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2016 E-Information and Action GuideClick to go to BenefitAnswers Plus web site
Flexible Spending Accounts

The following section provides information for participants who are enrolled in, or eligible to elect, the Health Care FSA (HFSA) and/or Dependent Care FSA (DFSA).

Need Help Choosing Your FSA Contribution Amount(s) for Next Year?

Use the "Estimate how much to contribute" tool on the YBR website during annual open enrollment to estimate your potential healthcare and/or dependent care expenses.

As a reminder, you can contribute up to $2,550 to an HFSA in 2016, up from $2,500 in 2015.

General Information

To be eligible to enroll in an HFSA or a DFSA, you must be a regular full-time or regular part-time employee.

You must actively elect the HFSA and/or DFSA during the annual open enrollment period each year. If you do not make a contribution election for the HFSA and/or DFSA during this annual open enrollment period, you will not be a participant in either or both accounts for 2016. These elections do not roll over each year.

Use it or lose it. Any 2015 HFSA and/or DFSA balances will be forfeited if not used by the deadline(s) to incur expenses (March 15, 2016 for HFSA expenses; December 31, 2015 for DFSA expenses) and claims are not submitted (postmarked or faxed) to Your Spending Account (YSA) by April 15, 2016.

You must keep all your receipts for eligible expenses. You may be asked to submit them for reimbursement. If you are unable to provide proof of a claim with a receipt, your HFSA debit card will be deactivated and you will be asked to either submit payment to cover those expenses or submit substitute receipts for any other eligible out-of-pocket expenses.

If you are enrolled in the HFSA in 2015 and re-enroll for 2016:

If you newly enroll in an FSA for 2016, you will receive a welcome email from YSA in December. The YSA website (accessible directly from the YBR website) provides all the tools and information you need to manage your account(s). For example, you can view your account balance(s), submit and check the status of claims, learn about eligible expenses and more.

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Keep Track of These Key FSA Dates

Key Dates What You Need to Know/What You Need to Do
NOVEMBER 30, 2015
  • Last day you can make elections or changes to your FSAs for the current year — even if you experience a qualified status change that permits you to make changes to your benefits.
DECEMBER 31, 2015
  • Last day to incur dependent care expenses that can be reimbursed from your 2015 DFSA.
JANUARY 1, 2016
  • The new Plan Year begins.
  • If you have a balance in your 2015 HFSA: Use it — do not lose it. Remember, you can use your balance to pay for eligible healthcare expenses you incur during the 2015 HFSA “grace period”  (January 1, 2016 through March 15, 2016).
    • If you re-enrolled in an HFSA for 2016: You can use your YSA HFSA debit card or submit claims to YSA for eligible expenses. Either way, YSA will automatically draw from your 2015 balance before using your 2016 account to pay for eligible expenses you incur during the grace period.
    • If you did not re-enroll in an HFSA for 2016: You must submit your claims for eligible expenses to YSA; your YSA debit card will no longer work.
  • If you do not have a balance in your 2015 HFSA or if you are newly enrolled in an HFSA for 2016: Start using your YSA HFSA to be reimbursed for eligible healthcare expenses. You can use your YSA HFSA debit card or submit claims to YSA.
  • Start using your 2016 YSA DFSA to be reimbursed for eligible dependent care expenses.
MARCH 15, 2016
  • 2015 HFSA grace period ends. This is the last day to incur eligible healthcare expenses that can be reimbursed from your 2015 HFSA.
APRIL 15, 2016
  • 2015 FSA claims submission deadline. All your 2015 HFSA and/or DFSA claims must be submitted to YSA by this date.
For More Information

If you have questions about your FSA(s), contact YSA via a link on YBR or call the Alcatel-Lucent Benefits Center at 1-888-232-4111 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday.

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1Includes active employees; participants on a leave of absence (LOA), Short Term Disability (STD), Long Term Disability (LTD) or workers' compensation; COBRA participants; and survivors in the Family Security Program (FSP).