Flexible Spending Accounts

• May be used by Choice and Value Health participants
• Helps offset out-of-pocket health care expenses, such as copayments, deductibles, coinsurance, and certain over-the-counter medications
• Full amount of annual contributions available after your first paycheck of 2021

• Available for Basic Health participants
• Helps offset out-of-pocket dental and vision care expenses; may be used in combination with a health savings account
• Full amount of annual contributions available after your first paycheck of 2021

• Funds available after they have been put into your account (meaning the amount increases as additional contributions come from your paychecks)
• May be more beneficial than the federal dependent care tax credit for most individuals whose adjusted gross income is greater than $25,000 (consult a tax professional for an assessment of your personal situation)

Listen to UVA Human Resources' "For Your Benefit" podcast about Dependent Daycare FSAs. A full transcript of the podcast is available here.

In general, to be eligible for FSAs (including Dependent Daycare Reimbursement Accounts), you must be a full- or part-time UVA employee, and regularly scheduled to work at least 20 hours/week. To be eligible for FSAs, you must be:

• Faculty
• Classified Staff
• Medical Center Team Member
• Postdoctoral Research Associate
• Senior Professional Research Staff
• University Staff
• Housestaff

Mandatory Direct Deposit: For all paper claims, direct deposit is required. If you are a new enrollee, you must provide direct information on your personal Chard Snyder account for reimbursement of all non-Benny Card transactions. 

UVA offers two types of FSA: Full and Limited. Your UVA Health Plan option determines which type of FSA you are eligible for.

• Choice or Value Health participants may enroll in the Full FSA, which can be used for eligible medical, dental, and vision expenses.
• Basic Health participants may enroll in the Limited FSA, which can be used for eligible dental and vision expenses. They can also enroll in a Health Savings Account, which can be used for eligible medical, dental, and vision expenses.
• Salaried employees who work at least 20 hours/week and who waive UVA coverage may enroll in the full FSA, which can be used for eligible medical, dental and vision expenses.

To be eligible for a Dependent Daycare Reimbursement Account, your dependents must meet one of the following criteria:

• Are under age 13 at the time of service and are claimed as dependents on your taxes.
• Are unable to care for themselves, such as adult children with disabilities or elders. (These dependents are eligible regardless of age.)

All dependents must live with you for more than half the year for you in order to use funds from a Dependent Daycare Reimbursement Account for their care.

Note: A Dependent Daycare Reimbursement Account may be more beneficial, in terms of a tax benefit, than the federal dependent care tax credit for most individuals with an adjusted gross income > $25,000. Consult a tax professional for an assessment of your personal situation.

For both limited and full FSAs, the following annual contribution information is the same:

Minimum: $120

Maximum: $2,500

The following are the annual contribution limits:

Minimum: $120

Maximum: $5,000 (household limit)

When choosing how much to contribute, try to anticipate dependent eligibility changes. For example, if your child will be turning 13 mid-year, plan your contributions accordingly so you don’t over-contribute for a full year of care.

•If the daycare closes or the summer camp in which your dependent was enrolled is cancelled or starts late, this is as a qualified life event (QLE). Email a letter to askhr from the daycare center or camp with this information and let us know if you’d like to stop or decrease your Dependent Daycare Account (DCA) on the first of the month following receipt of the letter. If you elect to decrease your contributions, let us know the total annual amount you’d like to contribute to your DCA. This amount must be at least $120, the annual FSA minimum, and can't be less than the amount you've already contributed.

•If you are removing your child from a center or disenrolling them from summer camp for their safety due to COVID-19, this is a qualified life event (QLE). Write a letter explaining why you removed your child and the date they were removed. Email the letter to askhr and let us know if you’d like to stop or decrease your Dependent Daycare Account (DCA) on the first of the month following receipt of the letter. If you elect to decrease your contributions, let us know the total annual amount you’d like to contribute to your DCA. This amount must be at least $120, the annual FSA minimum, and can't be less than the amount you've already contributed.

•If you are changing your worksite from the office to home (telecommuting) or vice versa, this is a qualified life event (QLE). Write a letter explaining your change in worksite and the date of its occurrence. Email the letter to askhr and let us know if you’d like to increase or decrease your Dependent Daycare Account (DCA) on the first of the month following receipt of the letter. Let us know the total annual amount you’d like to contribute to your DCA. This amount must be at least $120, the annual FSA minimum, and can't be less than the amount you've already contributed. With this QLE, you cannot stop or start your DCA.

