Benefits Enrollment: Flexible Spending Account Enrollment

Overview of Supplement Retirement

A Flexible Spending Account is a debit account you can set up with pre-tax payroll reductions to pay for certain medical expenses and dependent care. USC offers two types of FSAs: Health Care FSA and Dependent Care FSA. All FSA salary reduction plans are active only for the calendar year. Reductions will be taken from your pay before taxes until Dec. 31, although the funds in your FSA may be available for a short time in the following year for you to claim reimbursements. You must re-enroll in new FSA plans for each calendar year.

You can use the online Flexible Spending Account Enrollment process on eTrac to submit your annual enrollment for either or both accounts. Please note that once you've started an FSA reduction plan for the year, you may not change or end it unless you have a qualifying "Major Life Changing Event". Upon submitting your enrollment request, your benefits record will be placed on hold pending approval of your request. You may not submit another request for FSAs until your first request has been processed.

For more information on Flexible Spending Accounts and how they work, refer to USC Benefits.
FSA claim forms are available on the USC Benefits site.

Instructions

Starting New FSA Plans For Next Year

Follow these instructions if it is during the Benefits Open Enrollment period and you want to start a new FSA plan for the next year.

Be sure you understand the guidelines for each type of Flexible Spending Account before you enroll in it.
For the Enrollment Type, select "Open Enrollment".
For the Transaction Type, select "Start".
Click on the "Submit" button to continue.
The Salary Reduction Page will load.

Enter a dollar amount in the Dependent Care Section and/or the Health Care Section for the amount you want deducted from your pay for the entire calendar year for each FSA that you want.

The annual amount will be divided by the number of applicable pay dates in the year, either 12 if you are on a monthly pay frequency, 24 (the first 2 pay dates in the month) if you are on a biweekly pay frequency, or by the number of months you will be paid if you are a contracted employee.
Click on the "Submit" button to continue to the Review Page.
The Review Page allows you to review your FSA enrollment before submitting it to the system.

If everything is correct, click on the "Submit to Update" button.
You MUST click on the "Sumbit" button on the Review page to submit your enrollment transaction.
You will see the final confirmation message page. Print out the message page for your records.
You should also have recieved a confirmation email on your submission.

Starting New FSA Plans for the Current Year

Follow these instructions if you do not have any current FSA plans and want to start one for the current year.

Be sure you understand the guidelines for each type of Flexible Spending Account before you enroll in it.
For the Enrollment Type, select "Regular Enrollment".
For the Transaction Type, select "Start".
Click on the "Submit" button to continue.
The Salary Reduction Page will load.

Enter a dollar amount in the Dependent Care Section and/or the Health Care Section for the amount you want deducted from your pay for the remaining calendar year for each FSA that you want.

The annual amount will be divided by the number of remaining applicable pay dates in the current year starging from the Plan Start Date to the end of the year, which depending on your pay frequency is either monthly or the first 2 biweekly pay dates in each month for the rest of the calendar year.
Click on the "Submit" button to continue to the Review Page.
The Review Page allows you to review your FSA enrollment before submitting it to the system.

If everything is correct, click on the "Submit to Update" button.
You MUST click on the "Sumbit" button on the Review page to submit your enrollment transaction.
You will see the final confirmation message page. Print out the message page for your records.
You should also have recieved a confirmation email on your submission.

Changing Existing FSA Plans

Note that changing an FSA is subject to approval from the Benefits Office.
Follow these instructions if you want to do any of the following:

You have existing FSAs and want to change the plans.
You have one FSA and want to start a different FSA.
You have multiple FSAs and want to end one of them and make changes to another.

If you want to end an FSA only and make no other changes, follow the simplified instructions to ending an FSA.

For the Enrollment Type, select "Regular Enrollment".
For the Transaction Type, select "Change".
Click on the "Submit" button to continue. The FSA Salary Reduction Page will load.
The Salary Reduction Page will load.

Review the Flexible Spending Account Information Section. This section displays your current FSA plan details such as the Year-to-Date amount you have already contributed to each account.
If you want to end FSA salary reductions for an existing plan before the end of the calendar year, select "Yes" for the question "Do you want to end this reduction?"
You do not need to change the Annual Reduction amount for the plan you are ending. FSA deductions will stop automatically upon the effective date.
For ongoing and new FSA reduction plans, enter a new dollar amount in the Dependent Care Section and/or the Health Care Section for the amount you want deducted from your pay for the entire calendar year for each FSA that you want. This new amount cannot be less than "Year-to-Date Reduction" amount that you have already contributed to the account.

