Pre-tax benefit plan enrollment to begin

The annual open enrollment for insurance and the pre-tax benefit plan begins Tuesday (Oct. 6) and continues through Oct. 23 at the Department of Human Resources Management.

Federal law allows employees to pay certain premiums and expenses on a tax-free basis through what is commonly called a cafeteria plan. As of Jan. 1, Glynn Griffing and Associates Administrators of Jackson begins managing the plan.

Glynn Griffing calls its version FLEX and offers faculty and staff three options: Premium Conversion (for pre-tax insurance), Medical Reimbursement Spending Account and Dependent Care Spending Account.

The Premium Conversion option allows full-time employees to convert payroll-deducted insurance premiums from after-tax to a pre-tax basis.

Because federal and state income taxes and Social Security taxes are calculated after the premiums have been deducted, converting to FLEX lets employees pay less taxes and take home more money.

Premium payments that may be eligible for FLEX include health insurance; supplemental health insurance; group term life insurance (employees only); accidental death and dismemberment; cancer, intensive care and dread disease; and dental and vision insurance.

The Spending Account option offers two separate spending accounts-a medical reimbursement account and a dependent care account.

With spending accounts, employees select an amount to be payroll-deducted from their pay based on the amount of expenses they expect to incur during the year from medical expenses (unreimbursed from other sources) and dependent care. These deductions are placed in an account and employees are reimbursed for expenses as they occur during the year.

Any unused amounts will be forfeited after the plan's fiscal year ends, so employees should estimate deductions carefully.

The Medical Reimbursement Spending Account allows employees to be reimbursed for expenses such as deductibles and co-payments paid by the employee under medical or dental plans, medical and dental deductibles and co-payments paid by the employee's spouse, vision care expenses not covered by insurance, hearing care expenses, prescription medicines not covered by the employee's medical plan, miscellaneous health-care items, such as birth control pills, routine physical examinations or other health-care expenses not covered by insurance.

The Dependent Care Spending Account takes care of expenses necessary for employment and paid to an eligible provider for care of an eligible dependent. They include care in the employee's home or someone else's home and child care or dependent care facilities, including day care centers or nurseries.

Those who qualify for dependent care include a dependent child of 12 or less who lives with the employee, physical or mentally handicapped children of any age, and spouses, parents or other relatives who are incapable of caring for themselves, spend at least eight hours a day in the employee's home and is dependent upon the employee for at least half of their support.

Once employees sign up, no changes may be made in any of the FLEX plans until the next plan year enrollment. The only exception is a qualifying change in family status.

To sign up for pre-tax benefits, or for more information, telephone HRM and schedule an apointment with a benefits counselor during the enrollment period.

HRM is located at 518 Russell St. and is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Benefits counselors and their telphone numbers and e-mail addresses are: Millie Therrell, 325-1766, <therrell@hrm.msstate.edu>; Beth Vance, 325-8390, <bvance@hrm.msstate.edu>; or Trena White, 325-2228, <white@hrm.msstate.edu>.