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| FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNTS |
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| Eligibility
& Enrollment |
Eligibility
You are eligible to participate in the FSA program on the first day
of the month following your date of hire or transfer to eligible status
if you are a part-time or full-time associate scheduled to work at least
20 hours per week.
Enrollment
You may enroll in either or both FSAs within 31 days of being hired
or transferring to an eligible status. If you don't enroll within 31
days, you must wait for the next open enrollment period to participate,
unless you have a qualified change in status. Under IRS rules, you
must re-enroll each year during annual open enrollment. To enroll
or re-enroll, Valassis Shared Mail associates will need to complete
their open enrollment form and submit it to their HR representative.
Valassis Direct Mail associates can enroll online at www.valassisbenefits.com,
indicating the amount you wish to have deducted from your pay each year
and deposited into your Health Care FSA and/or Dependent Care FSA. This
amount will be divided by the number of pay periods within the plan
year.
If you have a Domestic Partner, claims for the Domestic Partner cannot
be reimbursed under the Flexible Spending Accounts due to IRS regulations,
unless the domestic partner is IRS qualified and can be claimed on your
taxes. By electing an FSA, an associate with a domestic partner will
be unable to take advantage of a Debit Card where prescription claims
or provider co-pays would normally be paid directly from the FSA. All
claims would have to be processed with a flexible spending account claim
form. See "Filing a Claim" for the
appropriate forms.
Qualified Changes in Status
Under IRS rules, once you have made your FSA elections for the year,
you may not change them unless you have a qualified change in status.
Qualified changes in status generally include changes in:
- Your marital status, including marriage, civil unions, divorce,
legal separation, annulment or death of a spouse
- Entering or terminating a domestic partnership (Valassis policy,
not IRS regulations, allows this change)
- The number of your dependents, including birth, adoption, placement
for adoption or death of a dependent
- Employment status for you, your spouse or dependent, such as starting
a new job or stopping employment
- Work schedule, such as a reduction or increase in hours, a switch
between part-time and full-time employment or the start of, or return
from, unpaid leave
- Dependent status (for example, your dependent child over age 19
is no longer a full-time student)
- Residence or work location for you, your spouse or dependent
Any change you make must be consistent with the change in status. You
may, for example, enroll in, increase or decrease your contributions
to a Health Care FSA if you get married. You may decrease or stop contributions
if you divorce, legally separate or your spouse or dependent dies.
If you have a qualified change in status, make the appropriate changes
to your benefits plans by contacting your Human Resources Representative
(Valassis Communications, Inc. and NCH associates paid through ADP).
You may make changes online at www.valassisbenefits.com
or by contacting Associate Resource Center. Any such enrollment changes
must be done within 31 calendar days of the qualified change in status.
Otherwise, you will need to wait until the next open enrollment period
to make a change.
Cost
You contribute to the FSAs on a before-tax basis. Valassis pays the
administrative cost of the FSAs.
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