Under the recently passed Consolidated Appropriations Act, employees can now change their FSA contributions for any reason during the 2021 plan year.
If you are currently enrolled in a FSA, you can take one of the following actions:
- Reduce or stop contributing funds to your FSA from your paycheck, provided you do not reduce your election below the amount already reimbursed to you.
- Please note if you would like to stop contributing to an FSA, you will simply reduce your annual contribution election to either the total amount you’ve already contributed to your FSA this year OR the total amount you’ve already been reimbursed from your FSA, whichever amount is GREATER.
- Increase your existing election up to the current limit of $2,750 for the Health Care FSA and $5,000* for the Dependent Care FSA.
*Texas Children’s deposits $260 to any new Dependent Care FSA election, which, if attempting to elect the maximum contribution, would reduce your contribution amount to $4,740.
If you are not enrolled in a FSA, you can elect to enroll in either the Health Care or Dependent Care FSA or both plans.
How to enroll or change your FSA benefits
- If the ONLY change you would like to make is to lower your Health Care FSA or you have questions regarding these available changes, you should contact the Benefits Service Center at 832-824-2421 (select option 1 for Benefits, then option 1 again), from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. Spanish language assistance is available. Web chat is also linked at the top of your Benefits website homepage.
- All other FSA changes can be initiated online by logging in to your personal Benefits account on the Texas Children’s Benefits website.
- Sign into your account on the Texas Children’s Benefits website.
- Under ‘Life Events’ on the left-hand side, select ‘All other Life Events’
- On the next page, select ‘Other life events’ from the drop-down box and then select ‘Change DCFSA or HCFSA Contribution’
- Enter the current date as the “life event date”
- Revised deductions will take effect within 1-2 paychecks, depending on the date you make your election change(s).