• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Limits Updated for 2023
• ALEX® Video Available to Share with Participants
• Annual Election Webinars Coming Up Soon

Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Limits Updated for 2023

The IRS announced on October 18 that it has raised the maximum contribution limit for a health care FSA to $3,050 and the maximum carryover amount from 2023 to 2024 to $610. These are increases of $200 and $40, respectively.

The timing of this year’s announcement hopefully causes less confusion for participants. Last year, the IRS announced FSA limit and carryover changes in November during Annual Election (AE). We have already updated our new informational AE website to reflect the changes. We will be working on updating the English, Spanish and Korean versions of the plan comparison guide and “How Do I Choose?” brochure next week and we will notify you when they include the new FSA amounts.

In the meantime, the current versions of the plan comparison guide and the “How Do I Choose?” brochure can continue to be shared with participants. The current versions list 2022 numbers and include a disclaimer noting that the IRS has not announced the 2023 funding limit or the limit for the carryover from 2023 for use in 2024 for health care FSAs.

The new limits will also appear on the FSA screens when participants make their elections. We do not plan to send a separate communication to participants noting these changes.

If you thought the increases seemed larger than normal, you’re correct. The increases were double what the IRS authorized from 2021 to 2022. Consider it a sign of the times. The Society for Human Resource Management said the rise “reflects recent inflation.”

ALEX® Video Available to Share with Participants

At Wespath, we’re big fans of the ALEX Benefits Counselor automated tool because it takes the guesswork out of AE by providing participants with personalized recommendations for plans and health account contributions.

There can never be too many cheerleaders for ALEX. We encourage you to share a new ALEX video with your participants.

The video joins a growing list of resources that you can share with your participants to promote ALEX usage:

• Text you can copy and paste into the body of an e-mail
• A one-page flyer that can be attached to an e-mail. There is a field to add your contact information.
• A one-page flyer in Spanish that can be attached to an e-mail. There is a field to add your contact information.
• Talking points that can be used in your own messaging or to answer participant questions
• Social media posts for Facebook and Twitter
• AE toolkit piece

Annual Election Webinars Coming Up Soon

Wespath will host an Annual Election webinar October 26 from 10:30 a.m. to Noon, Central time, for all HealthFlex primary participants and covered spouses. The event will explain the health plans and equip attendees with information to help them elect the best plans for their situation.

For a second straight year, Wespath also is partnering with HealthEquity® to host a webinar that will explain the benefits of plans paired with HSAs (the H1500, H2000 and H3000). The event is November 9 from 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Central time. HSA plans can reduce the cost of insurance each month and they allow you to build up funds for future health care expenses. HealthEquity is the company that administers the HealthFlex HSAs.

Individuals can register for both webinars on the new informational AE website. We encourage you to share information about both webinars with your members.

Primary participants received an e-mail announcing the webinars on October 18. Many people were scheduled to receive a reminder e-mail October 25. Both webinars will be recorded and we will share the links to recordings following the webinars in the same location on the informational AE website.

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