If this notice does not affect you, there is no need to take action.
As announced in Postal Bulletin 22248 (12-18-08, pages 63–65), based in part on guidance from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), if you are an eligible Postal Service™ employee, you have an extended enrollment opportunity through January 2009 to make belated Open Season enrollment changes for Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB), Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) and the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) if FEHB changes affect your enrollment decisions in these programs. If you do not make an FEHB election or a FEDVIP election, any coverage you currently have will continue for 2009. If you do not make an FSA election, you will not be enrolled in FSA for 2009.
The Postal Service has extended employee self-service enrollment via PostalEASE for FEHB and FSA as described below. Additional information that is not new and was presented in Postal Bulletin 22248 is being repeated here for ease of reference.
PostalEASE Employee Self-Service Belated Enrollment for FEHB
n PostalEASE self-service FEHB elections are available through January 13, 2009, at 5:00 p.m. Central Time (CT) on LiteBlue and Blue, and at employee kiosks. Select FEHB and then the Open Season button.
n After January 13 at 5:00 p.m. and until January 31, 2009, at 5:00 p.m. CT, employees who wish to make a belated FEHB election must complete a PostalEASE FEHB worksheet, including the block at the bottom with name, employee ID, signature, and date.
n The PostalEASE FEHB worksheet is included in the 2009 Guide to Benefits that was mailed to employees at their addresses of record in November. You can also find a copy on the Internet at https://liteblue.usps.gov and on the Intranet at http://blue.usps.gov; click Open Season Benefits Elections — PostalEASE Self-Service Extended Deadlines! and then FEHB for the worksheet.
n Mail the worksheet to HR Shared Service Center, P.O. Box 970400, Greensboro NC 27497-0400, or fax the completed worksheet to the HRSSC at 651-994-3543.
n FEHB worksheets for this belated enrollment period postmarked after January 31, 2009, or faxed on that date after 5:00 p.m. CT, are past the deadline and will be returned unprocessed.
PostalEASE Employee Self-Service Belated Enrollment for FSA
n PostalEASE self-service FSA elections are available through January 31, 2009, at 5:00 p.m. CT on LiteBlue and Blue, and at employee kiosks. Select FSA and then the Belated Open Season button. Only employees who are making their first FSA election for 2009 can use PostalEASE — it is not for employees who already have made an FSA election for 2009 that has been processed and now wish to change their election.
n Employees who cannot use PostalEASE to make a belated FSA election must complete a PostalEASE FSA worksheet, including the block at the bottom with name, employee ID, signature, and date.
n The PostalEASE FSA worksheet is included in the November 2008 FSA brochure that was mailed to employees at their addresses of record in November. You may also find a copy on the Internet at https://liteblue.usps.gov and on the Intranet at http://blue.usps.gov; click Open Season Benefits Elections — PostalEASE Self-Service Extended Deadlines! and then FSA for the worksheet.
n Mail the worksheet to HR Shared Service Center, P.O. Box 970400, Greensboro NC 27497-0400, or fax the completed worksheet to the HRSSC at 651-994-3543.
n FSA worksheets for this belated enrollment period postmarked after January 31, 2009, or faxed on that date after 5:00 p.m. CT, are past the deadline and will be returned unprocessed.
Using PostalEASE Employee Self Service
For FEHB and FSA elections made by the above PostalEASE deadlines, the easiest way to use PostalEASE is to use the Web — access the system in any of these ways:
n On the Internet at https://liteblue.usps.gov. Under “Employee Self Service,” select PostalEASE.
n On the Intranet at http://blue.usps.gov. Under “Employee Resources,” select PostalEASE.
n At an employee self-service kiosk.
PostalEASE Employee Self-Service belated elections will not be available by phone.
Employees may access FEDVIP plan information on the Internet at www.BENEFEDS.com and may communicate belated enrollment requests via the secure e–mail offered on the website through January 30, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). Employees without access to the internet, and employees who wish to make a belated enrollment, may call 877-888-FEDS (877-888–3337). Employees who are deaf or hard of hearing may place a TTY call to 877-889-5680. The deadline for calls to make belated enrollment is also Jan. 30, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. ET.
If you make a belated Open Season change to your enrollment in FEHB, FSA, or FEDVIP, the effective dates of the belated enrollment will vary among the programs. Depending on the timing of your change, it may take one or more pay periods for your deductions and/or allotments to be adjusted to match your new election.
Belated FEHB enrollments will take effect on January 3, 2009, for enrollments made by the belated enrollment deadline. Belated FEDVIP enrollments will take effect January 1, 2009, for enrollments made by the belated enrollment deadline.
Note: Depending on the timing of your enrollment/change, it may take one or more pay periods for your new FEHB and/or FEDVIP plans to process your enrollment so that you can receive services/payment of claims. Also, depending on the timing of your enrollment/change, you may owe retroactive premiums for FEHB or FEDVIP. Retroactive premiums for FEHB will be deducted from your pay, and for most employees the premiums will be paid on a pre-tax basis. Note: For employees who are making their first election of a FEDVIP dental or vision plan through the belated enrollment opportunity (and not for employees who are making a change to their plan election) OPM has advised that retroactive premiums cannot be paid on a pre-tax basis. If you owe retroactive premiums and you receive a direct bill in the mail from BENEFEDS, you must pay the direct bill. If you do not, your FEDVIP coverage will be cancelled.
If you make a belated FEHB or FEDVIP Open Season change and you have claims for services incurred in 2009 under your former plan, you and/or your provider may be responsible for reimbursing the former plan for any benefits paid. If you have elected a new plan, that plan may consider your claims for the retroactive period of coverage, depending on the plan provisions, although this may require that you and/or your provider resubmit the claims to the new plan.
