Author: Chad Bellamy
Source: ezinearticles.com

Open enrollment time for benefits at work is your opportunity to review what you have and possibly save yourself some money over the coming year. Pay close attention to your benefit elections because once you choose them, you have to keep them for the entire year until next open enrollment time.

By not maximizing your benefits, you are simply giving away some of your money. Don’t assume everything will roll-over exactly the same as it’s been in years past. Health insurance especially is going through huge changes and your employer has had to make hard choices to be able to continue to afford offering you a health insurance plan.

If you’re one of the 25% of people who think it’s just too confusing or you don’t ‘have time’, you might want to reconsider. Your HR department or even your insurance broker can take the time to explain the options for you if you ask them. If the few hours you spend figuring out your benefits now can save you $300 over the next year, that’s like making $100 an hour for your time. So be sure to schedule the time in your calendar to review your options for the year and not wait until the last minute.

One of the most underused and least understood benefits offered by some companies is the Flexible Spending Account (FSA). The thing about it that scares most people off is the use-it-or-lose-it clause. Whatever you haven’t spent from your FSA by the end of the year is simply gone. But don’t let that scare you off because it’s really not hard to figure out your fixed medical expenses for years past.

One of the best features about using an FSA for expenses is that you put a small amount of money from each paycheck into your account to use for future expenses. You don’t have to come up with a larger chunk of money all at once.

But even better is that the money you put in your FSA is pre-taxed. This means there have been NO TAXES taken out of the dollars you allocate for your medical expenses. You get to use 100% dollars instead of the discounted dollars you take home after-taxes have been skimmed off the top. Now your IRS tax bill is lower at the end of each year.

Here are some things that can be paid from money from your FSA:

Cost of or co-pays for prescriptions
Co-pays for doctor visits – especially if you go on a regular basis
Over the counter medical supplies
Glasses or contacts
Dental work

You’re looking to be able to spend the entire amount of money in your FSA account by the end of the year, so be conservative in what you elect because you can’t change the amount after the first of the year. If you find that on December 29th that you still have some money in your account, go stock up on some Advil, cold medicine, band-aids, etc and get it spent.

Open enrollment is your chance to tweak your insurance expenses. Make good use of your opportunity and you’ll be able to find ways to save yourself some money.

Chad has been writing and speaking about insurance for over 10 years. He also writes about a wireless nanny cam and hidden nanny camera for home protection and safety.