1 hour and 26 min til it’s too late…
TL;DR At the bottom.
I am employed by Costco if it matters for this scenario. I enrolled in an FSA account for 2022. I will have about $500 carryover into 2023. I forgot to re-enroll for the FSA account for 2023.
What will happen to that $500 since I did not re-enroll?
I understand that by not re-enrolling I will not be able to continue contributing to my FSA account for 2023. But will the carried-over money be forfeited bc I didn’t re-enroll? Does it sit there, inaccessible until the next time I enroll? Will it be paid out to me minus applicable taxes? Will it continue to be available to me just as it was throughout 2022 with the only difference being that I am no longer able contribute more money in 2023?
On Costco’s benefits website, page 95 of the “2022 Summary Plan Description” states,
“According to IRS rules, you forfeit any balance over $550 remaining in your account at the end of the calendar year. The last day you can file a claim for reimbursement of the prior year’s expenses is April 30 of the following year….
You are allowed to carryover up to $550 in unused funds to pay for eligible expenses incurred in the following year. Any amount over the $550 carryover limit remaining in your account after the claim filing deadline of April 33 will be forfeited.”
(Yes, the official doc says April 33 lol.)
Unfortunately this info isn’t enough to answer if use of the carried-over money is affected by not being re-enrolled in FSA the following year.
Page 96 goes on to state,
“Annual Enrollment is the only time you may enroll in the [FSA].… To continue participating from one year to the next, you must re-enroll during each Annual Enrollment period.”
The last sentence is what makes me nervous that I may no longer have access to the carried-over money. However, it’s not specific about what “participating” means. Does that mean contributing new funds but not necessarily spending carried-over funds? Or both? Or is this not technically considered participating the next year bc the money was contributed the previous year, even though the money is being spent the next year?
Any help would be appreciated as the thought of the rollover money potentially being forfeited just hit me and I am realizing that I may need to suddenly spend $500 on FSA purchases…like right now!!
Thank you!
TL;DR What will happen to the money in my 2022 FSA account that is eligible to rollover into 2023 if I did not re-enroll in an FSA account for 2023? Costco is my employer if it matters.
Do I need to spend the money RIGHT NOW?? Thanks!
go to Amazon FSA store and order the most expensive thing you can… worst case you can return it.
If your employer does it like mine then the funds that could rollover from 2022 are forfeit since you don’t have a 2023 FSA. All part of the scam that is FSAs. Still bitter about that.
To my understanding you can only be reimbursed for expenses during your plan coverage.
So if you roll 500 to next year, but have no plan coverage, you have no eligible expenses you can claim. So basically the funds are lost.
I believe the leftover money that you carry into 2023 are actually funds from 2022, you are just using a grace period to spend them in 2023. You usually have 3 months as a grace period, at least that’s what my plan has. As you spend in Jan, Feb, Mar the 2022 funds are spent first and then the 2023 funds would be used (which you have none since you didn’t re-enroll). I wish I was sure this was the case for your plan. I think u/freddie_the_mercury probably has the best suggestion being as it’s new years eve.
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