Flexible Spending Accounts & Tax$ave Program

OPEN ENROLLMENT FOR FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNTS (FSA) TAX SAVINGS PROGRAM (Tax$ave)

Open Enrollment for the New Jersey State Employees Tax Savings Program (Tax$ave) Plan Year 2027 begins Thursday, October 1 and ends Saturday, October 31, 2026.

Tax$ave includes the Unreimbursed Medical Flexible Spending Account and the Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account. Participating in a flexible spending account (FSA) adds to your financial well-being as it allows you to put aside pre-tax dollars from your pay to cover otherwise unreimbursed eligible medical or dependent care expenses. 

Each year open enrollment offers eligible employees the opportunity to review their personal financial circumstances and decide whether or not to participate.

Prior participation in a Tax$ave FSA in 2026 does not carry over automatically into 2027. Employees must enroll with Horizon MyWay during open enrollment to participate in an FSA in 2027. 

Full-time Kean employees, who are eligible to participate in the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP), may participate in Tax$ave regardless of whether they are enrolled in Horizon or Aetna medical plans. Horizon manages the FSA for all State employees.  

For the Tax$ave 2027 Plan Year, the maximum annual allowance that can be set aside for an Unreimbursed Medical FSA is $3,400 (Plan Year 2027)* and the maximum annual allowance that can be set aside for a Dependent Care FSA is $5,000

*For Plan Year 2027, the Unreimbursed Medical FSA election limit is currently set at $3,400, pending official IRS guidance. Once announced, the election limit will adjust to match the final IRS limit. If you would like the pending official IRS Medical FSA election limit, please put “Max” on the form.

To provide more opportunities to learn about the 2027 Tax$ave Flexible Spending Accounts, Horizon MyWay will be hosting a series of informational webinars during the month of October.

View the October webinar lineup

Click here to enroll in the 2027 Flexible Spending Accounts Tax$ave Program

ABOUT TAX$AVE

A benefit program available under Section 125 of the Federal Internal Revenue Code (IRC), Tax$ave offers eligible employees the opportunity to increase available income by reducing federal tax liability. Full-time Kean employees, who are eligible to participate in the State Health Benefit Program (SHBP), may participate in TaxSave regardless of whether they are enrolled in Horizon or Aetna medical plans. Horizon manages the FSA for all State employees.

Tax$ave consists of three components:

1. The Premium Option Plan (POP);

2. The Unreimbursed Medical Flexible Spending Account (FSA); and

3. The Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

Each year eligible employees should review their personal financial circumstances and decide if they wish to participate or not. Open Enrollment offers employees the opportunity to conduct this review and then act on their decision.

PREMIUM OPTION PLAN

The Premium Option Plan (POP) saves employees money by paying health and dental premiums from pre-tax dollars and reducing their tax liability. Enrollment in the POP is automatic for all eligible employees. If an employee does not wish to take advantage of the POP (and therefore pay more in federal, Social Security, and Medicare taxes), he or she should file a Declination of Premium Option Plan (POP) form.

FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNTS (FSA)

The Unreimbursed Medical and/or Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) allow employees to set aside money to pay for out-of-pocket medical, dental, and dependent care expenses while saving on taxes because the money contributed to the account is free from federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes, and remains tax-free when an employee receives it. Horizon MyWay will administer the Tax$ave Unreimbursed Medical and Dependent Care FSAs for the NJDPB.

Prior participation in a Tax$ave FSA does not carry over automatically into a new calendar year. Employees must enroll with Horizon MyWay during Open Enrollment to participate in an FSA.

Some of the benefits of FSA participation include:

