personal finance
Finance Friday Articles
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- How The Market Shapes Your Portfolio
- Overcoming a Cash Addiction in Your Portfolio
- Retirement Roulette – 7 Issues to Consider
- The Mint Budgeting App Is Shutting Down – Which Personal Finance and Budgeting App Should You Use Now?
- TSP Summarizes Changes in Place and ahead Starting in January
- The moment I realized we’re saving too much for retirement
- Vanguard economic and market outlook for 2024: Global summary
Here’s more info on the Dependent Care Flexible Spending account:
CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED//
ROUTINE
R 081728Z NOV 23 MID120000610743U
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC
TO NAVADMIN
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC
BT
UNCLAS
NAVADMIN 270/23
PASS TO OFFICE CODES:
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/NOV//
SUBJ/DEPENDENT CARE FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT (DCFSA) FOR MILITARY
PERSONNEL//
REF/A/DOC/SECDEF/22MAR23//
REF/B/DOC/POTUS/09JUN23//
REF/C/DOC/DEPSECDEF/03AUG23//
REF/D/MSG/SECNAV/072130ZNOV23//
NARR/ REF A IS THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE MEMORANDUM, STRENGTHENING OUR SUPPORT
TO SERVICE MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES.
REF B IS EXECUTIVE ORDER 14100, EXECUTIVE ORDER ON ADVANCING ECONOMIC
SECURITY FOR MILITARY AND VETERAN SPOUSES, CAREGIVERS, AND SURVIVORS.
REF C IS THE UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE MEMORANDUM, AVAILABILITY OF DEPENDENT
CARE FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNTS FOR SERVICE MEMBERS.
REF D IS ALNAV 089/23, DEPENDENT CARE FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNTS FOR MILITARY
PERSONNEL.//
RMKS/1. This NAVADMIN announces the implementation of Dependent Care
Flexible Spending Accounts (DCFSA) for Sailors on Active Duty or Reservists
serving on Title 10 orders, in line with references (a) through (d). The
DCFSA is a pre-tax account used to pay for eligible dependent care services,
such as pre-school, day camp, before or after-school programs, and child or
adult daycare. Contributions are directly deposited from pay into a DCFSA
before taxes are deducted, which reduces a member’s taxable income.
- Eligibility. To be eligible for enrollment in a DCFSA, Sailors must be
on Active Duty or be Reservists serving on Title 10 orders, and have eligible
dependent care expenses that allow the Sailor and spouse to work, look for
work, or attend school full-time. For complete eligibility information, see
https://finred.usalearning.gov/Benefits/DCFSA. - Enrollment:
a. Eligible Sailors may enroll in a DCFSA for the 2024 plan during the
Federal Open Season from 13 November through 11 December 2023. Enrollment
will be processed by the Federal Flexible Spending Account Program
at https://fsafeds.com/explore/usmdcfsa. A DCFSA enables participants to
contribute $100-$5,000 per household per year in pre-tax income to pay for
dependent care expenses ($2,500 if married and filing separate tax returns).
A DCFSA operates on a calendar year basis, starting 1 January and ending 31
December.
b. Eligible Sailors may also enroll at any time in a DCFSA following a
qualifying life event such as the birth or adoption of a child, a divorce, or
a permanent change of station.
c. Upon enrollment, the specified amount of funds will be withheld from
the Sailors’ biweekly paycheck beginning the 15th of the month for the
effective year of eligibility (e.g., 15 January 2024) and deposited into
their DCFSA.
d. Funds are available in the Sailors’ DCFSA after each pay period.
Funds can be withdrawn to directly pay dependent care providers or to
reimburse dependent care expenses paid out of pocket.
e. Contributions should be carefully planned to not exceed the total
amount of qualified expenses anticipated to be incurred during the year.
f. There is a grace period through 15 March following the plan year
(e.g., 15 March 2025 for those that enrolled for 2024 plan year) to incur
expenses. All claims must be submitted by 30 April following the plan year.
g. Unclaimed contributions will be forfeited after 30 April following
the plan year (e.g., 30 April 2025 for those enrolled in the 2024 federal
plan year).
h. Re-enrollment. Eligible Sailors must re-enroll each year during the
Federal Open Season to continue participation. - Things to consider before you enroll in DCFSA:
a. Review your family’s budget and cash flow. Enrolling in a DCFSA will
impact your take home pay.
b. Understand your tax benefits. Free tax software and one-on-one help
from military tax experts are available to Service Members and their
families. - DCFSA Resources. Free assistance is available to help Sailors make the
right decision, provide enrollment information, and understand how the DCFSA
affects both their families’ financial budget and tax situation.
a. Office of Financial Readiness DCFSA webpage:
https://finred.usalearning.gov/Benefits/DCFSA.
b. Military OneSource:
https://www.militaryonesource.mil/benefits/dependent-fsa/.
c. FSAFEDS: https://fsafeds.com/explore/usmdcfsa.
d. Local Command Financial Specialists and Fleet and Family
Support Center personal financial managers.
e. Tax consultation from MilTax via Military OneSource at
https://www.militaryonesource.mil/media/news-and-releases/military-tax-
services-available-through-military-onesource/. - Released by Vice Admiral Richard J. Cheeseman, Jr., N1.//
BT
NNNN
CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED//
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Financial Protections from the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act
The Navy released an annual message about all the protections afforded by the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act (SCRA). It is long and you should read it if you are interested.
Personally, I’ve used the SCRA to get money back from credit card companies. I simply informed them I was Active Duty and that I wanted them to see if I was owed any money due to the SCRA. They checked, and I got hundreds of dollars back.
Also, here is a guest post detailing the story of how someone else used the SCRA to get money back.
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Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 