The amount that will be deducted from your pay before taxes for the rest of the year is the new annual amount minus the "Year-to-Date Reduction". This remaining annual amount to be contributed will be divided by the number of remaining applicable pay dates in the current year, which depending on your pay frequency is either monthly or the first 2 biweekly pay dates in each month for the rest of the calendar year.
Click on the "Submit" button to continue to the Review Page.
The Review Page allows you to review your FSA enrollment before submitting it to the system. It shows only those plans that are being changed. Any unchanged plans will not be shown. There may be additional pay dates that will still be under your current FSA plans before this transaction is processed.
If you are changing an existing plan or starting a new one, the Start Date shows when the changed/new plan takes effect.
If you are ending an existing plan, the End Date shows the date when deductions will no longer be taken for that plan.

If everything is correct, click on the "Submit to Update" button.
You MUST click on the "Sumbit" button on the Review page to submit your enrollment transaction.
You will see the final confirmation message page. Print out the message page for your records.
You should also have recieved a confirmation email on your submission.

Ending existing Flexible Spending Account plans

Follow these instructions if you want to end one or all your FSA salary reduction plans before the end of the calendar year and will not be making any changes to any other FSA. If you have multiple FSA plans, and want to end one plan plus change another, follow the Changing Existing FSA Plans Instructions. Note that ending an FSA is subject to approval from the Benefits Office.

Ending your FSA salary reduction plan stops further contributions from your pay into the FSA. The FSA itself and the funds already contributed to it remain active for use in accordance with the FSA guidelines. Salary reduction for all FSA plans will stop at the end of the calendar year. No action is required if you want to end your FSA salary reduction at the end of the year.

For the Enrollment Type, select "Regular Enrollment".
For the Transaction Type, select "End".
Click on the "Submit" button to continue.
If you have more than one FSA, the End Transaction Selection Page will load.

On the End Transaction Selection Page, select which FSA plan you want to end.
Then click on the "Submit for Confirmation" button to go to the Review Page.
If you have only one FSA, the Review Page will load.
The Review Page allows you to review your FSA enrollment before submitting it to the system. It shows only those plans that you are ending. Any unchanged plans will not be shown.
The End Date shows the date when deductions will no longer be taken for that plan. There may be additional pay dates with the plan still active before this transaction is processed.

If everything is correct, click on the "Submit to Update" button.
You MUST click on the "Sumbit" button on the Review page to submit your enrollment transaction.
You will see the final confirmation message page. Print out the message page for your records.
You should also have recieved a confirmation email on your submission.

Enrollment & Transaction Selection Page

On this page, you select the enrollment year that you want to initiate and what you want to do with it. You can make changes to or end an existing supplemental plan for the current year. If you do not have a plan for the current year, you can start one at any time. Supplemental Plan enrollment for next year is only available during the Benefits Open Enrollment period.

Employee Information Section

The top section of this page displays your basic Employee information. If any of this information is incorrect, contact your Home Department Coordinator to update your data.

Employee ID		This is your 7-digit USC Employee ID # and you use it to access all your employee and payroll records. Your Employee ID is printed on your pay stub or advice slip.
Employee Name		This is the name as how it appears on your record in the system. If it needs to be corrected, contact your Home Department Coordinator.
Employee SSN		This is your Social Security #. For your protection, only the last 4 digits of your SSN are displayed.
USC ID		This is your 10-digit USC ID number. You can find your USC ID printed on your USC ID card
Employee Street Address, City, State, Zip		This is your home mailing address. You can update this from the Personal Information Update Page on eTrac.
Home Department		This is the name of your home department.
Home Department Coordinator		This is the name of the person to contact regarding your personnel file.
Employee Status		This is your current employee status at USC.
Employee e-mail		This is your USC e-mail contact. Since everything you do on the eTrac system sends you a confirmation notice via e-mail, make sure it's correct.
Employee Pay Frequency		This field shows your pay frequency; either monthly or bi-weekly.
Employee Pay Option		This field shows the number of months to be paid in a year.

