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Active Guard and Reserve personnel on Title 32 orders will soon be eligible for the first time to participate in flexible spending accounts to help pay for dependent care and health care, defense officials told NGAUS last week.
The benefit — which many civilian employers have offered for years — is new to the military. It allows participants to put pretax earnings into a special account to cover certain expenses, thereby reducing their taxable income and increasing the buying power of their paychecks.
The Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account can be used to pay for preschool, summer day camp, before- or after-school programs and child or adult daycare.
Participants may contribute up to $5,000 per household annually before taxes to their DCFSA (or $2,500 if married and filing separate tax returns).
The Health Care Flexible Spending Account allows participants to use up to $3,200 in pretax dollars each year to cover co-payments and cost shares, deductibles, braces and other orthodontia, glasses and contact lenses, prescription drugs and wellness treatments such as acupuncture, massage and chiropractic care.
The Defense Department began offering the DCFSA this year, but only to active-component service members and AGRs on Title 10 orders.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III announced the establishment of the HCFSA program in a Sept. 13 memo as part of a series of initiatives aimed at improving the welfare and well-being of service members and their families.
The announcement was unclear about whether Title 32 AGR personnel would be eligible for the HCFSA program, so NGAUS asked for clarity from the Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.
The initial answer was not at this time. But the association received an updated response late last week.
"Members of the National Guard performing Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) duty will be eligible for Flexible Spending Accounts starting in the 2024 Federal Benefits Open Season (November 11–December 9)," a defense official said in an email.
The official indicated that Title 32 AGRs can enroll in the DCFSA program during the 2024 Federal Benefits Open Season and the HCFSA program during the Special Enrollment Period for service members March 3-31, 2025.
"We are finalizing the policy and requirements to support this population’s enrollment with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), who administers the Federal Flexible Spending Account Program (FSAFEDS) for Service members," the official added.
More FSA information can be found on the DoD Office of Financial Readiness website.
DoD's official also indicated the site will be updated to reflect Title 32 AGR eligibility by mid-October, while the FSAFEDS.gov website will be updated by the 2024 Federal Benefits Open Season.
"Benefits parity across the components is a continuing NGAUS priority," said retired Maj. Gen. Francis M. McGinn, the NGAUS president. "We applaud the Pentagon for expanding eligibility for flexible spending accounts to Title 32 AGRs. National Guard AGR families nationwide will greatly benefit from these programs."
— By John Goheen
