Flexible Benefits - 2025 Annual Enrollment
Flexible Benefits Plan
The OGB Flexible Benefits Plan gives active employees a way to take home more money in every paycheck! When you sign up for one or more Flexible Benefits options, your eligible expenses are deducted from your gross salary before taxes. If applicable, this might produce lower Social Security benefits. Because you pay less in taxes, your spendable income increases. During Flexible Benefits Annual Enrollment, active employees can enroll in one or several flexible Benefits Plan options:
- Premium Conversion -- By enrollment in an OGB health plan, life insurance, and/or a voluntary product that is eligible for pre-tax deductions, employees are automatically enrolled in the Flex Plan and the Premium Conversion option. Once enrolled in the Premium Conversion option, enrollment will automatically continue from year-to-year unless the employee chooses to end participation in all coverage during annual enrollment or due to experiencing an OGB Plan-Recognized Qualified Event.
- General-Purpose Health Care Flexible Spending Arrangement (GPFSA) allows an employee to use pre-tax dollars to pay eligible out-of-pocket medical, dental and vision care expenses for the employee, their spouse and any other federal tax dependents. An employee cannot participate in the GPFSA and the Health Savings Account (HSA) options at the same time. This is a HIPAA-excepted benefits plan. You must re-enroll each year if you wish to continue participation.
- Limited-Purpose Dental/Vision Flexible Spending Arrangement (LPFSA) allows an employee to use pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible out-of-pocket dental and vision expenses only. An employee cannot participate in the GPFSA and the LPFSA options at the same time. However, an employee who enrolls in the Pelican Health Savings Account (HSA) 775 can participate in the LPFSA option. This is a HIPAA-excepted benefits option. You must re-enroll each year if you wish to continue participation.
- Dependent Care Flexible Spending Arrangement (DCFSA) allows an employee to use pre-tax dollars to pay eligible dependent care expenses for a child, disabled spouse, elderly parent or other dependent incapable of self-care, while the employee is at work. You must re-enroll each year if you wish to continue participation.
- The Health Savings Account (HSA) option allows a plan member and his or her employer to contribute pre-tax dollars to an HSA. Active employees can contribute to an HSA option only when they choose the OGB Pelican HSA 775 health plan and are not covered by other disqualifying non-high-deductible health plan coverage. The deductible amount for plan members enrolled in the Pelican HSA 775 will reset at the beginning of the plan year on January 1, 2025.
Employees can participate in the General-Purpose Health Care FSA option, Limited-Purpose Dental/Vision FSA option, or Dependent Care FSA option even if they are not enrolled in an OGB health plan. The plan member must enroll with their Human Resources department.
Money deducted from an employee’s pay into a Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA) is not subject to payroll taxes, resulting in substantial tax savings. These tax savings are through the available FSAs: General-Purpose Health Care FSA; Limited-Purpose Health Care FSA; and the Dependent Care FSA.
How to Enroll - Employees can enroll online in a FSA during Annual Enrollment on the OGB Annual Enrollment Web Portal at the same time they enroll in their OGB health plan, or through their Human Resources department.
FSA Eligibility and Enrollment Rules – To enroll in the General-Purpose FSA, Limited-Purpose FSA and the Dependent Care FSA, an employee must:
- Be an active, full-time employee in a participating payroll system;
- Enroll during Annual Enrollment or after experiencing an OGB qualifying event;
- Re-enroll each year to continue participation and agree to pay the $24.00 annual administrative fee.
Eligibility Rule – New hires may enroll within their first thirty (30) days of full-time employment. Your participation will be effective on the first of the following month after your first full calendar month of employment. For example: if your date of hire is August 20th, your effective date is October 1st.
Pelican Health Savings Account (HSA) 775
The OGB Pelican HSA 775 health plan, administered by BCBS, offers lower premiums in exchange for higher deductibles to active employees who pay their premiums through payroll deduction.
Health Savings Account
One of the benefits of choosing the OGB Pelican HSA 775 health plan is the option to enroll in a health savings account (HSA). The HSA allows you to use pre‐tax dollars to pay eligible medical and pharmacy expenses for you and your family until you meet your deductible for the plan year. It can also help you save for future health care expenses.
Matching dollar-for-dollar - If enrolled in an HSA, the state will contribute $200 per plan year to help jumpstart your savings and will match your tax-free contributions made through payroll deduction dollar-for-dollar, up to an additional $575 per plan year. This $775 total amount counts toward the maximum U.S. Internal Revenue Service annual limits of $3,850 for employee only coverage and $7,750 for family coverage, for the 2025 calendar year – plus additional $1,000 if you are age 55 or older. To receive these matching dollars, you must set up an HSA through your agency’s human resources section. The HSA will be set up through HealthEquity. The OGB Pelican HSA775 is affiliated with the Blue Cross administrator.
Unlike a Health Care Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA) with a use-or-lose rule, you are not required to spend your entire annual HSA contribution. Instead, your money can remain in our HSA and earn interest -- tax free -- from year-to-year.
Yours to keep – If you change health plans or jobs, or you retire, the HSA is yours to keep. At age 65 on, you can use your HSA dollars for any health care or non-health care expense with no penalty, although any amount used for non-health care expenses will be taxable as income.
Mastercard debit card – Your BCBS mySmartSaver Visa debit card comes in your Welcome Packet, which is mailed to you and provides an easy, convenient and secure way to pay for health care expenses. Simply swipe the card at the time of service, and you’re done! You also may give your debit card number to medical providers on their paper bill, over the phone, or online to pay for services. HEQ cards are not allowed at ATMs. To activate your Visa debit card, simply call the toll-free phone number provided on the activation sticker. Your Mastercard debit card does not have a PIN.
Deductibles and Out-of-Pocket Expenses
It’s important to note that the OGB Pelican HSA 775 health plan requires you to pay 100 percent of the plan’s discounted contract price for in-network medical and pharmacy expenses until you meet the plan year deductible. The deductible is $2,000 for an employee, $4,000 for an employee plus one (spouse or dependent) and $4,000 for a family. However, in-network preventive care and certain maintenance drugs are covered at 100 percent, whether you have met your deductible or not.
| OGB Pelican HSA 775 deductibles and contribution | |||
| Coverage level | Employee deductible | State contribution | Maximum HSA contribution |
| Single | $2,000 | $200, plus up to $575 more in dollar-for-dollar match of employee contributions | $3,850 |
| Employee plus 1 | $4,000 | $7,750 | |
| Employee plus 2 or more | $4,000 | $7,750 | |
| An employee age 55 or older can contribute an additional $1,000 to his or her HSA during the plan year. | |||
For more information, on the OGB Pelican HSA 775, call 1-800-392-4089 or visit the Blue Cross website.