Use It, Or Lose It – Flex Spending Benefits
There are a lot of healthcare benefits to understand, especially when you include the various wellness benefits. Many people don’t have the time to study the fine details of what’s available. Our clients often ask about Flex Spending, a great savings opportunity on healthcare services that are often missed out on.
Many healthcare plans have Flex Spending Accounts (FSA) as a popular feature, yet it is under-utilized. The FSA feature allows you to automatically deposit funds from your paycheck into your flex account. You are in control of the amount of money you want diverted into your flex account, with the added advantage of it being tax-free. These funds can then be saved and used towards healthcare costs not covered by your medical plan.
Flex Savings Accounts allows you the opportunity to care for your eyes. Providing you with the financial resources to cover expenses such as routine eye exams, prescription spectacles, sunglasses, or contact lenses. FSAs can also be utilized as a co-payment, deductibles, and much more.
FSAs encourage mindful spending, and employers are quite supportive of these accounts because of their added tax savings benefit for employees. Promoting improved quality of life, while also providing access to wellness services and products. The one disadvantage of the flex spending account is that you have to use it within a year – “use it or lose it”, since your savings cannot be carried over into the new twelve-month period.
After your exam and receiving your eyewear, keep your receipts and any required documentation either to submit for coverage or to keep for your records.
Let your healthcare take priority, and take advantage of your FSA by doing the following:
- Read the flex spending literature
- Check the guidelines
- Make a list of your routine healthcare needs, including eye care, and costs
Now that you’ve done all the above, add up the costs and calculate how much funds are needed during a twelve-month period. This will give you an idea as to how much you need to transfer into your FSA each month to maintain your health and wellness needs. Be sure to keep all receipts of expenses covered by your flex spending, including eye exams and eyewear, in the event that you need to submit these for coverage.
There are other similar accounts available to employees, such as the Health Savings Accounts (HSA). These work slightly different from the FSA in that HSA savings can be accrued year-to-year and are not lost at the end of a twelve-month period like the FSAs. The Health Savings Accounts also offer tax-free money diversion from your paycheck and can be used for eye care, including eyewear and eye exams. The benefit is in the detail, be sure to check both FSAs and HSAs for continued healthcare and wellness savings.
