United States 

Office of 

Personnel Management

The Federal Government’s Human Resources Agency 

Benefits Administration Letter 

Number: 04-803 Date: October 8, 2004 

Subject: FSAFEDS – Open Season for the 2005 Plan Year for the Federal Flexible 

Spending Account Program 

GENERAL INFORMATION 

Background 

The Federal Flexible Spending Account Program (FSAFEDS) Open Season begins on Monday, 

November 8, 2004 and runs through Monday, December 13, 2004. These are the same dates as 

the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program Open Season. This will be the only 

time Federal employees who work for the Executive Branch or adopting agencies may enroll in 

the FSAFEDS Program for 2005, outside of a qualified status change. 

Unlike FEHB enrollments, enrollments in FSAFEDS do not carry over from year to year. 

Employees wishing to enroll in FSAFEDS for 2005 must make a positive enrollment during 

Open Season, even if they are currently enrolled in the Program. 

PROGRAM INFORMATION 

Types of FSAFEDS Accounts 

FSAFEDS offers two types of flexible spending accounts: a health care flexible spending 

account (HCFSA) and a dependent care flexible spending account (DCFSA). Employees may 

enroll in neither, one or both types of accounts. 

An HCFSA pays for qualified medical expenses for the employee (and all eligible family 

members) that are not covered or reimbursed by an FEHB plan or any other type of insurance. 

Insurance premiums, including premiums for long term care insurance, are not qualified medical 

expenses. Employees may elect a minimum annual amount for an HCFSA of $250 up to a 

maximum annual amount of $4,000. 

A DCFSA pays for childcare or adult dependent care expenses that are necessary to allow the 

enrolled employee and his/her spouse (if married) to work, look for work, or attend school fulltime. The DCFSA minimum annual amount is $250 and the maximum annual amount is $5,000. 
Both accounts allow employees to pay for qualified expenses with pre-tax dollars -- money that 

is deducted from the employee’s paycheck before taxes are taken out. 

Use-It-Or-Lose-It and Non-Cancellation 

Employees lose any money in their accounts for which they did not submit a claim by April 30 

following the end of the Plan Year, for eligible expenses incurred during the Plan Year. This is 

known as the “use-it-or-lose-it” rule. 

Enrollments in FSAFEDS cannot be cancelled or changed after their effective date, unless the 

employee experiences a qualified status change (QSC). The FSAFEDS website at 

www.FSAFEDS.com has more information on QSCs. 

ENROLLMENT INFORMATION 

Who Can Enroll 

Active Federal employees of Executive Branch agencies and other Federal employers who have 

agreed to offer FSAFEDS to employees are eligible to participate for one or both accounts. 

Eligible participants for the HCFSA are those Federal employees eligible to enroll in the FEHB 

program (whether or not they are actually enrolled). All Federal employees of agencies noted 

above may participate in the DCFSA except intermittent employees whose appointment is six 

months or less. 

How to Enroll 

Eligible employees who wish to enroll during this Open Season for the 2005 Plan Year may do 

so in one of two ways: 

• Through the website at www.FSAFEDS.com by clicking on the “Enroll” link; or 

• By contacting an FSAFEDS benefits counselor Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 

9:00 p.m. Eastern time at 1-877-FSAFEDS (372-3337), TTY 1-800-952-0450. 

FSAFEDS enrollments are received and processed by the Program’s third-party administrator, 

SHPS, Inc. 

When to Enroll 

Enrollments will be accepted on the web and by phone starting on November 8, 2004, through 

December 13, 2004. Please also see the sections on pre-open season enrollments and belated 

enrollments. 

Effective Date of Open Season Enrollments 

Timely Open Season enrollments are effective on January 1, 2005, for the Plan Year that runs 

from January 1 through December 31, 2005. 

Pre-Open Season Enrollments 

Employees who know that they will be unable to enroll during Open Season, due to extenuating 

circumstances beyond their control, may submit their enrollment before Open Season by 

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completing a Pre-Open Season enrollment form which can be downloaded from the “Forms” 

section of the FSAFEDS website at www.FSAFEDS.com. The form will not be available once 

Open Season begins. The form requires employees to verify the extenuating circumstance(s) 

preventing timely enrollment and authorize FSAFEDS to enroll them on their behalf. Early 

enrollments have the same effective date as timely enrollments. 

