 Is it just me or is baby & child life insurance the creepiest thing ever? |
| Is it just me or is baby / child life insurance the creepiest thing ever?... |
|
 What happens when there is a loan on a house and no death insurance, and the house is being left to me? |
| My Mom was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. She is wanting to revise her will due to changes with in the family. She wants to leave me her house. There is a loan on the house that is "non-... |
|
 Affordable Life Insurance at 80? |
Please help me find an affordable life insurance at 80 years of age to life.
Thank you,
L... |
|
 Can your employer hassle you about the insurance? |
| Both my wife and I have insurance from our work. But my work had been asking me if I really need two insurances. They are trying to cut their cost by asking me to drop my insurance from my work, ... |
|
 Life insurance/living will question...? |
| My husband has a accidental death benefit insurance mainly for our mortgage, in case he becomes incapacitated or dies, I am the beneficiary (we have no kids). I am 32 and he is 33 years old, we have ... |
|
 Where can I get health insurance ? |
| I have a disability (hearing loss), and I don't have a job, so I am not working. I want to get a hearing evaluation at University of Washington (where I live) but I need health insurance. O... |
|
 Disability question? |
| suffer from depression and anxiety and panic disorder. I take meds and I have been going to my doctor for 2 years for this. We have switched my meds and doses a few times. I still suffer from these ... |
|
 What does each question on a car insurance mean and how does it increase your rate? |
| I am 20 and have had insurance my prior rate was 700 for 6 months. I had two at fault accident before that insurance at 18. But only one was really at fault and I have to get proof and the other ... |
|
 Health insurance? |
| I am 19 years old and I currently have medical insurance through my parents. After this semester in college I will have to get my own coverage since I will no longer be a full time student. About how ... |
|
 Insurance Settlement Claim from Car Accident? |
Hey Guys,
I was in a car accident November 18th of last year. I hired an attorney in January and I have a good case. It seems like it's taking forever for me to get the money that ... |
|
 Can you get Wal-Marts $4 meds. without insurance? |
| I don't have any insurance and I need to get a prescription.Does anyone know if the $4 prescription plan applies to people without insurance?... |
|
 What can a person do for health insurance if his employer closes down? |
| My brother-in-law is truck driver and just found out today the company he has worked for over 10 years is filing for bankruptcy and all benefits ceased as of today. Here is his major problem...he ... |
|
 I have a disability insurance policy that I pay through payroll deductions. Can they legally deny a claim? |
| I have been off of work ill since 11/1/2007. I have post herpetic neuralgia (nerve damage in my forehead from a shingles outbreak in 1999). I have filed a claim on this before and it was honored; ... |
|
 Insurance/Beneficiary????... |
I am named as beneficiary on several of mothers insurance policies. When she passes will I have to claim the money from the insurance companies as income on my taxes.
I reside in the State of F... |
|
 Need health insurance? |
| I need to get my own health insurance. Does anybody know of any insurance that just covers if stuff goes really wrong?... |
|
 I need a legal advise. My company pay our commission every six months, but now they just announce that they ar |
| going out of business in 2weeks. We are going on the the 3rd month before commission..Am I entitle to collect some kind of commission for the 3mths,even though we didn't complete the 6mths ... |
|
| If you injure your hand on the job and the company you work for does not have workmans comp insurance will you |
| If you injure your hand on the job and the company you work for does not have workmans comp insurance will you still get paid for lost wages and if you do not regain full use of your hand what action ... |
|
|  |
Dee Dee C | Can you give me valid reasons to NOT use my company's FSA benefit? |
I'm trying to figure out what the good and bad sides of the FSA and try to determine if it will be in my best interest to use it. I know I will be having about 1100 in medical expenses next year with my deductibles and my co-pays. I'm going to my dentist next week to get and estimate of any work that may need to be done there are well.
I get paid weekly at my job - so I'm trying to detemine if it is worth getting the money taken out each week or should I wait to see what "may" happen next year medically speaking?
What are the down sides of the FSA? I know as a plus it's pre-tax, but what else?
Additional Details
WOW thanks so much for the quick responses - so far they are all great. Basically other than "use it or lose it" there aren't any down sides.
Now - knowing that I'm going to have the expenses, would I be better off to under estimate the amount to be taken out? I hate to seem so naive, but I don't want to risk the "lose" it part! (LOL) |
 |
 
Wendy S
|
Definitely do the FSA.