$3,400 (Plan Year 2026)* Medical FSA maximum and $5,000 Dependent Care FSA maximum: For the Tax$ave 2027 Plan Year, the maximum annual allowance that can be set aside for an Unreimbursed Medical FSA is $3,400 (Plan Year 2026)* and the maximum annual allowance that can be set aside for a Dependent Care FSA is $5,000. Employees may save federal income, Medicare, and Social Security taxes on up to $7,500 of combined unreimbursed medical and dependent care expenses. It makes sense to enroll and use a Tax$ave FSA plan when paying for doctor and prescription copayments, health plan deductibles, orthodontics, eyeglasses, Lasik surgery, uncovered dental fees, certain over- the-counter (OTC) items, or dependent care.
Medical FSA eligibility includes adult children until age 26: Qualified out-of-pocket medical expenses incurred by eligible adult children can be reimbursed through the Unreimbursed Medical FSA. Coverage applies until the end of the year in which a child turns age 26, regardless of the child’s marital or student status.
Unreimbursed Medical FSAs feature the Horizon MyWay Visa® Debit Card that draws on the value of the employee’s annual Medical FSA election amount. The Horizon MyWay Visa Debit Card is included free when you sign up for the Unreimbursed Medical FSA during Tax$ave Open Enrollment. Employees can use the Horizon MyWay Visa Debit Card for qualifying expenses, such as covered prescription copayments, health plan deductibles, orthodontics, doctor and emergency room copayments, eyeglasses, Lasik surgery, and uncovered dentist or other provider fees. The Horizon MyWay Visa Debit Card can also be used for certain eligible OTC medical expenses at grocery stores, drugstores, and discount stores that are IIAS (Inventory Information Approval Systems) for certified merchants.

Grace period extension for eligible expenses and extended claim filing period: Employees enrolled in the Unreimbursed Medical or Dependent Care FSAs in 2027 have until March 15, 2028, to incur eligible expenses for the 2027 Plan Year. In addition to incurring eligible expenses through March 15, 2028, the period that employees enrolled in a Tax$ave FSA have for submitting claims for reimbursement extends to April 30, 2028. While this does not eliminate the “use it or lose it” rule, employees have an extended period to obtain reimbursement for eligible expenses and avoid forfeiting unused funds. Under the Unreimbursed Medical and Dependent Care FSAs, any 2027 contributions that remain unclaimed after the April 30, 2028, extended deadline are forfeited.

ENROLLING IN A FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT

Employees have four ways of enrolling in the Tax$ave FSA accounts during the typical Open Enrollment period:

• Online: Employees can enroll in the Unreimbursed Medical and/or Dependent Care FSA plans online here. Enrollment is only open during the annual Open Enrollment Period, typically in October.

• Phone: You may call Horizon MyWay at 1-866-999-3531 to enroll over the phone.

• Fax: FSA Enrollment Forms may be faxed by the employee to 1-866-231-0214.

• Mail: FSA Enrollment Forms can be mailed by the employee directly to Horizon MyWay, P.O. Box 14836, Lexington, KY 40511.

Special rules for enrolling newly hired employees:

A new employee can enroll in the Tax$ave FSA plans when hired but must complete an FSA Enrollment Form within 30 days of the date of hire. There is then a waiting period before Unreimbursed Medical FSA or Dependent Care FSA eligibility.

• There is a 60-day waiting period for Unreimbursed Medical FSA eligibility.

• There is a 30-day waiting period for Dependent Care FSA eligibility.

The FSA effective date will be the first day of the month following eligibility. If the employee misses the 30-day enrollment window, he or she must wait to enroll during the annual Tax$ave Open Enrollment in the fall, generally in October.

10-month State college or university employees with a start date of September 1 are assumed to have had their waiting period begin July 1. Therefore, the effective date for both the Unreimbursed Medical Plan and Dependent Care Program is September 1.
10-month State college or university employees with any start date other than September 1 follow the same 30- and 60-day waiting periods as outlined previously for all other employees.

Claiming Reimbursement for Dependent Care FSA:

Visit https://www.horizonblue.com/
Click on Member Sign In
Enter your username and password
Under dashboard, navigate to Horizon MyWay
On the Horizon MyWay page, scroll down to click on "View More Activity"
Flexible Spending Account (FSA) information will be displayed. Navigate to "I Want To..." and click on "Get Reimbursed"
Follow prompts to enter claim information

For more information about the FSA plans, see the NJDPB website at www.nj.gov/treasury/pensions or contact Horizon MyWay Customer Service at 1-888-215-0025. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Human Resources via benefits@kean.edu.

Questions?

The HR benefits team is here to support you during Open Enrollment. If you have questions feel free to contact us: 

Email benefits@kean.edu
Call Paige O’Brien at (908-737-3302) or another member of the HR Benefits Team 
Walk Ins welcome for general questions at both the Kean Union (Administration Building 2nd Floor) & Kean Jersey City (Hepburn Hall 105) locations
By appointment: Recommended for in-depth topic reviews