Most Agencies Paying FSA Fees

Most federal agencies have agreed to absorb the fees related to flexible spending accounts that their employees have opened under the new government-wide program, although one large agency, the Social Security Administration, has said it will not pay the fees and another, the Defense Department, has not yet indicated its intentions. If the employing agency does not pay the fees–$4 a month for health care accounts and 1.5 percent of the annual amount elected for dependent care accounts-the enrollee must pay them, and they are deducted from accounts up-front. Proposals remain pending in Congress to require all agencies to pay the fees.