Opinions Please! abt Flexible Spending Accts

[Mau Loa Disney]

Hello, I was wondering if any of you have a Flexible Spending Acct. I have to decide by Friday if I want to enroll, it makes sense to me to enroll, but I cant find anyone else in my workarea that have one. I was wondering is there alot of cons ... My coworkers keep saying if you dont use the money you lose it, but I dont think I'll have a problem using the money up

Any other things I should check on with my company before I enroll
( Any other threads with this topic.. I couldnt find any)

Thanks

 

[pamjb]

I have a Flexible Spending Account (FSA). I never have a problem using mine up either. All of us wear glasses, two of us wear contact lenses. My medical insurance only pays $200 every 24 months towards glasses or contacts. I also used it to pay for the kids braces after the insurance paid. You can also be reimbursed for over the counter medications, first aid products etc. Since the receipts from CVS specifically list items that are FSA eligible, I always keep my receipts just in case I am going to have any money left. I just figure out how much I am going to have out of pocket and have that amount taken out.
here is some additional information about FSA's

http://financialplan.about.com/cs/insuranc1/a/FlexSpendPlan.htm

Personally, I haven't found a con yet. There are also tax benefits, as the money is taken out of your check before taxes. I have one for about 15 years.

 

[Shagley]

I have one and I LOVE it. I don't have any trouble using up the money, because it covers things such as contact lenses and contact fluid. If I get toward the end of my benefit year, I just stock up on those two things to use up my remaining $. Just try to calculate the amount you have spent on medical, dental, or eye care expenses over the course of last year and have them hold out that much. The last few years I would use it as a vacation savings account and I would just save up all my receipts and then turn them in for reimbursement a few weeks before vacation. This year I got the FSA visa card, and I like that better. Now I use my FSA Visa to charge all my co-pays, prescriptions, medical supplies (I use a CPAP machine), and other medical expenses. That way I don't have to mess with sending in receipts for reimbursement. I can't remember if over the counter medications are included, so you may want to check your plan for that. Also, make sure you know the cut off date for each year so you don't accidentally forget to spend some of the money.

 

[StillPinballFamily]

We love ours! We put in the max ($2500) every year for medical (there's also one for dependent care we don't need).

We ALWAYS use it all up by Halloween (or Nov 15th) at the latest each year - we're a family of 5. Between glasses/contact lenses/sunglasses, braces, dentist visits/treatments, doctor office co-pays, prescription meds, OTC meds, and so on... We used to have to send in receipts (I did it monthly - no biggie - and then got a check) but in the past two years, we have a special debit card tied to this account.

And it gets taken out pre-tax, so for us, there's a 1/3rd "extra" bounce on those $$$.

Just estimate how much you think you'll be spending next year - based upon this year - and you shouldn't have trouble estimating what you could put into it. You could always google the term - there's lots of good info out there. Just because the other knuckleheads at your company aren't doing this - don't let that stop you from doing a good - and budget-savvy- thing!

 

[storybookstory]

I've been using the FSA for years. I always underestimate, and I never have problems using up the money. In fact I should put more away.

There is a calculator
https://www.fsafeds.com/fsafeds/fsa_calculator.asp

to help you see how much you could save in taxes. It is well worth it. You just have to find out what your reimbursement procedure is. Usually it's just submitting reciepts via fax, which is easy enough.

Good luck with your decision!

PS I was also very surprised at the people in my work area who don't use it - the tax savings can be hundreds of dollars a year!

 

[travelbug]

I have a Flexible Spending Acct. too. I make sure to only set aside what I'm positive I'll use, and so I've had no trouble using it all. I can't think of a down side as long as you don't designate more than you'll use.

 

[kkwis2]

We also utilize an FSA. It's true that if you don't use you will lose the money, but we have not a problem with that either. We figure out how much our medical deductible is and go a little over that. We don't take out too much since you don't usually know if you're going to have a lot of medical bills or not.

When our kids were in day care we took advantage of that as well through the FSA. It takes a bit of organization and paperwork, but I for one love getting that check in the mail!

I'd say go for it! Just estimate what you will spend on low side rather than the high side.

 

[pamjb]

Just because the other knuckleheads at your company aren't doing this - don't let that stop you from doing a good - and budget-savvy- thing!

So very, very true......I was shocked at how many people at my work don't do this. And I work for a health insurance company

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

I LOVE my FSA. Can't believe anyone would pass up taking advantage of this. The tax savings is like free money!

