Benefits Newsletter: December, 2024

Time is running out! The Benefits Open Season will run through December 9, 2024. 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 Open Season is your only opportunity to enroll, cancel your enrollment, or make a change to your enrollment for the participating programs. 

For detailed information, view the Open Season Announcements. 

Open Enrollment for the 2025 NIH Leave Bank membership year is currently underway and will end on December 9, 2024. Protecting your paycheck while helping others has never been this easy, so don’t miss this final opportunity!

Should you join? Ask our recipients:

“My family and I were very grateful the NIH Leave Bank existed when I needed it the most. I think the NIH Leave Bank is an important program to assist NIH employees during medical emergencies.” —Leave Bank Recipient

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) contribution limits have been announced for 2025. The 2025 IRS annual limit for regular TSP contributions is $23,500. In addition to regular TSP contributions, you may also make TSP Catch-up contributions, if you are age 50 or older (or will be turning age 50 in 2025). The 2025 IRS annual limit for Catch-up contributions is $7,500. However, for employees ages 60-63, the Catch-up limit is $11,250.

Last year, NIH employees lost an estimated $5.8 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 11, 2025!

The IRS has increased 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 2025, participants may contribute up to an annual maximum of $3,300 for a HCFSA or LEX HCFSA. 

The Dependent Care FSA (DCFSA) maximum annual contribution limit did not change for 2025. It remains at $5,000 per household or $2,500 if married, filing separately.

The minimum annual election for each FSA remains unchanged at $100.

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 the tax withholdings on your Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) for accuracy? Confirming that state taxes are being withheld for the correct state is extremely important. If you fail to make a state tax withholding election, the withholdings automatically default to the state of Maryland. An address change from one state to another completed in myPay does not automatically change your state tax withholding.

If you are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or CSRS-Offset, your spouse is entitled to a survivor annuity provided you have at least 18 months of civilian service and you were married for at least 9 months. The 9-month requirement does not apply if your death is accidental or if there is a child born of the marriage. Generally, your spouse is entitled to 55% of your earned annuity based on your length of service and high-three salary at the time of your death.