Enrollment & Transaction Selection

Enrollment Type		Select an enrollment type: Regular Enrollment Select this option if you want to start an FSA plan or make changes to an existing FSA plan for the current year. Open Enrollment Select this option if you want to start a new FSA plan for next year.
Transaction Type		Select a Transaction Type: Start You may enroll in a plan for next year only during Benefits Open Enrollment. You may start an enrollment for the current year only if you do not have an existing FSA plan for the current year. Change You may change a current year plan only if you have a current plan for this year. Changes to an FSA is subject to major "Life Change Event" conditions which the Benefits Office reviews before approving the changes. End You may end a current year plan only if you have a current plan for this year. Ending an FSA is subject to major "Life Change Event" conditions which the Benefits Office reviews before approving the plan cancellation.

Action Buttons

The following buttons appear near the bottom of the page:

Submit		After making a benefits type selection, click on this button go to the Salary Reduction Page.
Back to Benefits Page		Click on this button to return to the Benefits Type Selection Page.
Exit Process		Click on this button to return to the eTrac main menu.

Flexible Spending Account Salary Reduction Page

The Salary Reduction Page is where you enter the annual amounts you want deducted from your pay before taxes to a Flexible Spending Account. The annual amount will be divided equally amoung the remaining applicable pay period reductions in the year. For a full year, that would be 12 pay dates for monthly, 24 pay dates (the first 2 pay dates in a month) for biweekly, or the number of months in which you are paid for contracted employees.

For Regular Enrollment in the middle of the year, the remaining applicable pay dates are those that occur from the Plan Start Date to the end of the year. If you are changing the annual amount to an existing FSA plan, the reduction amount for each pay date that you will contribute to your FSA is the annual amount minus the Year-to-Date amount, which is then divided equally among the remaining pay dates in the year.

Two plans are offered: A Dependent Care FSA and a Health Care FSA. You can choose to enroll in either or both plans.

Employee Information Section

Your basic employee information is repeated from the previous page.

Flexible Spending Account Information Section

This section appears on the page only if you are looking at your existing FSA plan for the current year. This section displays your current FSA plan details such as the Year-to-Date amount you have already contributed to each account.

Account Description		This column shows the FSA plan description.
Start Date		This column shows the date when the FSA reduction plan starts.
End Date		This column shows the date when the FSA reduction plan ends.
Monthly/Biweekly Amount		This column shows the amount that will be reduced from your pay each pay cycle, either monthly (12) or biweekly (24) depending on your pay frequency. Biweekly FSA reductions will be taken only the first two pay dates of the month. This amount is the annual reduction amount you specify divided by the number of remaining pay dates in the year starting from the Plan Start Date.
Annual Amount		The Annual Amount is the amount you specified and agree to have reduced from your pay for the entire calendar year.
Year-to-Date Reduction		The Year-to-Date Reduction amount is the dollar amount that you have already contributed to each FSA.

Dependent Care Section

This section is for Dependent Care FSA. Note that this FSA is not used for Dependent health care. Be sure to read over the guidelines for each type of Flexible Spending Account before enrolling in it. If you do not want Dependent Care FSA, leave this section blank.

Your voluntary allocation to FSAs will be withheld on a per-paycheck basis over the entire calendar year or the remaining portion of it. Payroll reductions will be calculated by dividing the total annual election by the number of applicable pay periods: 12 in a full year for monthly pay, or 24 (the first 2 pay dates in the month) in a full year for biweekly pay employees. Faculty and staff with a base pay schedule of less than 12 months will have their FSAs pro-rated.

Annual Reduction		Enter the annual dollar amount you want deducted from your pay before taxes to your Dependent Care FSA.

Do you want to end this reduction?		This field appears on the page only if you are changing an existing plan in the current year. If you want to end the salary reduction of this FSA before the end of the calendar year, select "Yes". You do not need to enter a new amount for the Annual Reduction.

Health Care Section

If you want to enroll in the Health Care FSA, enter the dollar you want deducted from your pay before taxes. Your voluntary allocation to FSAs will be withheld on a per-paycheck basis over the entire calendar year or the remaining portion of it. Payroll reductions will be calculated by dividing the total annual election by the number of applicable pay periods: 12 in a full year for monthly pay, or 24 (the first 2 pay dates in the month) in a full year for biweekly pay employees. Faculty and staff with a base pay schedule of less than 12 months will have their FSAs pro-rated.

Annual Reduction		Enter the annual dollar amount you want deducted from your pay before taxes to your Health Care FSA.

Do you want to end this reduction?		This field appears on the page only if you are changing an existing plan in the current year. If you want to end the salary reduction of this FSA before the end of the calendar year, select "Yes". You do not need to enter a new amount for the Annual Reduction.