•No refunds can be provided for funds already contributed to your DCA.

•If you elect to stop your DCA, you will not be able to restart it for the remainder of the calendar year. The money you’ve accumulated in your account can be used to pay daycare expenses that occurred prior to the termination of your account which is the last day of the month in which you submit your request.

•If you elect to decrease or increase your contributions to your DCA, you will be able to use the money you accumulate in your account during that calendar year for daycare expenses that occur through the grace period which ends March 15th of the following year.

UVA’s FSAs and health savings accounts (HSAs) are managed by Chard Snyder.

Full FSA

The Full FSA contribution amount you choose for the year is available as soon as the account is open and after your first paycheck of the year. The flexibility to spend planned FSA contributions before they accrue can be helpful. Payroll deductions for the FSA would continue through the remainder of the year.

For example, if you choose to put $500 in a limited health care FSA for the year, you would be able to use that full $500 for eligible dental and vision expenses after the first paycheck of the year. 

FSAs opened during the year for new hires and qualified life events are effective the first of the month after the enrollment is processed. The full contribution amount you choose for the remainder of the year is available after your first benefits-deduction paycheck of the month in which coverage is effective.

Dependent Daycare Reimbursement Account

Dependent Daycare Reimbursement Account funds are available after they have been deposited in your account by payroll deductions each paycheck. It takes a few bank days after payday for payroll-deducted funds to show in your account.

These funds must be used by the end of the calendar year. However, UVA has a grace period of 2 1/2 months. This allows you to spend FSA money through March 15 of the following year. After the grace period ends, you will lose any remaining money in your FSA account. 

Mandatory Direct Deposit: For all paper claims, direct deposit is required. If you are a new enrollee, you must provide direct deposit information to Chard Snyder for reimbursement of all non-Benny Card transactions. You can enter your direct deposit information on your personal Chard Snyder account or the Chard Snyder Mobile App. 

The first time you use Chard Snyder to access your FSA or Dependent Daycare Reimbursement Account information, you will need to register.

• Go to www.chard-snyder.com and click on “Login.” Under “Employees,” click on “Access your FSA, HRA, HSA Advantage, TRP accounts.”
• Under “New User?” click on “Create your new username and password.”
• Follow the prompts to create your username and password. You must provide your social security number or Employee ID (found on your UVA ID card), so have that information handy.
• Begin using the Chard Snyder website to access your information.

To access your account information, and tools for spending FSA and/or Dependent Daycare Reimbursement Account funds, follow these steps:

• Go to www.chard-snyder.com and click on “Login.” Under “Employees,” click on “Access your FSA, HRA, HSA Advantage, TRP accounts.”
• Enter your login credentials.
• Use buttons on the home screen or other pages you can navigate to from there to manage your account.

• When you open an FSA and/or a Dependent Daycare Reimbursement Account, you will receive your prepaid benefits card, the Benny Card, in the mail to your home address. If you have had an account managed by Chard Snyder previously while working at UVA, you will reuse the same Benny Card, even when changing your account type. Benny Cards are reused from year to year.
• Before using your Benny Card, you must activate it following the included instructions.
• Use the card to pay for eligible expenses. Benny Cards are smart cards, meaning they will only work for allowable expenses. If you have more than one account, such as an FSA and a Dependent Daycare Reimbursement Account, the Benny Card is usually smart enough to pull from the appropriate account.
• To ensure funds have been used from the correct account, always confirm transactions by logging into the Chard Snyder portal.
• Keep your receipts for your records and to illustrate the funds were used properly - in the event of an IRS inquiry.

An eligible expense is any healthcare expense approved by the IRS for reimbursement through an FSA. Reimbursements are only issued for eligible expenses incurred by the employee, their spouse or their eligible dependents. Expenses that occur before the beginning of the FSA plan year are not eligible.

