October 30, 2024 — As a PEF member, there are several pre-tax benefits you may be eligible for, including the Dependent Care Advantage Account (DCAA), the Health Care Spending Account (HCSA), the Adoption Advantage Account, and/or the NYS-Ride Benefit.
The open enrollment period for calendar year 2025 DCAA, HCSA, and Adoption Advantage Account runs from November 1, 2024, through December 9, 2024. Enroll online at https://app.mybentek.com/nysfsa/.
These accounts give you a way to pay for your dependent care, health care, adoption expenses, or qualifying public transportation costs with pre-tax dollars.
Health Care Spending Accounts
An HCSA allows you to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for medically necessary health care expenses that are not reimbursed by your health insurance or other benefit plans. This includes medical, hospital, dental, vision, hearing, and prescription drug expenses for you, your spouse, and your eligible dependents.
This account can pay for the following services, and much more:
- Dental implants and crowns
- Laser eye surgery (LASIK)
- Acupuncture
- Braces and orthodontic care
- Chiropractic care
- Infertility treatments and pregnancy tests
- Diabetic care and supplies, including insulin
- Copayments and deductibles
- Prescription sunglasses
- Eligible over-the-counter drugs, as long as the items are used to treat a medical condition or illness, such as allergy, cough, cold, flu, and sinus. These can include Tylenol, Advil, Bengay, acne medications, sleep aids and more.
More details, including carry-over limits, are detailed, here.
Adoption Advantage Account
This account allows you to pay for expenses related to the adoption of an eligible child with pre-tax dollars up to $17,280.
Dependent Care Advantage Account
A DCAA account allows you to set aside pre-tax money up to maximums of $5,000 or $2,500 based on your tax filing status to pay for eligible child care, elder care, or disabled dependent care expenses while you are at work. Eligible employees can enroll without having to set aside any of their own money and will still be eligible to receive the contractual employer contributions. You can read much about the DCAA plan, including the employer contribution amounts you are entitled to based on your salary, here.
For more details on all these programs, visit www.pef.org/benefits or https://oer.ny.gov/fsa .
NYS-Ride Benefit
This benefit allows you to use pre-tax dollars for eligible public transportation costs and qualified parking expenses. This does not apply to parking provided by the state.
To enroll, you must place your order by the first of the month, two months before the commuting month. If you wish to change or cancel your order, you must do so online by 11:59 p.m. EST by the first of the month or by phone by 8 p.m. EST on the weekday on or before the first of the month. For more information, visit https://oer.ny.gov/nys-ride .