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Employees

Enrollment and Participation

Participating in an ABS Flexible Spending Account plan is as simple as 1-2-3!

When ABS sets aside money into your accounts on a pre-tax basis, your gross taxable paycheck is lowered by that amount. This means your employer will be taking out less federal, state, local, Medicare and Social Security taxes… so your take-home income goes up. The increase may look small at first, but over the year it just keeps adding up. It’s like getting a bonus in every paycheck.

1. Anticipate

Carefully plan for next year’s out-of-pocket health, dependent care, parking and transit expenses.

Estimate your annual medical expenses prior to enrolling in a flexible spending plan. Take a look at this year’s health expenses, especially prescriptions, to estimate health expenses for the upcoming year. You can include unreimbursed expenses for spouse and dependents! Don’t forget day-care and qualified eldercare expenses also qualify for these tax-advantaged plans

Remember, you will not get your unused account funds back if you do not spend them in your plan year so… anticipate future expenses carefully.

Tip: Try to anticipate regular, predictable expenses like office and prescription co-pays and dependent care expenses. Ask your drug store Pharmacist to run a total of your prescription medicine purchases for the year.

2. Deduct

Complete a plan enrollment form and indicate how much to deduct from your paycheck.

The annual dollar amount you determined is evenly divided by the number of paychecks you receive… then deducted from your paycheck and deposited into the accounts you choose to open. This money you’ve set aside in your accounts is untaxed. The funds in your accounts are used to repay yourself for out-of-pocket expenses not covered by your regular health insurance and dependent care expenses, or parking and transit expenses.

3. Get Your Money Back!

Simply submit a completed Reimbursement Request Form for qualified expenses with receipts to ABS.

Watch how quickly your own money returns to you… in untaxed dollars.


How to Enroll

Just follow these three simple steps:

  1. If you are eligible, estimate how much you want to set aside for the coming year.
  2. Talk to your Human Resources to get the appropriate enrollment material.
  3. Complete and submit your enrollment form according to the timeline give to you by your Employer.

Questions? Need Help?

First, read the “How to Take Full Advantage of Your ABS Flexible Benefit Plan” handbook. If you do not have one, contact your Human Resource Department. Or, simply go to How to Take Full Advantage of Your ABS Flexible Benefit Plan.

Call (877) 732-8125 from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday. Advanced Benefit Strategies Section 125 Flex Benefit Consultants are ready to assist you.