FAQs About Managing an FSA as an Employee

Yes! You may order your spouse or children their own Benefit card directly from your Zenefits dashboard. To do this you may navigate to the applicable app (FSA/ HSA /HRA), and underneath “Need a dependent card?” you may select “Order/replace it”. Once you have chosen to order or replace the card the system will take you through the flow of choosing which dependent you would like the card for, as well as which address you would like the card shipped to. 

Cards take about 7-10 business days to arrive. Dependent cards cannot be ordered for commuter benefits. 

Zenefits supports simultaneous participation in a Health Care and Child & Elderly Care FSA and an HRA, and in a Child & Elderly Care FSA and an HSA. For the former, the Flex Benefits system will automatically use up the HRA funds before the FSA funds.

As an employee, you can only change elections to your personal FSA during the renewal period or after experiencing a qualifying life event, such as a change in marital status or the birth of a child. If you have experienced an applicable qualifying life event, please contact Support. Please also include the date of the Qualifying Life Event, as well as what the event was. 

No. You can have both a Health Care and Child & Elderly Care FSA, but they are funded separately, and funds cannot be transferred between the two. For example, If you have both accounts and try to make a medical purchase, but do not have enough funds in your Health Care FSA, your purchase will be declined regardless of the balance in your Child & Elderly Care FSA.

Yes! Your contribution limits (and FSA) are tied to your employer's plan. If you contribute to an FSA through one employer, then leave for another employer and contribute to a new FSA, you can contribute up to the annual limit through your new employer, regardless of how much you contributed through the previous employer.

For example, if you contributed $2700 (2019 limit) to a Health Care FSA with your previous employer, and you switch jobs in the same year, you can also contribute up to $2700 ( 2020 limit will increase to $2750) with the new employer.

If you lose your Zenefits Card, you can order a new one from the Commuter Benefits, Flexible Spending Account, or Health Savings Account apps:

1. From your dashboard, click on the Commuter Benefits, Flexible Spending Account, or Health Savings Account app.
2. On the right side of the page, under Your Zenefits Card, click Replace it.
3. Make sure your home address is up to date. If it's not, click I need to update my home address and enter your current address.
4. Click Send Me a New Card.

Please allow 10-15 days for your new card to arrive. If you'd like order an additional card for someone else, e.g., your spouse or child, see these instructions.

You can view the total available funds in your Health Care FSA and/or Child & Elderly Care FSA in the Flexible Spending Account app. Simply click on the app from your dashboard and look for your FSA funds under Benefits Summary.

If you've gone through a qualifying life event (QLE) and would like to enroll in an FSA, contact Support within 30 days of the event and provide:

• Written (email) confirmation of the desired contribution amount.
• The desired type of FSA (Health Care and/ or Child & Elderly Care FSA).
• The date of the QLE.

Changes to an FSA due to a QLE will take effect the first of the month following the event date. If the QLE is due to the birth of a child, then the effective date of the change will be the first of the month in which the event took place. Please note that the employee's annual election will be split between the number of pay periods  between the effective date and the FSA renewal. Therefore, deductions might be higher than expected.

FSA contribution changes due to a QLE must reflect the nature of the event. For example:

Acceptable Changes

• If an employee's dependent turns 26, it would be acceptable for the employee to decrease their FSA contribution to reflect the loss of a dependent.

• If an employee adopt a baby, they may want to increase their elections to accommodate the new medical expenses and/or day care costs for the new family addition.

• If an employee gets married, they may want to increase their elections to accommodate the new medical expenses for their spouse.

• If an employee's spouse loses their job (and therefore loses coverage), it would be acceptable for the enrollee to increase their FSA contribution (or sign up for the first time).

Unacceptable Changes

• An employee wants to reduce their Child & Elderly Care FSA contributions after the birth of a child. Though birth is a QLE, the reduction is not consistent with the QLE.

If you paid out of pocket for an expense that’s covered by your FSA, you can submit a claim to receive a reimbursement. To submit a claim, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Flexible Spending Account app on your dashboard.
2. Click on the Claims tab at the top of the page.
3. Click on the Submit a Claim button.
4. Enter information about your expense and upload a receipt.
5. Click Submit.

Once your employment ends, you won't be able to spend your FSA funds, but you do have 90 days to submit claims for FSA-eligible expenses that you incurred while employed and during the current plan year. The Flexible Spending Account app will still appear on your dashboard in order for you to submit claims. Any unused money remaining in your FSA at the end of the plan year is returned to your employer. If you're called to active military service during your FSA plan year, though, you'll be able to cash out your FSA balance.

Multiple reimbursement claims can be submitted at the same time as long as all required documentation is supplied.

What happens to your funds depends on the “end type” of your company’s FSA plan:

• Up to a $500 Rollover: If your company offers an FSA again next year, you’ll be able to carry over up to $500 of unused funds from your current FSA. Note that this rollover is limited only to Health Care FSAs. The employer is able to designate any amount up to $500 to be rolled over.
• Grace Period: You’ll be able to use any funds left in your FSA for two and a half months after it ends.
• Use-or-Lose: You’ll lose any funds left in your FSA after your current plan ends.

You can see your FSA plan’s end type in your Flexible Spending Account app. Simply click on the app from your dashboard and look for one of the above end types under Benefits Summary.

Regardless of your plan’s end type, you’ll have a 90-day runout period after your FSA ends, which allows you to submit claims for any expenses you incurred during your FSA plan period.

There are three common reasons why your FSA purchase (either with your Zenefits Card, or by submitting a claim) was denied:

• The expense isn't eligible. Learn more about eligible Child & Elderly Care FSA  expenses or Health Care FSA expenses.
• Your plan hasn't started yet. You won't be able to use the funds before the start date.
• Your balance is insufficient to cover the expense. Remember, your FSA contributions are added to your account only after they're deducted from your paycheck.

You can check your available funds and your plan's start date in your Flexible Spending Account app. Simply click the app on your dashboard, then look under Benefits Summary to view your available funds and start date.

To determine why your claim was denied, open the Flexible Spending Account app, click "Claims," and hover over the question mark next to the "Declined" status. 

If you have any questions or concerns about why your claim was denied, you can reach Zenefits FlexBen Claims Department at 1.866.609.4655.