First, as you already know, you're paying with pre-tax dollars. That means that you're getting a discount on every dollar you pay towards your medical costs.
Second, you don't already have to have the money in there to use it. So, if you select $1200 as your benefit next year they will deduct $100 per month. If you wind up getting a $500 bill on January 2nd they are going to reimburse you the money even though they've not collected a pennt from you yet. And if you leave that job the next day y ou don't have to pay them back.
There is no down side to an FSA, but you do have to understand that it's a "use it or lose it" thing. If there's any money still in your account at the end of the year you lose it.
That can be prevented with good planning. I always do my estimate, deduct ten percent and that's the amount I select. I've used all mine every year so far. This year I still have $200 in there (my son's asthma wound up improving greatly this y ear, thank goodness!), so I'm doing 2 doctors visits early, buying some extra contact lenses and submitting some receipts for over the counter drugs (I usually don't go to the trouble unless there's extra money near the end of the year).
Good luck! |
|
Insurance Biz CT
|
You've received some great information here. You've seen the pluses and minuses. Here's what I typically recommend when conducting meetings about FSAs.
Add up all the known expenses. Put in 100% of that amount.
Add up all the possible expenses. Put in 50% of that amount, especially in the first year.
Don't forget things like over the counter medications, eyeglasses, contact lenses and solutions. For a complete list of qualified expenses, see IRS Publication 502.
Also, don't forget that the IRS allowed for the continuation of the period of time in which you have to spend that money. The closing date can be extended to March 14th each year. You would then have one month to file claims after the closing date. Check with your HR department if you have any questions about this. |
|
Maggie G
|
Only downside I can think of is that it is use it or lose it. Not too much of a worry if you can determine fairly accurately what your out of pocket costs will be for the year.
The one thing I like about it is that you don't have to wait for it to accumulate before you use it. You commit to $1100 for the year, which will be taken out in 52 equal amounts. You can have $1100 worth of dental work done in January, get the reimbursement and have a tax free, interest free loan for the remainder of the year |
|
rtfm
 |
As long as you know you're going to run up medical bills, I say go for it. The only real down side of FSAs is that they're "use it or lose it", so if you didn't have any medical expenses, you'd have to kiss that money goodbye. Sounds like that doesn't apply in your case. |
|
SmartA$$
 |
Plus side:
Tax free (you know that part)
Medical expenses are spread out over the whole year. Instead of having to come up with large lump sum payments, they take a smaller, more manageable chuck out of each paycheck, but you can spend the money all at once.
If you happen to leave the company before the year is up, but you already claimed all your money, you don't have to repay the amount that would have come out of future paychecks. (double check that one, but that's how my company's FSA works).
Down sides:
If you don't claim all the money, you loose it. You only have to leave a little bit of money behind to offset the tax savings, so underestimate how much you need and make sure you claim every dime.
Extra paperwork. I recommend you don't get the debit card if they offer one. When you spend money with the debit card, you have to keep track of every receipt. If you just pay for items up front, and file the claim form later, its not as big of a problem if you loose one or two receipts.
The claim form is really easy. I just get the form from the HR department, fill it in, and fax it with a copy of the receipt or the bill from the doctor. The checks usually arrive in my mailbox 1-2 weeks later. |
|
Insurance Pickle.com
 |
Depends on your tax bracket. If you don't pay taxes then there may be little to no need to do so. The more you pay, the more it makes sense.
An HSA is better so tell your employer to get rid of their 1990-esque plan and get with the program. An HSA is 'use it or use it later or for retirment plan.' |
|
| |
|
| | |
| Questions List |
Answers | Last Post
| | | |
6 | 27 minutes(s) ago
| | | |
6 | 3 hour(s) ago
| | | |
6 | 5 hour(s) ago
| | | |
6 | 6 hour(s) ago
| | | |
6 | 9 hour(s) ago
| | | |
6 | 10 hour(s) ago
| | | |
6 | 1 day(s) ago
| | | |
6 | 2 day(s) ago
| | | |
6 | 2 week(s) ago
| | | |
6 | 2 month(s) ago
| |
|
Homepage 
Financial
Forum 
Insurance 
No Spam
Adult 
Gambling
Unfinished
Deception
Plagiarism
Not English