Action Buttons

The following buttons appear near the bottom of the page:

Submit for Confirmation		Click on this button to generate a summary of your plan for confirmation. You will see the Confirmation Review page.
Back to Enrollment Page		Click on this button to cancel changes and return to the Enrollment Selection page.
Back to Benefits Page		Click on this button to cancel changes and return to the Benefits Selection page.
Exit Process		Click on this button to cancel changes and return to the eTrac menu.

Flexible Spending Account End Transaction Selection Page

This page only appears if you have multiple FSAs and want to end them before the end of the calendar year. This page allows you to choose which FSA reduction plan you want to end.

Employee Information Section

Your basic employee information is repeated from the previous page.

Flexible Spending Account Information Section

This section displays your current FSA plan details such as the Year-to-Date amount you have already contributed to each account.

Account Description		This column shows the FSA plan description
Start Date		This column shows the date when the FSA reduction plan starts.
End Date		This column shows the date when the FSA reduction plan ends.
Monthly/Biweekly Amount		This column shows the amount that will be reduced from your pay each pay cycle, either monthly or biweekly depending on your pay frequency. Biweekly FSA reductions will be taken only the first two pay dates of the month. This amount is the annual reduction amount you specify divided by the number of remaining pay dates in the year, starting from the Plan Start Date.
Annual Amount		The Annual Amount is the amount you specified and agree to have reduced from your pay for the entire calendar year.
Year-to-Date Reduction		The Year-to-Date Reduction amount is the dollar amount that you have already contributed to each FSA.

Flexible Spending Account End Plan Selection

Which plan do you want to end?

Select which plan(s) you want to end before the end of the calendar year.

Action Buttons

The following buttons appear near the bottom of the page:

Submit for Confirmation		Click on this button to generate a summary of your plan for confirmation. You will see the Confirmation Review page.
Back to Enrollment Page		Click on this button to cancel changes and return to the Enrollment Selection page.
Back to Benefits Page		Click on this button to cancel changes and return to the Benefits Selection page.
Exit Process		Click on this button to cancel changes and return to the eTrac menu.

Confirmation Review Page

The confirmation page displays a summary of your changes and plan details. Please review the information and the Authorization statement. By clicking on the "Submit to Update" button, you are acknowledging that you have read and agree to the conditions specified in the Authorization statement.

If everything looks in order, then click on the "Submit to Update" button located near the bottom of the web to submit your plan request. Your request will be forwarded to the Office of Benefits Administration for review. You should also receive an email confirmation regarding your submission, and Benefits Administration will contact you in the near future on the status of your request.

Flexible Spending Account Information Section

This section displays your FSA plan details such as the Year-to-Date amount you have already contributed to each account.

Account Description		This column shows the FSA plan description
Start Date		This column shows the date when the FSA reduction plan starts.
End Date		This column shows the date when the FSA reduction plan ends.
Remaining Reductions		This column shows the number of applicable pay dates remaining for the rest of the year that the plan will affect.
Monthly/Biweekly Amount		This column shows the amount that will be reduced from your pay each pay cycle, either monthly (12) or biweekly (24) depending on your pay frequency. Biweekly FSA reductions will be taken only the first two pay dates of the month. This amount is the annual reduction amount you specify divided by the number of remaining pay dates in the year starting from the Plan Start Date.
Year-to-Date Reduction		The Year-to-Date Reduction amount is the dollar amount that you have already contributed to each FSA.
Annual Amount		The Annual Amount is the amount you specified and agree to have reduced from your pay for the entire calendar year.

Your Authorization

Read through these authorization statements carefully. By clicking on the page's "Submit" button to submit your FSA enrollment plan, you are acknowledging and agreeing to these authorization statements.

Action Buttons

The following buttons appear near the bottom of the page:

Submit to Update		Click on this button to generate a summary of your plan for confirmation. You will see the Confirmation page.
Back to Salary Reduction Page		Click on this button to cancel changes and return to the Enrollment Selection page.
Back to Benefits Page		Click on this button to cancel changes and return to the Benefits Selection page.
Exit Process		Click on this button to cancel changes and return to the eTrac menu.

Message Page

The message page informs you of your submitted request, provides contact information, and displays a summary of your changes and plan details. You will also recieve a confirmation e-mail. When Benefits processes your request, you should receive another email informing you of the approval status.

Action Buttons

The following buttons appear near the bottom of the page:

Back to Benefits Page		Click on this button to go to the Benefits Selection page.
Exit Process		Click on this button to go to the eTrac menu.