Benefits Newsletter: December, 2021

Time is running out!  The Benefits Open Season runs through December 13, 2021. Don’t miss this opportunity.  If you plan to make an Open Season election, now is the time to do it.  Unless you experience a Qualifying Life Event during the year, the annual Open Season is your only opportunity to enroll, cancel your enrollment, or make a change to your enrollment for the participating programs. 

Open Enrollment for the 2022 NIH Leave Bank membership year is currently underway and will end on December 13, 2021.  Don't miss your final opportunity to have a safety net for your income! Protecting your paycheck while helping others has never been this easy!

Should you join? Ask our recipients:

Last year, NIH employees lost an estimated $4.1 million in annual leave. Don’t let your leave disappear!  Please donate your unused “Use-or-Donate” annual leave to the NIH Leave Bank by January 1, 2022!

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced an increase in the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) contribution limits for the Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA) and the Limited Expense Health Care FSA (LEX HCFSA).  For 2022, participants may contribute up to an annual maximum of $2,850 for a HCFSA or LEX HCFSA.  This is an increase of $100 from the 2021 contribution limits.

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) contribution limits have been announced for 2022. The 2022 IRS annual limit for regular TSP contributions is $20,500, and the TSP Catch-up annual contributions limit will remain at $6,500. TSP Catch-up contributions may be made in addition to regular TSP contributions, if you are age 50 or older (or will be turning age 50 in 2022).

A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is an employee benefit that allows you to set aside money, on a pre-tax basis, for certain health care and dependent care expenses. There are three types of FSA accounts: 1) Health Care FSA (HCFSA); 2) Limited Expense Health Care FSA (LEX HCFSA); and 3) Dependent Care FSA (DCFSA).

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is a retirement savings and investment plan for Federal employees and members of the uniformed services. If you are covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS, FERS-RAE, and FERS-FRAE), contributing to the TSP is extremely important, as the TSP will be a very large part of your retirement income. To learn about the importance of contributing to the TSP, take a few minutes to view the following short, informative videos:

When was the last time you checked your beneficiary designations? There are four beneficiary forms to keep current.