FSA & HSA Annual Enrollment

When is FSA & HSA open enrollment?

November 1-31 is annual enrollment for tax-advtaaged savings programs for the coming calendar year. We will contact you via email when your enrollment begins. All enrollments or changes are effective January 1* and run through the end of the next calendar year. Please note that your company may not offer all of the benefits listed here. Your health plan enrollment may dictate whether you are eligible for an FSA or HSA. Your company may also have a different open enrollment period. Log in to your Elevate by Nextep™ account or mobile app to learn more about your specific benefit offering and timeline.

Check your benefit deductions for accuracy on your first paycheck in January. Report any corrections to Nextep immediately. See other benefit enrollment options:

*If you are a new client or employee, your first enrollment will have a different effective date to represent your relationship with Nextep or initial eligibility. It will include both health and FSA/HSA enrollment options. Then, your company will follow the mid-year health plan enrollment schedule with an October 1 effective date and year-end FSA/HSA schedule with a January 1 effective date thereafter. Your company's specific enrollment periods may differ.

How much should I save?

Deciding how much to contribute each year to your tax-advantaged benefit account is, of course, a personal decision that depends on your family’s expected health expenses and budget. It also depends on whether you are utilizing an FSA, which is use-it-or-lose-it each calendar year, or an HSA, which carries over all unused funds.

For advice, plus short-term and long-term interactive calculators, visit our FSA/HSA resource:

You can also use ThrivePass's online calculator:

Am I eligible?

Receipt of this info does not guarantee benefit eligibility. Plans may vary based on your health plan election, the company's benefits portfolio, and eligibility criteria.

Log in to your enrollment portal in your Elevate by Nextep™ account or mobile app to see the specific plans available to you.

Will my current elections roll over if I take no action?

FSA and HSA elections do not automatically renew each year.

To comply with IRS regulations, employees must re-enroll in the FSA and HSA benefit each year if they wish to continue participation.

Can I have both FSA and HSA?

IRS rules state you cannot have both an HSA and FSA in the same tax year. This distinction is applied at the household level. For example, you cannot have an HSA in the same plan year that your spouse has an FSA.

However, there are exceptions. You can hold an HSA OR FSA concurrently with these other tax-advantaged savings accounts:

• DCA to pay for childcare expenses
• LPFSA to pay for dental and vision costs
• Parking and transit commuting FSAs

If you currently have an FSA and plan to enroll in an HSA next year, up to a certain amount of leftover FSA funds will roll over to an LPFSA that can be used for qualified dental & vision costs along with your HSA. See IRS Publication 969 for specific amounts.

What if I want to make changes mid-year?

Since each plan works differently, the IRS regulates changes in different ways:

• FSA: Generally speaking, FSA selections are usually locked in for the year once you set them during your enrollment period. You may make changes or enroll mid-year within 30 days of a federally-approved qualifying event.
• HSA: You can elect, stop, or change your HSA deferrals at any time for any reason, not just during annual enrollment. Please note, you must be enrolled in a qualifying HDHP to be eligible for an HSA.
• LPFSA: Like the FSA, your LPFSA selections are generally locked in for the year, but you may make changes in alignment with a federally-approved qualifying event.
• DCA: In addition to making changes with a qualifying event. you have the latitude to make changes that align with your changing childcare costs.
• Parking & Transit FSA: Enroll, terminate, or change at any time.

When is my next opportunity to enroll?

There are several periods when you can enroll or make changes to your benefits*:

• Open enrollment: If you miss online open enrollment, your next opportunity will be next year's open enrollment for the following plan year. Nextep's FSA/HSA enrollment period is generally held each year in November, with an effective date of January 1.
• New hires: If you are a newly-eligible employee, you must submit benefit enrollments within 30 days of your eligibility date. Your next opportunity to make changes is during open enrollment.
• Qualifying event: You may also make changes that align with a qualifying event, such as the birth of a child, marriage, divorce, or job loss. Changes must be made within 30 days of the qualifying event.
• Note: A qualifying event allows an employee to enroll or change coverage levels within a plan. It does not allow an employee to switch plans or to make a change that is inconsistent with the qualifying event.

*If you are a new client or employee, your first enrollment will have a different effective date to represent your relationship with Nextep or initial eligibility. It will include both health and FSA/HSA enrollment options. Then, your company will follow the mid-year health plan enrollment schedule with an October 1 effective date and year-end FSA/HSA schedule with a January 1 effective date thereafter. Your company's specific enrollment periods may differ.

What about other plans?

We have additional plans on different enrollment schedules:

• Mid-year open enrollment: Most* non-FSA/HSA benefit plans are selected during mid-year open enrollment, generally held each year in August with an effective date of October 1. Plans include Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability, AD&D and Life, Group Whole Life, Critical Illness, Accident, Hospital, Pet, Legal, and Identity Theft.
• Employee assistance program (EAP): Your benefits-eligible employees have instant, free access to Nextep's EAP if your company offers one of Nextep's medical plans.
• Retirement accounts: Once eligible, you may enroll or change your 401(k) or other retirement account at the first of each month. Exception: You may change contributions to 0% at any time.
• Voluntary benefits: You may enroll or change these specific benefits on a month-to-month basis: pet, legal, and ID theft protection.
• Employee Discounts: Discounts are a perk of your company's partnership with Nextep and are instantly available at no cost, with no enrollment!

You may contact Nextep's benefits team online, by email at benefits@nextep.com, or by phone at 888-811-5150 with any questions about the enrollment process.