FSA open season enrollments will take effect on January 1, 2009, if they are made in PostalEASE or received by the HRSSC by December 28, 2008, at 5:00 p.m. CT. Elections made after this deadline until the deadline for belated FSA enrollments will not be effective January 1, 2009.
As a reminder, you cannot seek reimbursement from the 2009 FSA for the expenses of service or items received before the effective date of your participation. Furthermore, the maximum and minimum amounts you may elect through a belated FSA enrollment will be prorated. The key information is summarized in the following table:
Date and Time Open Season Enrollment Is Processed in PostalEASE or Belated Enrollment Is Received by HR Shared Service Center
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Effective Date of FSA Participation and First Date to Receive Services or Items That Can Be Reimbursed From the 2009 FSA
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Maximum FSA Contribution Amount
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FSA Open Season Enrollment by Dec. 28, 2008, 5:00 p.m. CT
|
Jan. 1, 2009
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$5,000
|
Belated Enrollment from Dec. 28, 2008, 5:01 p.m., through Jan. 2, 11:59 p.m. CT
|
Jan. 3, 2009
|
$4,807
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Belated Enrollment from Jan. 3, 2009, 12:01 a.m., through Jan. 16, 2009, 11:59 p.m. CT
|
Jan. 17, 2009
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$4,615
|
Belated Enrollment from Jan. 17, 2009, 12:01 a.m., through Jan. 30, 11:59 a.m. CT
|
Jan. 31, 2009
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$4,423
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Belated Enrollment from Jan. 31, 2009, 12:01 a.m., through Jan. 31, 5:00 p.m. CT
|
Feb. 14, 2009
|
$4,230
|
Process for Belated Enrollments Submitted to the HR Shared Service Center With Amounts That are Higher Than the Maximum Permitted FSA Contribution Amount
For this belated enrollment period only, if an employee submits an election to the HR Shared Service Center with an FSA contribution that is higher than the maximum permitted contribution amount for the effective pay period as shown in the table above, the HR Shared Service Center will automatically process the election for the highest possible permitted contribution amount.
There is an FSA rule that will apply to employees who make a Health Care FSA election and then subsequently elect an increased Health Care FSA contribution amount during the belated enrollment opportunity. (For example, an employee might change his or her FEHB enrollment during January 2009 and therefore wish to increase the Health Care FSA contribution amount he or she originally elected).
An employee who increases his or her FSA Health Care contribution amount can only be reimbursed up to the original contribution level for the expenses of eligible services or items received before the effective date of the increase. After that, the full increased amount is available. For example, an employee who elected $500 during FSA Open Season and then made a belated election of $2,000 effective January 31, 2009, would be able to claim Health Care FSA amounts of up to $500 for services or items received from January 1 through the remainder of the 2009 Health Care FSA participation period. The increased amount of $2,000 would first be available for services or items received from January 31, 2009, through the remainder of the 2009 Health Care FSA participation period. In this example, if the employee had a $700 health care expense on January 10, 2009, only $500 could be reimbursed. Then, beginning January 31, 2009, the employee could receive services or items that could be reimbursed from the Health Care FSA for the additional $1,500.
There is an FSA rule that will apply to employees who make an FSA election and then subsequently elect a decreased FSA contribution amount during the belated enrollment opportunity. (For example, an employee might change his or her FEHB enrollment during January 2009 and therefore wish to decrease the Health Care FSA contribution amount he or she originally elected).
An employee may decrease his or her FSA contribution amount no lower than either the amount he or she has already contributed in 2009 (plus any contributions missed because of low pay or leave without pay), or the amount he or she has claimed, whichever is higher. The decreased contribution amount may be adjusted upward if needed to reflect claims that were in processing when the decreased amount was elected. For example, an employee who elected $5,000 during FSA Open Season and then makes a belated election effective January 31, 2009, would be able to decrease his or her contribution amount to approximately $577 (the amount already contributed over three pay periods) or the amount already claimed, whichever is higher. If the employee had already claimed $1,000 in eligible expenses, then the employee could decrease the contribution amount to no less than $1,000.
Process for Employees Who Elect a Decreased FSA Election Amount Through Belated Enrollment That Is Lower Than the Minimum Permitted Contribution
For this belated enrollment period only, if an employee elects a decreased FSA election amount through belated enrollment and submits it to the HR Shared Service Center with an FSA contribution that is lower than the minimum permitted contribution amount as described in the preceding paragraph, the HR Shared Service Center will automatically process the election for the lowest possible permitted contribution amount.
You may find program information for FEDVIP, FEHB, and FSA on the Internet at https://liteblue.usps.gov and on the Intranet at http://blue.usps.gov; click Open Season Benefits Elections — PostalEASE Self-Service Extended Deadlines! For FEDVIP, you may also go directly to www.BENEFEDS.com, and you may also use the secure e-mail on the website to contact a representative, or if needed you may call BENEFEDS at 877-888-FEDS (877-888-3337), TTY 877-889-5680. For FEHB and FSA, after you have reviewed the program information provided on LiteBlue and Blue, if you need further assistance, you may call the HR Shared Service Center at 877-477-3273, and select option 5, TTY 866-260-7507.
The belated enrollment opportunity for FEDVIP, FEHB, and FSA does not apply to the Annual Leave Exchange Open Season, which ended December 15, 2008, at 11:59 p.m. CT.
Please post the bulletin board notices describing the FEHB, FSA, and FEDVIP belated enrollments found on pages 26, 21, and 25 through January 31, 2009.
— Compensation,
Human Resources, 1-1-09
