Beneflex Health Care & Dependent Care Spending Accounts Summary

Regular full-time and part-time employees are eligible to participate in the Plan for pretax health care contributions. In addition, adjunct employees are eligible to participate in the Plan for pretax health care contributions while actively working at RIT. 

All regular full-time and part-time employees who are scheduled to work 750 or more hours per year are eligible to participate in the Health Care and/or Dependent Day Care Spending Accounts. 

If you elect Beneflex as new hire, your coverage will be effective on the first day of the month on or after your date of employment.

You need to enroll during your initial new hire enrollment period, during a mid-year qualifying event where you lost Beneflex or during an annual Open Enrollment period. If you enroll during an Open Enrollment period, your coverage will be effective on January 1 of the upcoming year. Beneflex is an annual election that needs to be elected each year during Open Enrollment. It does not roll over from year to year. 

Once you have enrolled in the Plan, you cannot change your elections or withdraw from the Plan until the beginning of the next plan year. However, pursuant to federal regulations, you may be able to make mid-year election changes if you meet certain criteria, as explained below. Your requested election change must be consistent with the reason for the change, as defined by the Internal Revenue Service. 

Changes must be made within 31 days after the event that gives you the right to make a new election, except that in the case of a DCSA mid-year election change, changes must be made within 60 days after the date of the event that gives you the right to make a new election. The Plan Administrator may require you to submit certain documentation related to your reason for making a mid-year election change.

Your Beneflex elections may be changed – consistent with the event - to reflect the following events:

1. Qualified Change in Status The following events constitute a qualified change in status:
   • a change in legal marital status
   • a change in the number of dependents
   • you, your spouse or your child become eligible for continued health coverage under federal law (COBRA) or similar state law
   • you, your spouse or your child become entitled to or lose Medicare or Medicaid coverage
2. Change in Employment Status The following events constitute a change in employment status where they affect you or your spouse or child:
   • termination of employment
   • commencement of employment
   • commencement or return from an unpaid leave of absence
   • change in employment classification that makes the person either eligible or ineligible to participate in a plan (for example, a change from full-time to part-time status, or the reverse, if such a change affects one’s eligibility to participate in a plan).
3. Changes in Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account You may make a change in your elections under the Dependent Care Spending Account consistent with the following types of coverage changes:
   • If you obtain a new child care provider, you may change your election to reflect the cost of the new provider (who is not a family member)
   • If the number of hours worked by the child care provider changes, you may change your election to reflect the new number of hours (e.g. if less care is needed because the child starts school mid-year, a new election can be made to reflect the lower number of child care hours required.)
   • Any other change allowable under IRS regulations
4. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Losing eligibility for coverage under a non-RIT plan may allow you to exercise special enrollment rights provided by HIPAA and make a mid-year election change.

NOTE: You may not reduce your election amount to an amount less than either your then-current account balance or your year-to-date contributions.

RIT's Beneflex plan is administered by Lifetime Benefit Solutions. 

Customer Service Phone Number: (800) 327-7130

Lifetime Benefit Solutions offers a member portal and a mobile app "LBS Flex" to manage your Beneflex account. From either the web or app, you can check  your account balance, submit claims and elect direct deposit for your claims. 

When logging in for the first time, follow these directions: 

• Initial username - is the the first letter of your first name, your last name, followed by the last four digits of your Social Security Number.
• Initial Password - is the first letter of your first name (lower case) followed by your 5-digit zip code.
  • After your first time logging in, you can change your username and you will be required to change your password.

The Flex Card is a convenient way for you to pay for your health care and dependent day care expenses by paying for your eligible expenses directly at the point of service. This eliminates the need to pay for your service out of pocket and submit a claim for reimbursement. 

When enrolled in Beneflex, LBS, the administrator, will automatically send you two “Flex Cards.” You should receive a mailing from the administrator, Lifetime Benefit Solutions, with two LBS cards; there is a card for you and one for an eligible family member (e.g., your spouse). Please be sure to sign the back of your card; if you give a card to an eligible family member, have your family member sign the back of the card with their signature. If you did not receive cards or need additional cards, contact LBS at 800-327-7130.

When your card is expiring, the card will remain active through the last day of the month in which it expires. You will automatically receive new cards the first two weeks of the month in which the card expires. Please be sure to update any online payments you have set up, such as MD Live telemedicine, OptumRx, Wegmans Free Home Shipping.

Used all of your Beneflex funds? Check the expiration date on your card, if still valid, keep your card and if you elect Beneflex for the next year, you can resume using it.

Keep Your Receipts!

It is critical that you save your receipts and supporting detailed information from each LBS card transaction, as your Beneflex claims are subject to review and audit by LBS and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If LBS sends you a Request for Information, please supply the information promptly; otherwise, LBS will shut the card off and you will not be able to use it until the documentation is provided and approved.

Incurring Claims

You are responsible for retaining records of all FSA expenses. LBS is not responsible for retaining copies of your receipts. If you do not use the Flex Card to pay for your eligible expenses, you can complete a claim form for reimbursement. Claims can be submitted  online through the secure LBS portal of through the LBS Flex app. You will need to include the detailed receipt from the provider.

