(Maybe relevant: I'm in Texas.)
My position was terminated last week. Yay.
I have a little over $12000 in medical expenses for this year, most of which I had not yet gotten around to submitting. (I realize that's irresponsible, but I'm not used to being let go, and I usually pull a "Crap! What's the url for walgreens.com?!" at the end of the year.)
We elected the max $2550 for the FSA for the year. (My eldest son has Autism Spectrum Disorder which requires speech and occupational therapy to the tune of ~$600 per week.)
I emailed the HR rep and asked about the procedure for submitting receipts now that I'm no longer employed, and received the (in fairness, otherwise politely-phrased):
You can submit receipts for expenses prior to your last day of work. Here is their contact info: ....
We contributed a little over $1000 to the plan this year, and have filed no claims so far.
So, given that
All expenses that I want to submit were incurred while I was employed by the company.
I elected the maximum amount for the year and have had the contributions (of course) automatically deducted from each paycheck.
Shouldn't I get reimbursed for at least the amount I've already paid into the plan? At my last job, I once lost a large amount to an FSA (I was not fired - just a paperwork error that was my fault), which I understand is the "use it or lose it" part of an FSA. How can the plan admnistrator (employer) be allowed to keep what I don't spend, but not be obligated to reimburse what I claim, because they decided I shouldn't work there anymore?
The Question
Can my former employer withhold reimbursement?
On a side note, they've refused to give me a copy of anything I signed when I started, and I could not get a copy of the termination paperwork, either. Guess I should find the right forum to ask about THAT particular annoyance.