Leaving Stanford FAQ

If you leave Stanford, you will only be able to use the FSA debit card to pay for eligible health and dependent day care FSA expenses through the end of the month in which your employment ends. You will no longer have access to your FSA benefit funds through your debit card even if you choose to continue the health care FSA through COBRA, and you will need to pay for services and submit claim forms with receipts to receive reimbursement for any eligible expenses you incur.

If you have funds remaining in your health care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) when employment ends, you can decide whether or not to continue participation in the plan.  

End Coverage

If you do not continue coverage, any eligible expenses you incur up to the last day of the month in which employment ends can be submitted for reimbursement. You have until April 30 of the following year to submit claims.

Example: Your last day of employment is July 15. Your health care FSA continues to July 31. Any eligible expenses you incur up to July 31 may be submitted for reimbursement until April 30 of the following year.

Continue Coverage

If you are eligible to enroll in COBRA you can continue to pay your remaining health care FSA contributions, plus a 2 percent administration fee, on an after-tax basis. Vita Companies, Stanford’s COBRA administrator, will send you the paperwork. If you do not pay Vita Companies, your benefits stop at the end of the last month for which Vita Companies received full payment.

Example: Your last day of employment is July 15. Your health care FSA continues to December 31 as long as you elect and pay Vita Companies the required COBRA premium through December 31. Any eligible expenses you incur up to December 31 may be submitted for reimbursement until April 30 of the following year.

Ongoing use of MyCash Feature

Reimbursements for eligible benefit expenses will be deposited into your MyCash account on the FSA debit card. Your MyCash funds never expire and are available until you spend them or transfer them. However, if you do not continue your health care FSA through COBRA you will be responsible for a $5 monthly account maintenance fee which will be deducted from your MyCash funds. You may access MyCash funds in three ways:

1. Swipe your Stanford FSA Card at merchants who accept MasterCard. Confirm with your local Walmart, CVS and Shop-Ko. Pay-at-pump purchases are excluded.
2. ATM withdrawal with a PIN. Bank charges may apply.
3. Set up a transfer to a personal bank account. Log into MyTASC at partners.tasconline.com/stanford, and under "I Want to:", click the Schedule a Transfer button and follow directions. If you have questions, call TASC Customer Care at 855-842-4913.

Dependent Day Care Flexible Spending Account

Your contributions to the dependent day care FSA stop the date your employment ends. You may not continue contributions beyond that date.

You can file a claim for reimbursement of eligible expenses you incur up to the end of the year in which you terminate. You will only be reimbursed up to the amount remaining in your account on the date your employment ends. For example: Your last day of employment and last contribution is July 15.

Any eligible expenses you incur up to December 31 may be submitted for reimbursement until April 30 of the following year, and you will be reimbursed only up to the amount remaining in your account following your final contribution.

Stay Updated After You Leave Stanford

This information only applies if you decide to keep your health care FSA after you leave Stanford or if you have not yet filed all your FSA claims.

• View your FSA information
  • Log on to partners.tasconline.com/stanford. Under "I Want to:" click the View Account Information button.
  • If you have questions, call TASC Customer Care at 855-842-4913.
• Receive communications about your FSA
  • Call TASC Customer Care at 855-842-4913, and provide your personal email address. You may also ask the representative to change your communication preferences to have future FSA communications sent to your home mailing address. You may also update your account online at partners.tasconline.com/stanford.
• Set up direct deposit
  • Direct deposit is the fastest and most convenient way to receive reimbursements. Visit partners.tasconline.com/stanford and login, then under "I Want to:" click Set up Direct Deposit to update or enter your direct deposit information such as your checking or savings account for future reimbursement deposits. 
  • You may also contact TASC Customer Care at 855-842-4913.

Yes, if you are eligible. To find out if you are eligible, call Stanford Benefits at 650-736-2985 and press option 9. 

If eligible, Stanford will send you an enrollment form. You must send Prudential the completed enrollment form and pay the first premium within 31 days of the date that your coverage ends under the Stanford plan.

Distributions are subject to income taxes and potential penalties in the year in which they are paid. 

You may be able to defer taxes and avoid penalties by rolling over your distribution into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or a Roth IRA, to another 403(b) plan, to a governmental 457(b) plan, or to a 401(a) qualified employer plan in a direct rollover.

Taxes

Taxes must be paid on plan distributions the year in which they are received. Most plan distributions are taxable as ordinary income. As required by the IRS, the investment company will withhold a percentage of the distribution for federal income tax, as follows:

• 10 percent for a financial hardship distribution unless you elect otherwise, or
• 20 percent for a plan distribution

This mandatory withholding applies to:

• Lump sum distributions greater than $200, and
• Annuities paid for less than 10 years

As a participant, you are responsible for all additional federal and state income taxes due in excess of the amount withheld.

Penalties on Distributions Made Before Age 59½

Distributions made before you reach age 59½ are subject to a 10 percent federal penalty tax in addition to income tax. This 10 percent penalty tax applies to all distributions made before you reach age 59½ unless one of several exceptions apply. Common exceptions include:

• You retire at age 55 or older
• The distribution is in the form of regular payments for life with payments based on your life expectancy
• The distribution is attributed to your permanent disability or death
• The distribution was used for tax-deductible medical expenses that exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income

Rolling Over a Distribution to Another Plan

You may defer income taxes – and avoid the 10 percent early distribution penalty tax – on your SCRP distribution by rolling over your distribution:

• Before withholding, into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or a Roth IRA,
• To another employer-sponsored 403(b) retirement plan or 401(a) retirement plan as long as the new employer’s plan accepts rollovers from other plans, or
• To an eligible government deferred compensation plan that accepts rollovers from other plans

A rollover must occur within 60 days of receipt of the distribution.

More Information

For more information on taxes, penalties and rollovers:

• Refer to the Stanford booklet When Your Employment Ends—Retirement
• Visit www.irs.gov
• Contact a tax advisor

Recent guidance issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) modifies the Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA) "use it or lose it" rule and allows participating active employees to carryover up to $610 in unused HCFSA funds from one year to the next.

Stanford adopted the carryover and allows HCFSA participants to carryover up to $610 of unused funds from the previous year into the next plan year. This means that if you were enrolled in a Health Care Spending Account in the prior year, you may be eligible to carryover up to $610 of funds remaining in your HCFSA into the next calendar year. Please review the FSA Carryover FAQ for more information.