 

[WDWorBUST]

I'm a benefits coordinator for a company and I use it. If you're a family and you have doctor's visits and/or prescriptions that you know you will have I would highly suggest taking advantage of the tax savings. You do have to plan well.....sit down and review the last year or couple of years and estimate how many doctor's visits you have - if you have maintenance medications what the monthly copay is on them....if you where glasses....if you have any type of dental issues (say gum disease) that requires additional visits between your normal 6 month mark. I always estimate low and last year I had mine used up by May....this year I put more in and haven't used it all yet....but don't have any doubts that it will be used up. Also if you know you will have testing that will meet your deductible you can put that money aside - I had that situation one year. Just estimate well and if you're close at the end of next year stock your medicine cabinet. Oh...one last thing to mention....with a medical flex plan you can get your money out immediately although it has not been taken from your check. So you have surgery in January you can take out however much is out of pocket right then to pay for it. (Dependent care is different - the money has to have already been put in) What I like to do is for the office copay here and the prescriptions here and there is not to get that money out until December and it's like a Christmas account for me.

Just plan it out and you should be fine. The only disadvantage is if you put way more than you need to in it that you do lose it....but if you plan you should be fine.

 

[Kitzka]

just chiming in that we have no cons. when you use to have to submit reciepts and fax them in that was a bit of a pain but the new system with the debit/card is great.

i make sure i really know how much i will need for the year ($ for copays, regular prescriptions, contacts, etc). last year i figured 900 but put in 1000 in case. We used it all up by August. I am going to up mine to 1500 or more for this next year.

the great thing is that the money is availble in full jan 1st. So unlike the childcare spending account you can access the money right away in case you or someone in your family gets sick. i plan to put as much as i can in to pay for DD's braces.

Lara

 

[shelly3girls]

FSA's are great and definitely save you moeny. The only con I ever found was this year. We budgeted for a major expense that the insurance said they would not cover. Once the diagnosis came in they decided to cover the expense. Now I need to find a way to spend all of the money. It will probably not be a big deal since I can use new glasses, contacts, etc but I will definitely need to work hard to spend that much money.

 

[Green Tea]

Even if you end up with a little left(we NEVER have even come close) you likely still come out ahead. Whatever your tax rate is, that is what you saved up front. Who wouldn't use a 35% off coupon every time they needed contact lens solution, a copay or robitussin. It is crazy not to take advantage of the plan.

If it comes to December and you find you have money left, everyone gets a first aid kit for Christmas or you get the eyeglasses updated or you stock up on something.

 

[pumpkinfish]

This is the first time I've used FSA...and I love it too! I was afraid to try it before (not sure why...the unknown maybe??) because not many coworkers had done it. But I read some reviews on the boards here in March and decided to sign up
I only did $500 because I wasn't sure how it would work out...I will probably max out when the time comes around next year because my meds aren't all covered by insurance and that's $400 every 2.5 months. It's great because of the tax benefits. I too have the visa card. So easy to use and track my balance

 

[boredtotears]

We have health care FSA and dependent care FSA. We only use the FSA for health care and I can see no logical reason for anyone not to use it if its available. Everyone buts bandaids, tylenol, and the such which can all be paid by FSA dollars.

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

We just did our benefits sign up earlier in the week. I had the FSA account last year with a little debit card. It was great. I put $1200 dollars in the account out of my paycheck. I actually ended up running out of money so for 2009 I elected to increase the amount to $1700. Hopefully it will be enough. It was nice not having to figure copays, medicine and other medical expenses out of my paychecks. I had my little debit card with money already on it.

 

[Mau Loa Disney]

Wow, You guys are the Best!! Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences with the FSA, I promise I went to almost everyone in my work area (around 50 people) and no one has had one. Anyways, I'm going to enroll just needed a lil push- Thanks!

Green Tea- Perfect idea about buying 1st aid kits if I dont use it all- I always buy those kits for party gift exchanges anyways.

Pamjb -thanks for the link

 

[meriface11]

i am an HR director and i usually recommend to my employees that they start small their first year so they can see how it works and conservatively budget for the first year. also, fsa covers lasik surgery, but DO NOT put the max in to cover lasik unless you have already seen your eye doctor and know that you are a candidate for surgery. i have seen too many people put $5K in their FSA for lasik, only to find they are not candidates for the surgery and then have to scramble to spend the whole allotment.

 

[Mau Loa Disney]

i am an HR director and i usually recommend to my employees that they start small their first year so they can see how it works and conservatively budget for the first year. also, fsa covers lasik surgery, but DO NOT put the max in to cover lasik unless you have already seen your eye doctor and know that you are a candidate for surgery. i have seen too many people put $5K in their FSA for lasik, only to find they are not candidates for the surgery and then have to scramble to spend the whole allotment.

Yes, I thought I would start small, just to see how it works since it is only Dh & me, All goes well and I'll be getting me Lasik in 2010..

 

[Kimmumum]

We have FSA and love it too!! I have found that we spend more in health care than we ever imagine. Even just tylenol, vitamins, prescriptions etc. We are not a "sick" family however we had $2500 spent by June (contacts, braces, copays etc). Next year we're getting $3000.

A friend of my DH has 4 kids. He has never used FSA. He was talking to my DH about FSA and decided that he was going to try it and put in $300. We laughed. $300 will be gone by February...lol. At least they are going to try it.