of Over-the-Counter Eligible ItemsPDF file

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 PDF file

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.