What is a Cafeteria Plan?
IRS code Section 125, allows employers to adopt a plan in which employees, through salary reduction, can pay for eligible benefits and medical or dependent care expenses on a pre-taxed basis.
Employees who purchase group insurance and other benefits through the company greatly reduces the cost, offering your employees a great benefit for their dollar. In addition, putting those benefits along with other allowed benefit (i.e. Dependent Care and Unreimbursed Medical expenses) under a qualified plan can offer a substantial tax savings for the employee and employer.
Your Plan includes:
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
Dependent Care Plans
Unreimbursed Medical Plans
Deductible Medical Expenses 2020
OTC Drug List 2020
FSA Reimbursement Options
Direct Deposit Form
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How Your Plan Works
Your Open Enrollment for the Cafeteria Plan is at hand, Colonial Life representatives will be coming around to your school or location to provide you with enrollment option for Cafeteria Plan benefits. Please make arrangement to see them when they are in your area. See your local business manager for details of when they will be in your area.
Your insurance sales period for offered products was from August 15, and ended September 18, 2020. If you made a choice to your insurance coverage, and need a change. You must make your change between November 1, to November 13, with JPS Payroll office only, you must email sosmith@jackson.k12.ms.us. Once this period has passed, your products will remain as elected with no change.
Once the Plan Year begins you will not be allowed to make any changes to your election unless a Status Change occurs, as election under a Cafeteria Plan are irrevocable for the Plan Year, unless you qualify for a Status Change.
What is a Cafeteria Plan?
A Cafeteria Plan is a valuable benefit that allows you to pre-tax, (exclude from W-2 wages), eligible benefits such as your group health dental or vision insurance premiums, as well as Flexible Spending Accounts “FSA” dependent care expenses, and out-of-pocket FSA medical expenses.
As you make your Cafeteria Plan selections with the Colonial Life representative, you will be giving the option to elect to participate to pre-tax your qualifying premiums, and your eligible insurance premiums would then be able to be deducted on a before tax basis. This will lower your W-2 reported wages by the amount of the premium(s) and give you an increase in spendable income. Should you choose not to participate, then your benefits will be deducted on an after tax basis. You will also be giving the option for Flexible Spending Accounts.
FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNTS “FSA”
Dependent Care Expenses
If you have qualified dependents that require care while you and/or your spouse work, participation in this account will save you valuable tax dollars. Expenses include day care, after school care, nursery school, pre-school and summer day camp.
For more information, click here.
- The deduction of Dependent Care offers each employee a tremendous tax savings. If you currently have these expenses, it may be to your benefit to take advantage of the plan. All requests for reimbursement are processed the same day they are received by SABC, (based on funds availability). Simply determine the election amount for the above Plan Year, for your Flexible Spending selection.
- Elections cannot exceed the annual maximum for Dependent Care of $5,000 (filing a single or joint return) and $2,500 (married filing a separate return).
- Just select the Dependent Care FSA option in the SABCFlex Open Enrollment and identify the Care Cost you will incur for the Plan Year. Care may include registration fees.
UNREIMBURSED MEDICAL EXPENSES (URM)
If you, your spouse or qualifying dependent(s) have medical expenses, which you have to pay out of pocket such as; medical deductibles, co-insurance, co-pays, prescription drugs, dental expenses or eye care expenses, you will save valuable tax dollars by participating in this spending account. Our plan has the following features:
- FSA Unreimbursed Medical maximum, $2,750 Plan Year, (increased for 2020-2021 Plan Year).
- If I participate in the FSA Unreimbursed Medical and I terminate, how is my Plan treated. Unreimbursed Medical (URM) participants will make an election to participate in the Unreimbursed Medical Spending Accounts for the plan year. Your total election is available to you at any time during the plan year when you incur an expense(s). You must participate in the Unreimbursed Medical portion of the plan for the whole plan year. Your total election is available to you anytime during the plan year when you incur an expense(s). Should you terminate during the plan year, in lieu of COBRA; your remaining election will come from your last paycheck. Expense claims may be for you and/or an eligible family member, (based on the IRSs, definition of a dependent for Dependent Care and Dependent Adult “to” age 27 for Unreimbursed Medical).
- You are provided until the end of the plan year, to incur your expense(s) for the plan year, and the sixty (60) day tune out period, to spend down balances. After the sixty (60) day run out period is over, your Plan allows a Rollover. This allows participants (with left over funds at the end of the plan year) ,to roll over funds, (not to exceed $500), to the next Plan Year. With any monies left over in the plan, (that exceed the allowed $500 Roll Over), those funds will be forfeited.
- Your plan offers a sixty (60) day run-out period, to request reimbursement for qualified expenses incurred during the benefit period, before the Plan closes.
- Your Flexible Spending election must be re-elected each new Plan Year, it does not auto continue- you are required to re sign your Cafeteria Plan form and make a new Flexible Spending choice for it to continue, or your election will end, and you will not be a Flexible Spending Participant for the new year. Make sure to visit with the enrollment group Colonial Life, to complete your form. For questions you may call 601-856-9933 for SABC, 601-594-3377 for Colonial Life and 601-960-8991 for your JPS Payroll Office.
Cafeteria Plan elections are irrevocable for the Plan Year. Once you have made your selection for the new Plan Year, you must have a qualifying Status Change in order to change your benefit, after the Plan implementation has begun.
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How to Login to Flexible Spending Plan?
Note: If you are currently an FSA Participant, and have already registered with the SABCFlex Portal site, you may find it easier to login using the below option, and you may use your created User Login and Password.
Portal Login
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