You can submit claims only for eligible expenses that have been incurred after your Beneflex participation begins and before March 15 of the following calendar year. You have until March 15 because RIT has adopted the grace period allowed by the IRS.

If you sign up for Beneflex in a subsequent year and still have funds in your prior year account, any reimbursements will first come from the prior year account. For example, if you incur an eligible health care expense on January 30, 2022, your claim for that expense will be paid from your remaining 2021 account, if any, before the 2022 account.

If you cancel participation (change your contribution amount to zero) in a flexible spending account during the plan year due to a qualifying event, you will not be eligible for reimbursement for claims with dates of service after the cancellation date. For example, if you cancel participation on  August 31, you would not be eligible for reimbursement for claims with dates of service between September 1 and the following March 15.

Submitting Claims

All claims for a calendar year must be submitted by April 30 of the following year. For example, claims for services during 2023 and through March 15, 2024 must be submitted by no later than April 30, 2024.

Health care expenses must be submitted first to any medical, dental, vision, prescription drug or other health plan in which you participate. Once that plan has paid its share, if any, the remainder can be submitted for reimbursement from your health care Beneflex account. When you file your Beneflex claim, you will need to attach the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from your health plan showing how much that plan has paid and how much you are responsible for paying. If an eligible expense is not of a kind covered by any other plan (e.g. dental services if you do not have dental plan coverage), then you need to attach a written statement from the provider of the service (e.g. the dentist) which shows:

• the date, description and amount charged for the service
• the name and address of the provider
• the name, relationship and date of birth of the person for whom the service was rendered (you or your dependent).

Claims will be reimbursed weekly. There is a $30.00 minimum reimbursement. If your claim is for less than $30.00, it will be held until another claim is submitted which brings the total to at least $30.00.

LBS periodically sends out Request for Information (RFI) letters to Health Care Spending Account participants.  LBS is required to substantiate or prove that every expense is an eligible one based on rules set by the Internal Revenue Services (IRS). It is important to remember that not every service provided at a doctor or dentist is an eligible one (e.g., teeth whitening is not an eligible expense).

RFI letters are only sent when absolutely necessary. Please comply with an RFI request; if you do not, LBS will suspend your LBS card until the requested documentation is provided.

The Health Care Spending Account allows employees to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible health care out-of-pocket expenses (medical, dental and vision) that occur during the plan year for themselves or an eligible family member. An eligible family member includes your spouse and your children and stepchildren up to the age of 26. Under Federal law, if you do not use all the money in these accounts by the end of the Grace Period, you will lose this money. 

For 2024, the Health Care FSA annual limit is $3,200.

You may be reimbursed for health care expenses that are not covered or are not fully reimbursed by RIT’s medical, vision, and dental plans, or other coverage you may have. Such expenses can include deductibles, copays and any expenses not covered or not reimbursed by your medical, vision, or dental plan; vision and hearing care expenses including routine exams, prescription glasses and sunglasses, contact lenses, and hearing aids; and any other expenses that would normally qualify as itemized deductions for purposes of federal income tax. See Lifetime Benefit Solutions Qualified Expenses list for more details. 

For a complete list of eligible expenses, see the IRS Publication 502.  

Under the CARES Act which was effective January 1, 2021, Beneflex health care funds may be used to purchase over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and medicines (other than insulin) without a prescription from a medical provider. Other items for medical care that are not “medicines or drugs” continue to be eligible expenses. These items include items such as Band-Aids, contact lens solution, denture adhesives, first aid supplies, health monitors, hearing aid batteries, supports/braces, crutches, wheelchairs, walkers, canes. In addition, the CARES Act added that certain menstrual care products (e.g., pads and tampons) are now considered eligible expenses. Questions about eligible expenses should be directed to Lifetime Benefit Solutions. 

The Beneflex Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account  allows eligible employees to set aside funds before taxes for planned dependent care services received for dependent children under the age of 13 while you work.

As you plan your dependent care expenses, consider these guidelines:

• Your expenses are reimbursable only if the dependent care is provided to make it possible for you, and your spouse if you are married, to work or look for work, or to enable your spouse to attend school full-time.
• You can only be reimbursed for care delivered in the calendar year. You incur expenses when the care is provided rather than when you are billed or when you pay for the care. You will not be reimbursed for expenses until after the care is provided.
• Only claim dependent care expenses for children under the age of 13. For example, if your 12-year-old child turns 13 in March, expenses incurred after March will not be reimbursable. 

You may use your Dependent Care FSA to reimburse qualified daycare expenses for eligible dependents. A complete list of qualifying expenses can be found in IRS Publication 503. 

Eligible Dependent Care Expenses

Examples of eligible Dependent Care FSA expenses include, but are not limited to, care provided by the following:

• Home-based licensed day care
• Licensed day care center (elder care or child care)
• Nursery school
• Private baby-sitter in your home or theirs
• Private preschool program
• Providers of care for disabled dependents
• Public or private before-school and/or after-school programs for custodial care
• Public or private summer day camps

For more information on eligible dependent care expenses, see IRS Publication 503.