In 2020, American workers lost an estimated $4B in flexible spending accounts (FSA).
What is FSA?
First off, there is a difference between FSA and HSA. If you need more explanation, see our previous article.
FSA's allow millions of full-time employees to use pre-tax dollars for things like co-pays, medical equipment, and prescription drugs. The only caveat is the money has an annual deadline. Unfortunately, billions of dollars are forfeited each year since the funds are "use it or lose it".
Where does it go?
Not only do workers not recoup the value of unused funds, but it's likely that those hard-earned dollars go right back to the employers.
In a study done by EBRI (Employee Benefit Research Institute), researchers estimated that 48% of eligible workers forfeited some amount of their FSA at the deadline. On average, that was $408 lost per person!
Where can you spend last minute funds?
One option is the FSAstore.com. It's an e-commerce site that offers FSA-eligible items that consumers can easily spend what would otherwise be unspent money. There's a wide-variety of items from sunscreen to over-the-counter medication to back massagers.
Another option can be durable medical equipment like CPAP machines and supplies. In general, these items are eligible for FSA and HSA spending. With Lofta, just use your FSA/HSA card at checkout!
If your FSA balance is less than the full product amount, give us a call and we can set up a split payment (800-698-8000).
Sources: https://money.com/fsa-contributions-workers-forfeit-money/
