Quick links to other pages on this site | Still can't find it? see Site Index AP/FileTreasury Secretary Jacob Lew

Opinion

The federal governments balky new online health care apparatus is catching its fair share of flak.

Flex facts

Flexible spending account background: Employers arent required to offer flexible spending accounts. For those that do, workers decide during their benefits enrollment period how much pretax pay to contribute for the next year, up to $2,500. A debit card is used to draw from the account for qualified expenses. Experts suggest keeping all receipts in the event of an audit.

No hoarding: Under the looser rules, the most that can be carried over is $500. That way, the maximum in any year wont exceed $3,000.

Pick one: Employers now can offer either a 2.5-month grace period, the 12-month $500 carryover or no grace period at all.

On the web: tinyurl.com/mrz3jgr

Theres no such squabbling about a lesser-known change it recently made to the old system, to a program based on the quaint notion of saving for a rainy day.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service announced Oct. 31 theyre now offering a new option to the use-it-or-lose-it rule for flexible spending accounts that some employers offer.

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Health care costs: Flexible spending accounts get more flexible