Belated Enrollments 

Employees who wish to make a belated enrollment after Open Season due to extenuating 

circumstances that prevented them from making a timely enrollment during Open Season must 

complete a Belated/Absentee enrollment form. The form can be downloaded from the “Forms” 

section of the FSAFEDS website at www.FSAFEDS.com. 

Regardless of circumstances, no enrollments or qualified status changes (QSCs) are permitted after 

October 1 of any Plan Year. 

Belated enrollments are NOT effective at the same time as timely enrollments. Belated 

enrollments are effective the day after FSAFEDS receives the employee's Belated/Absentee 

enrollment form. 

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION 

FSAs and HSAs/HRAs/HDHPs 

This year we have introduced a new option under the FEHB Program -- High Deductible Health 

Plans (HDHP) with either a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Health Reimbursement Account 

(HRA). Employees who enroll in an HDHP with an HSA cannot participate in an HCFSA under 

FSAFEDS, but may still participate in a DCFSA if they are otherwise eligible for such account. 

More information on these new options is available at www.opm.gov/hsa. If your agency has its 

own flexible spending account program, you will need to advise your employees on how this 

new FEHB option works with your cafeteria plan. 

Additional Information on FSAFEDS 

In addition to the enrollment feature, the FSAFEDS website at www.FSAFEDS.com contains a 

wealth of information regarding the FSAFEDS program. Site features include an overview of 

FSAs; a calculator to help estimate how much to put into either an HCFSA or DCFSA; 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs); a “juke box” listing eligible expenses including over-thecounter medicines and products; information on paperless reimbursement; and much more. 

Please encourage your employees to visit the FSAFEDS website, or to contact a benefits 

counselor by phone (1-877-372-3337, TTY 1-800-952-0450) to become more familiar with the 

FSAFEDS program before or during the upcoming FSAFEDS Open Season. Additionally, they 

may email any questions about FSAFEDS to FSAFEDS@shps.net. 

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FSAFEDS Educational Materials 

You may order the following materials for the upcoming FSAFEDS Open Season: 

•	 Program overview brochures which describe FSAFEDS and include details on eligible 

expenses (minimum order of 100 brochures) 

•	 Promotional posters, 10” x 13” (there are three versions in each “set”. The minimum 

order is 5 sets, for 15 total posters) 

•	 Program overview videos in VHS closed-captioned format 

Materials are free of charge to you. Brochures and posters will be ready to ship by October 15 

and videos will be ready to ship by October 26. 

Send your request to FSAFEDS-HR@shps.net and be sure to include how many of each you 

need, the mailing address(s) where materials should be shipped, and a name, phone number and 

email address of a point of contact. FSAFEDS will begin processing your requests in the order 

received, starting on October 15. Processing is usually complete within 48 hours. Once your 

order is processed, FSASFEDS will send an email to the email address given in the order, 

confirming that the order was placed, along with a phone number to call if you do not receive 

your order within seven business days from the date of the confirmation email. Orders will be 

shipped using an express ground delivery carrier with a five-day guaranteed delivery date, unless 

you specifically request shipment via the U.S. Postal Service. Orders may be split into two 

shipments, since the posters and brochures will be ready to ship sooner than the videos. 

Please order your materials as soon as possible! 

FSAFEDS Presentations 

You may also request a speaker for your agency benefits fairs by sending an email to FSAFEDSHR@shps.net. A calendar of already-scheduled fairs, updated weekly, is available on the 

Benefits Officers page at www.FSAFEDS.com. FSAFEDS will accommodate requests for 

speakers on a first-come first-served basis, with priority given to fairs with projected attendance 

of over 300 employees. 

FSAFEDS Agency Contact List 

Additionally, if you are not now receiving “blast” emails from FSAFEDS regarding the program, 

please send an email to FSAFEDS-HR@shps.net and request that your name and contact 

information be added to the FSAFEDS agency contact list. 

As always, we appreciate your support of FSAFEDS and look forward to another successful 

FSAFEDS Open Season. 

 Frank D. Titus

 Assistant Director 

for Insurance Services Programs 

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