Employee Reimbursement Account
The Employee Reimbursement Account Program (ERA) is an optional benefit program that allows eligible employees to pay certain specific expenses from their pre-tax income rather than their after-tax income. The program has three components:
- A Medical Expense Reimbursement Account
- A Dependent Care Reimbursement Account
- Automatic Premium Conversion--An automatic conversion of your share of the premiums for state group health, life (excluding spouse and dependent life insurance costs), EPIC, Spectera and State-sponsored dental insurance premiums.
How the ERA Program Works
The program operates on a plan year basis. You must enroll in
the medical expense account and/or dependent care expense
account portion of the program each year before the plan year
begins.
The premiums you pay for State group health and life, EPIC,
Spectera and dental insurance are automatically deducted from
your paycheck tax free under the Automatic Premium Conversion
component, unless you have filed an
ERA Premium
Conversion waiver form. You do not need to re-enroll for
premium conversion each year.
All ERA contributions and eligible insurance premiums are
deducted from your paycheck before Federal, State, and Social
Security taxes are calculated on your remaining salary. Unlike
other salary reduction programs such as tax-sheltered annuities
and deferred compensation, the ERA program eliminates income
taxes on these amounts, rather than delaying tax liability.
Once the plan year starts, your benefit election cannot be
cancelled or changed unless you experience a valid change in
status event.
If you enroll during the open enrollment period, your period of
coverage begins on January 1. If you were hired or newly
eligible during the plan year, your period of coverage begins on
the first of the month that begins on or after the date that the
enrollment form is received by your employer.
There is a grace period following the end of the Plan year
during which medical and/or dependent care expenses for services
provided through March 15 may be reimbursed using funds
remaining in your prior plan year’s account. However, any unused
amounts from the prior plan year that are not used for expenses
incurred by March 15 remain subject to the “use it or lose it”
rule and will be forfeited. The deadline (or run-out period) for
filing both medical expense and dependent care claims incurred
during the Plan year, including the grace period, is April 15.
If you terminate employment before the end of the year, coverage
will cease at the end of the month from which the last ERA
deduction was taken unless you make arrangements to continue
coverage.
Only expenses incurred during the plan year including the grace
period (or your period of coverage) will be reimbursed.
As soon as you have incurred eligible expenses, you simply
submit your receipts, bills, or invoices, and any appropriate
supporting documentation, along with a completed Reimbursement
Request Form, to Fringe Benefit Management Company (FBMC), the
program administrator. FBMC has up to 5 business days from the
day it receives a properly completed reimbursement request form
and required documentation to process your request.
Who's Eligible to Participate
All full or part-time classified and unclassified state and UW
system employees are eligible to participate in the ERA program.
Participation of represented employees is covered by the terms
of their collective bargaining agreements. Employees who are
classified as fellows, scholars, and research assistants in the
University of Wisconsin System may not participate. Also
excluded from participation are limited term employees (LTEs),
student hourlies, and other temporary employees.
Eligible Expenses
To be eligible for reimbursement, all expenses must be incurred
during the current plan year. Reimbursement will not be made for
services performed either prior to or after the current plan
year. Costs incurred for medical services are reimbursable if
the service was performed primarily for the prevention or
alleviation of a physical or mental defect or illness.
Expenses for dependent day care that enable you and your spouse
to work, actively look for work or attend school full-time are
reimbursable. A qualified dependent can be a child under the age
of 13 who resides in your household, or an adult who is mentally
or physically incapable of self care and who regularly spends at
least eight hours a day in your household.
Eligible dependent day care expenses must be for the physical
care of the dependent, either inside or outside the home, and
cannot be provided by you, your spouse, or other dependent. If
you are married, your spouse must work, actively look for work,
be a full-time student, or be mentally or physically incapable
of self care.
For more information about eligible expenses, refer to the
ERA
enrollment booklet.
Change in Status
The IRS has very stringent rules regarding benefit changes
during the plan year. Should a valid Change in Status event
occur and you wish to change your annual election amount or
start/terminate an account, you must complete a
Change in Status form and submit it to FBMC within 30 days
after the qualifying event. Any proposed benefit change must be
on account of and consistent with the Change in Status event.
Your coverage or change in coverage will begin on the first of
the month that begins on or after the date that the enrollment
form is received and approved by FBMC and remain in effect until
the end of the calendar year. Only eligible expenses that are
incurred after this effective date and before the end of the
plan year are reimbursable.
Change
in Status Events Chart
Who to Call
If you have questions/concerns about claims processing or the eligibility of specific expenses for reimbursement, call or write Fringe Benefits Management Company, the program administrator.
Fringe Benefits Management Company
P.O. Box 1878
Tallahassee, FL 32302-1878
Customer Service Department Phone: 1-800-342-8017
Customer Service Department e-mail:
webscustomerservice@fbmc-benefits.com
TDD: 1-800-955-8771
You may call the Interactive Benefits Information Line 24 hours a day at 1-800-865-FBMC to review your current benefit information or request claim forms. You may access your personal account information through the internet as well. Log on to www.fbmc-benefits.com, then click on the "Account Information" link. Enter your Social Security Number as your Employee Number and the last four digits of your SSN as your temporary PIN. If you have already used the internet or telephone line to enroll or check your benefits, the PIN you chose there will be the PIN you use here.