Flexible Spending Account Eligible Expenses

The Limited FSA allows dental, vision and preventative care expenses to be paid for on a tax-free basis. The expenses are limited so that an employee can be enrolled in a Health Savings Account at the same time. Reimbursements are only issued for eligible expenses incurred by the employee, their spouse or their eligible dependents. Expenses that occur before the beginning of the FSA plan year are not eligible.

Limited Flexible Spent Account Eligible Expenses

The Dependent Daycare FSA allows certain out-of-pocket daycare costs to be paid on a pre-tax basis. Services must be provided while the employee and their spouse are at work, looking for work or attending classes as a full-time student. Expenses that occur before the beginning of the FSA plan year are not eligible.

Dependent Daycare FSA Eligible Expenses

Basic Health participants may have a limited FSA for eligible dental and vision expenses. For medical services and prescription costs, you must use HSA funds. Basic Health participants may not have a full health care FSA. Chard Snyder also administers UVA’s FSAs, so you can use the information above to login to see your FSA information as well as HSA details.

For FSAs, the full contribution amount you choose for the year is available as soon as the account is open. For example, if you choose to put $500 in a limited health care FSA for the year, you would be able to use that full $500 for eligible dental and vision expenses after the first paycheck of the year. Payroll deductions for the FSA would continue through the remainder of the year.

What happens to the money in my account(s) if I terminate employment or enrollment in the FSA Program during the plan year?

• For a dependent daycare FSA, if there is a balance in your account when your employment or enrollment ends, your benefit termination date is the last day of the month in which you terminate enrollment or employment. You can file claims for eligible daycare expenses incurred before your benefit termination date. You must file these claims before April 30th of the following calendar year. If you do not have any eligible expenses to be reimbursed, the balance in your account is forfeited.
• For a healthcare FSA, if there is a balance in your account when your employment or enrollment ends, your benefit termination date is the last day of the month in which you terminate enrollment or employment. You can file claims for eligible health care expenses incurred before your benefit termination date. You must file these claims before April 30th of the following calendar year. If you do not have any eligible expenses to be reimbursed, the balance in your account is forfeited.
• For a healthcare FSA, you may also elect to continue participation in the FSA Program until the end of the plan year as a COBRA participant.
  • You will be responsible for paying your current election, an account administrative fee, and the COBRA administrative fee of 2% on a monthly basis.
  • This monthly payment will be due on or before the first of each month through the end of the current plan year.
  • You will receive enrollment information from Chard Snyder if you are eligible for enrollment in a COBRA healthcare FSA.

All active, benefits-eligible employees enrolled in Basic Health are able to have a Health Savings Account (HSA). Funds in your HSA can be used for eligible health care, dental, and vision expenses. Funds in these accounts roll over each year and are yours to keep for future health care costs.

If you are enrolled in a Health Savings Account, you are not eligible for a Full Healthcare Flexible Spending Account, but you can enroll in a Limited and/or Dependent Daycare Flexible Spending Account to maximize your savings.

A Flexible Spending Account (FSA), makes it possible for you to pay for certain expenses on a pre-tax basis, which makes your money go farther.

Here are resources to help you learn more:

• HSA and FSA Guide
• HSA webpage

A grace period provides you with an extra 2 1/2 months to spend last year's money. UVA offers a brief grace period into the following year, so you will have until March 15th to incur expenses. The deadline to submit claims is April 30th. 

The Full Flexible Spending Account, Limited Flexible Spending Account, and Dependent Daycare Reimbursement Account do have grace periods to spend the money beyond year's end if you are enrolled in the FSA or DCA program on December 31st of the plan year. 

The expenses must be used for eligible services and the expense must be incurred during the calendar year for which the account was opened or during the 2 1/2 month grace period from January 1st to March 15th of the following calendar year. The grace period is designed to give you an opportunity to incur expenses and use all the funds in your account if you contributed more than was actually needed for the calendar year. 

If you are switching from Value Health or Choice Health to Basic Health and you have an FSA, then you will be closing your FSA. You will need to have a balance of $0.00 in your FSA by January 1, 2021 to open your HSA. Otherwise:

• Your HSA cannot be opened, and you will not be able to make employee contributions until April 1, 2021
• Deposited funds will become available for use on the third bank day after payday
• You will not be able to use money in your account to cover any expenses incurred prior to April 1, 2021

Understanding the UVA Benefit Savings Accounts